Compliance Monitoring & Testing Lead- Legal

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Members of the Legal organization at select locations will generally be expected to follow a hybrid work model, which includes two days of in-office attendance each week, with limited exceptions.”

Meet the Team

The Ethics & Compliance team is responsible for maintaining Cisco’s global compliance program and ensuring adherence to legal and ethical standards across all business operations. Our work provides the necessary oversight to identify and mitigate risk, ensuring that company activities remain aligned with internal policies and external regulatory requirements. The team is comprised of a diverse group of legal, compliance, and technical professionals working in a structured, collaborative environment. We are currently focused on modernizing our oversight capabilities by integrating advanced data analytics and automated monitoring into our core compliance functions.

Your Impact

Cisco is seeking an experienced and strategic Compliance Monitoring and Testing Lead to independently oversee the design and execution of our global compliance control framework. This critical individual contributor will be responsible for architecting automated monitoring systems, driving risk visibility through data analytics, and implementing innovative technology solutions—including AI/ML—to ensure organizational adherence to global regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities

Automated Monitoring & Controls Design

• Architect and oversee the end-to-end design of automated compliance monitoring systems, transitioning from manual transaction testing to scalable, technology-driven checkpoints.
• Define and configure AI-driven detection logic within compliance and GRC platforms, ensuring alerts are accurate, prioritized, and actionable.
• Continuously tune automated rules to reduce false positives and surface genuine risk signals across global transaction flows and third-party interactions.

Risk Visibility & Executive Reporting

• Build and maintain real-time risk dashboards and data visualizations to provide leadership with timely insights into the health of compliance controls globally.
• Transform complex monitoring outputs into high-level assurance narratives suitable for senior executives, audit committees, and regulators.
• Develop and track Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) to enable proactive, data-driven risk management and informed decision-making.

Compliance Testing & Audit Methodology

• Design and execute risk-based compliance testing programs, utilizing forensic and internal audit methodologies to validate control effectiveness across diverse business units.
• Conduct comprehensive root cause analysis on control failures and exceptions, delivering clear findings and actionable, sustainable remediation recommendations.
• Maintain a structured issues management process from identification through to closure, ensuring accountability and adherence to established timelines.

AI & Technology Integration

• Lead the integration of generative AI tools for real-time regulatory tracking, horizon scanning, and predictive analytics to evolve the function toward preventive risk management.
• Partner with Legal, IT, and Data Engineering teams to embed seamless, automated compliance checkpoints within existing business workflows.
• Evaluate and recommend cutting-edge compliance technology solutions, maintaining deep expertise in RegTech and AI-powered monitoring trends.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Knowledge Management

• Serve as a primary liaison between the Ethics & Compliance team and global business functions, ensuring monitoring programs accurately reflect operational realities.
• Build and retain deep institutional knowledge of Cisco's compliance control environment to minimize reliance on external consultants.
• Act as a technical advisor to legal and compliance colleagues, sharing best practices and providing guidance to up-skill the broader team.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Data Analytics, or a related field, plus 12 years of relevant experience in compliance, internal audit, or risk management.
  • Minimum of 5 years of experience architecting and implementing automated compliance monitoring systems or GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) platforms.
  • Experience in designing and executing risk-based audit or testing programs that meet the requirements of international regulatory bodies (e.g., FCPA, UK Bribery Act).
  • Proven track record of developing and maintaining executive-level risk dashboards and KRIs (Key Risk Indicators) using BI tools such as Tableau or Power BI.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA, JD, or Master’s in Data Science) or professional certifications such as CISA, CFE, or CIA.
  • Understanding of RegTech trends and experience deploying AI/ML models to detect anomalies in financial or third-party transaction data.
  • Ability to translate technical findings into reports for senior leadership and audit committees.
  • Experience leading cross-functional projects involving Legal, IT, and Data Analytics stakeholders.
  • Experience in identifying root causes and designing sustainable remediation strategies for compliance control failures.

At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.

Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere. 

We are Cisco, and our power starts with you. 

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco’s plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks.  Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco’s policies:

• 10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees

• 1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco

• Non-exempt employees** receive 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year, accrued at rate of 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees

• Exempt employees participate in Cisco’s flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)

• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, and up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to the next

• Additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family members

• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. For quota-based incentive pay, Cisco typically pays as follows:

• .75% of incentive target for each 1% of revenue attainment up to 50% of quota;

• 1.5% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 50% and 75%;

• 1% of incentive target for each 1% of attainment between 75% and 100%; and

• Once performance exceeds 100% attainment, incentive rates are at or above 1% for each 1% of attainment with no cap on incentive compensation.

For non-quota-based sales performance elements such as strategic sales objectives, Cisco may pay 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

* For quota-based sales roles on Cisco’s sales plan, the ranges provided in this posting include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.

** Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.