Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer

Cisco’s AI Research team is seeking a Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer to architect and advance purpose-built intelligence through end-to-end pre-training and generative AI research.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of purpose-built large language models focused on securing and optimizing Cisco’s proprietary networking, security, data center, and observability infrastructure.
• Drive advanced pre-training initiatives to create foundational models that deliver unique, competitive value across the product portfolio.
• Conduct innovative generative AI research to enhance model capabilities for networking automation and human-computer interaction.
• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering and strategy partners to translate research breakthroughs into tangible business solutions.
• Support Cisco’s global thought leadership through publishing research in top-tier AI venues and contributing to the broader scientific community.

Requirements

• STEM degree requirement with experience alignment: Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years, or Master’s degree with 8+ years, or PhD in STEM (or 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 an LLM or foundational model, including dataset curation, tokenization strategy, and training pipeline execution.
• Minimum 3 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier AI venues such as ACL, EMNLP, ICLR, ICML, NAACL, or NeurIPS.
• At least 3+ years using PyTorch or TensorFlow to implement and train models on distributed computing clusters (example environment: 100+ GPUs).
• 2+ years applying machine learning models to networking, data center, security, or observability datasets to address complex system-level problems.

Technologies

• PyTorch
• TensorFlow
• Large Language Model (LLM)
• Distributed computing clusters
• 100+ GPUs

Job Details

• Location: Milpitas, CA (hybrid)
• Salary: USD 234,400 - 383,500 per year
• Minimum experience: 2 years
• Application window expected to close: 10/25/2026

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan with Cisco matching contribution
• Paid parental leave
• Short and long-term disability coverage
• Basic life insurance
• Grants of Cisco restricted stock units that vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods
• 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
• Non-exempt employees: 16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year (accrued at 4.92 hours per pay period for full-time employees)
• Exempt employees: flexible vacation time off program with no defined limit (subject to availability and some business limitations)
• 80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, with up to 80 hours unused carried forward to the next calendar year
• 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
• Annual bonuses (for non-sales roles) subject to Cisco’s policies

Meet the Team

• Cisco AI Research team of scientists and engineers building proprietary intelligence.
• Core mission: develop purpose-built large language models tailored for Cisco’s networking, security, and observability domains.
• Works at the intersection of basic and applied research and aims to maintain technological edge without reliance on external AI providers.

Application Notes (U.S. and/or Canada)

• Starting salary range posted for this position is $256,900.00 to $333,400.00 (projected salary range for new hires in U.S. and/or Canada locations, excluding incentive compensation, equity, or benefits).
• Individual pay depends on hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training.
• For non-sales roles, annual bonuses may be available subject to Cisco’s policies.

Full salary ranges by state (for this position): New York City Metro Area: $256,900.00 - $383,500.00; Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $234,400.00 - $341,100.00.

• Employees in Illinois (exempt or non-exempt) participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements.