AI Researcher III (Full Time) - United States

Please note this posting is to advertise potential job opportunities. This exact role may not be open today but could open in the near future. When you apply, a Cisco representative may contact you directly if a relevant position opens. Applications are accepted until further notice. Meet the Team Join a collaborative team of researchers and engineers dedicated to unlocking insights from substantial volumes of structured, unstructured, transactional, and real-time data. Together, we analyze diverse data sources to understand customer usage patterns and deliver actionable, impactful insights using advanced metrics, algorithms, and statistical techniques. Your Impact As an AI Researcher III, you will drive innovation by leading sophisticated research in large language models (LLMs), natural language processing (NLP), and multimodal deep learning. You will work alongside senior researchers and cross-functional teams to bridge the gap between theoretical research and scalable AI applications, transforming raw data into strategic insights that advance the field of AI at Cisco. You will be expected to own research initiatives, mentor junior team members, and influence the technical direction of our AI products. • Design and Execute Experiments: Develop, implement, and evaluate state-of-the-art machine learning models and algorithms, focusing on performance, scalability, and accuracy. • Advanced Model Development: Lead the full research lifecycle, including data preprocessing, architectural design, and the fine-tuning of AI models for diverse enterprise applications. • Collaborative Research: Drive strategic initiatives by comparing algorithms, tuning hyperparameters, and documenting findings for internal reports and potential academic publications. • Technical Leadership: Present research results to technical and non-technical stakeholders, contributing to the team’s collective expertise and identifying new business opportunities. Minimum Qualifications • Bachelors + 7 years of related experience, or Masters + 4 years of related experience, or PhD + 1 year of related experience in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related field. • Proficiency in software development, with strong experience in Python and production-grade software engineering practices. • Proven track record of independently conducting research and delivering scalable AI solutions in a professional or academic environment. • Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex research findings into actionable business strategies for cross-functional partners. Preferred Qualifications • Experience training and optimizing Large Language Models (LLMs)—including modeling, fine-tuning (SFT/RLHF), and quantization—using frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Hugging Face Transformers. • Expertise in deploying high-performance inference engines (e.g., vLLM, NVIDIA Triton, TorchServe) for efficient, large-scale LLM serving. • Demonstrated history of publishing research in top-tier AI/ML conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL) or contributing to significant open-source AI projects. • Experience designing and scaling agentic AI workflows, multi-agent frameworks, and autonomous AI systems. • Proficiency in cloud-native deployment (Docker, Kubernetes) and MLOps pipelines on major cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure). Why Cisco? 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. Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: 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 of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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 $152,500.00 - $252,000.00 Non-Metro New York State & Washington State $135,800.00 - $224,400.00 • 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.