Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer

Cisco’s AI Research team is building proprietary intelligence that strengthens and optimizes critical networking and security systems. This Senior Lead role focuses on end-to-end pre-training and generative AI research for purpose-built large language models, with the goal of turning research into practical business solutions across Cisco’s product portfolio.

The position is based in Milpitas, CA in a hybrid work setup. The salary range for this role is USD 234,400 - 383,500 per year, and the application window is expected to close on 10/25/2026.

What you’ll do

• 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 create foundational models that deliver unique, competitive value across the product portfolio.
• Conduct innovative generative AI research to improve model capabilities for networking automation and human-computer interaction.
• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering and strategy teams to integrate research breakthroughs into tangible business solutions.
• Help establish Cisco as a global thought leader by publishing research in top-tier AI venues and contributing to the broader scientific community.

What you bring

• STEM education with one of the following: a Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years of experience, a Master’s degree with 8+ years of experience, or a 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 execution of training pipelines.
• Minimum 3 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier AI venues such as ACL, EMNLP, ICLR, ICML, NAACL, or NeurIPS.
• 3+ years using PyTorch or TensorFlow to implement and train models on distributed computing clusters, such as environments utilizing 100+ GPUs.
• 2+ years applying machine learning models to networking, data center, security, or observability datasets to solve complex system-level problems.

Technologies

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

Benefits

• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
• Paid parental leave
• Short and long-term disability coverage
• Basic life insurance
• Grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time
• 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: 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, and up to 80 hours of unused sick time carried forward
• 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

The Cisco AI Research team is a group of scientists and engineers focused on building the future of proprietary intelligence. The core mission is to develop purpose-built large language models tailored specifically for Cisco’s networking, security, and observability domains, operating at the intersection of basic and applied research while maintaining technological edge without reliance on external AI providers.

Salary details for U.S. and/or Canada applicants

• 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, not including incentive compensation, equity, or benefits).
• Individual pay is determined by hiring location, market conditions, and job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training.
• For non-sales roles, employees may be eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies.
• Applicable full salary ranges by state include: 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, ranges provided include base pay and sales target incentive compensation combined.
• Employees in Illinois participate in a time off program to meet local requirements.