Technical Lead, AI Researcher

Cisco

Location

San Jose, California, United States

Vacancies: 1

Posted: 29-07-2025

Salary: $191,400 to $281,400

Experience: 2 to 9

Skills: machine learning and AI research, natural language processing tools,Generative AI (GenAI), leading, coaching and mentoring engineering teams

Description:

Who We Are The AI Software & Platform team delivers AI products and platform for all Cisco Secure products and portfolios so businesses around the world can defend against threats and safeguard the most vital aspects of their business with security resilience. We are passionate about making our customers secure by simplifying security with zero compromise. What You Will Do As an AI Researcher Technical Lead for our AI Software & Platform team, you will be responsible for leading an innovative team focused on the following: Model Training, Optimization, and Evaluation: This encompasses the complete cycle of training, fine-tuning, and validating language models. You will be designing and adapting LLMs for use in virtual assistants, automated chatbots, content recommendation systems, etc. Algorithm Development for Enhanced Language Understanding: Focusing on the development or refinement of algorithms to improve the efficiency and accuracy of language models and understanding and generation tasks. Applying LLMs to Cybersecurity: Tailoring language models for cybersecurity purposes, such as analyzing threat intelligence, detecting cyber threats, and automating responses to security incidents. Experimentation with Emerging Technologies and Methods: Actively exploring new technologies and methodologies in language model development, including experimental frameworks and software tools. Mentoring and Collaboration: Providing mentorship to team members and working collaboratively with disparate teams to ensure cohesive development and implementation of language model projects. Basic Qualifications Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years or Master’s degree with 6+ years or PhD with 3+ years of software development experience to include industry experience in machine learning and AI research. 4+ years of experience in natural language processing tools to include experience with large language models (LLMs), text classification, sentiment analysis and natural language generation. 2+ years of experience in Generative AI (GenAI) to include experience with prompt engineering, fine tuning of LLMs, and reasoning-based systems. 2+ years of experience leading, coaching and mentoring engineering teams in a direct or indirect capacity Preferred Qualifications Experience in security focused Saas providers Experience scaling cloud based solutions at an enterprise level Experience in applied science/research Skilled in data preprocessing, cleaning, and analysis, with the ability to work with large datasets and extract meaningful insights. Background in conducting research, designing experiments, publishing papers, and keeping current with the latest advancements in LLMs. The capacity to think critically and tackle complex, innovative problems in the field. A willingness to continuously learn and adapt, crucial in the ever-evolving field of AI Why Cisco? #WeAreCisco #WeAreCisco where every individual brings their unique skills and perspectives together to pursue our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all. Our passion is connection-we celebrate our employees' diverse set of backgrounds and focus on unlocking potential. Cisconians often experience one company, many careers where learning and development are encouraged and supported at every stage. Our technology, tools, and culture pioneered hybrid work trends, allowing all to not only give their best, but be their best. We understand our outstanding opportunity to bring communities together and at the heart of that is our people. One-third of Cisconians collaborate in our 30 employee resource organizations, called Inclusive Communities, to connect, foster belonging, learn to be informed allies, and make a difference. Dedicated paid time off to volunteer-80 hours each year-allows us to give back to causes we are passionate about, and nearly 86% do! Our purpose, driven by our people, is what makes us the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. Helping our customers reimagine their applications, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals is what we do best. We ensure that every step we take is a step towards a more inclusive future for all. Take your next step and be you, with us. Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. or Canada hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process. U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings. Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community. Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

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