AI Researcher, Technical Leader

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Note: Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applicants are received.

The Cisco AI Research team is composed of AI research scientists, data scientists, and network engineers with deep subject matter expertise. This diverse group collaborates on both foundational and applied research projects, driven by the challenge of connecting people and devices at a global scale. The team is newly formed and dynamic, blending AI and networking domain experts who work closely with engineers, product managers, and strategists experienced in AI and distributed systems. Members have the opportunity to shape the culture and direction of this growing team.

As a Lead AI Researcher you will be advancing research in Generative AI to enhance models and agents for networking automation, human-computer interaction, model safety, and other key AI-driven networking areas.

• Develop domain-specific foundational representations relevant to networking that provide unique value across diverse applications.
• Serve as a thought leader in the global research community by publishing papers, delivering technical talks, and organizing workshops.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including engineers, product managers, and strategists to integrate research outcomes into practical solutions.
• Stay current with cutting-edge developments in generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and multi-modal models, applying these innovations to emerging business challenges.

• PhD in Computer Science or a related technical field with experience in an industry or academic research lab, or a Master's degree with 5+ years of relevant experience .
• Experience working with machine learning models and familiarity with frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, Hugging Face, or equivalent platforms.
• Experience building and fine-tuning foundation models, including LLMs, multi-modal models, or domain-specific models.
• Ability to maintain and apply up-to-date knowledge in generative AI, LLMs, and multi-modal models to innovative business use cases.

• Have publications in top AI conferences such as ACL, EMNLP, ICLR, ICML, NAACL, or NeurIPS.
• Experience leading research projects in industry or university labs.
• Interest and expertise in combining representation learning with problem-specific properties.

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.

Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location, market conditions, job-related skillset, experience, qualifications, education, certifications, and/or training. The full salary range for certain locations is listed below. For locations not listed below, the recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

U.S. employees are offered benefits, subject to Cisco's plan eligibility rules, which include medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability coverage, and basic life insurance. Please see the Cisco careers site to discover more benefits and perks. Employees may be eligible to receive grants of Cisco restricted stock units, which vest following continued employment with Cisco for defined periods of time.

U.S. employees are eligible for paid time away as described below, subject to Cisco's policies:

• 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** receive 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 participate in Cisco's flexible vacation time off program, which has no defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use (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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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

For non-sales roles, employees are also eligible to earn annual bonuses subject to Cisco's policies.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components, subject to the applicable Cisco plan. 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 0% up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.

The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:

New York City Metro Area:

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

* 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.

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