Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer , AISWP (Hybrid)

Application Deadline

10/25/2026

Location

Hybrid role based out of Cisco's Seattle or San Jose office.

Meet the Team

The Cisco AI Research team is a dynamic group of scientists and engineers dedicated to building the future of proprietary intelligence. Our core mission is to develop purpose-built large language models tailored specifically for Cisco's networking, security, and observability domains. We operate at the intersection of basic and applied research, ensuring that Cisco maintains its technological edge without reliance on external AI providers. Our team is composed of doers and experts who thrive in a collaborative environment, blending deep technical rigor with a shared passion for solving complex, real-world problems at a global scale.

Your Impact

As a Senior Lead AI Researcher, you will serve as a foundational architect for Cisco's proprietary intelligence, directly influencing how we secure and automate the global network. You will bridge the gap between cutting-edge generative AI research and real-world infrastructure, moving beyond standard fine-tuning to lead high-stakes, end-to-end pre-training initiatives. This role offers the unique opportunity to define the future of networking by building models that are purpose-built for Cisco's massive scale and unique security requirements. By tackling the most complex challenges in foundation model development, you will ensure our technology remains at the forefront of the AI era, directly impacting the performance and intelligence of the world's digital backbone.

• Lead the development of purpose-built large language models to secure and optimize Cisco's proprietary networking, security, data center, and observability infrastructure.
• Drive advanced pre-training initiatives to build foundational models that provide unique, competitive value across our product portfolio.
• Conduct innovative research in generative AI to improve model capabilities for networking automation and human-computer interaction.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams of engineers and strategists to integrate research breakthroughs into tangible business solutions.
• Establish Cisco as a global thought leader by publishing research in top-tier AI venues and contributing to the broader scientific community.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in STEM with 12+ years of experience or a Master's degree in STEM with 8+ years of experience, or a PhD in STEM or a related technical field with 5+ years of relevant research experience.
• Experience leading or contributing to at least one full-cycle pre-training, distillation based pre-training or continual pre-training project for a Large Language Model (LLM) or foundational model, including dataset curation, tokenization strategy, and training pipeline execution.
• Minimum of 3 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier AI venues such as ACL, EMNLP, ICLR, ICML, NAACL, or NeurIPS.
• 3+ years of experience utilizing PyTorch or TensorFlow to implement and train models on distributed computing clusters (e.g., environments utilizing 100+ GPUs).
• 2+ years of experience applying machine learning models to networking, data center, security, or observability datasets to solve complex system-level problems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in an industrial research lab environment, driving projects from conceptual research to practical application.
• Subject matter expertise in networking, cybersecurity, or observability, and the ability to apply AI to these complex domains.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence technical direction and build consensus among stakeholders.
• Proven ability to translate abstract research findings into innovative, scalable product features.

Why Cisco?

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.

Compensation (U.S. and Canada)

Starting Salary Range: $256,900.00 to $333,400.00

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training.

By Location:

• New York City Metro Area: $256,900.00 - $383,500.00
• Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $234,400.00 - $341,100.00

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.

Benefits (U.S. Employees)

Health & Insurance:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Short and long-term disability coverage
• Basic life insurance

Retirement:

• 401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution

Equity:

• Eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time

Paid Time Away:

• 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
• 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, with 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

Vacation:

• Non-exempt employees: 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: Flexible vacation time off program with no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (subject to availability and some business limitations)

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

Bonuses & Incentive Pay:

• Non-sales roles: Eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco's policies
• Sales roles: Performance-based incentive pay on top of base salary, split between quota and non-quota components

Parental Leave:

• Paid parental leave