Principal Machine Learning Engineer

Join Cisco’s forward-deployed AI team to help accelerate adoption of Cloud Control, AI Canvas, AI Studio, and AI Defense. In this Principal Machine Learning Engineer role, you will embed with customers using a high-velocity “skunkworks” approach, prototype in real environments, and help move AI platform capabilities from research to production while keeping enterprise-grade security and compliance in view.

Location: San Jose, CA (hybrid). Compensation: USD 263,700 to 431,000 per yearly. Application window: expected to close on 10/18/2026.

What you’ll do

• Deploy directly into high-impact customer environments to observe complex workflows, spot friction points, and build rapid prototypes that validate product-market fit.
• Lead research-to-code initiatives, applying deep domain expertise in networking and security to solve real-world problems while driving prototypes toward production hardening.
• Partner with Product Management to drive verified usage metrics, ensuring high-priority features are supported by actual engagement data.
• Collaborate with core engineering to transition prototypes into secure, multi-tenant, scalable services that support Cisco’s global customer base.
• Serve as an internal industry expert, translating customer challenges into elegant, scalable software solutions that influence technical leadership and product strategy.
• Help establish a customer-first engineering mindset across the AI Platform group by coaching teams on rapid iteration, minimizing silos, and maintaining high velocity while adhering to enterprise compliance standards.

What you bring

• A PhD in STEM (or equivalent related work experience), or a Bachelor’s in STEM with 15+ years of relevant experience, or a Master’s in STEM with 12+ years of relevant experience, or a PhD in STEM with 8+ years of relevant experience (or equivalent related work experience).
• Experience building and operating scalable, highly distributed multi-tenant systems with strict isolation and security boundaries.
• Experience building external-facing developer platforms or infrastructure-focused products.
• End-to-end system design experience, including observability, failure handling, and ergonomics.
• Experience implementing complex authorization models such as RBAC, ABAC, or policy-based enforcement.

Meet the team

This role sits in the AI Platform Group, Office of the CTO. You will operate as Product Market Fit (PMF) Pathfinders, embedding with customers to learn how they operate and what they actually use. The team is made up of experimentalists and prototype builders who ship, measure, and prove value through direct, real-time code deployment.

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
• Paid holidays: 10 per full calendar year plus 1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
• 1 paid day off for your birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
• Vacation: non-exempt employees receive 16 days per full calendar year; exempt employees participate in a flexible vacation time off program with no defined limit (subject to availability and business limitations)
• Sick time: 80 hours provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter, with up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward
• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer
• Annual bonuses for non-sales roles, subject to Cisco policies
• Grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time (may be eligible)

Additional notes for U.S. and/or Canada applicants

• The posted starting salary range for U.S. and/or Canada locations is $296,300.00 to $374,800.00 (projected salary range for new hires, not including incentive compensation, equity, or benefits).
• Pay is determined by hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training.
• Applicable full salary ranges by state are listed below:
  • New York City Metro Area: $296,300.00 - $431,000.00
  • Non-Metro New York state and Washington state: $263,700.00 - $383,500.00