Machine Learning Engineering Technical Leader

Cisco Systems, Inc; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is advancing its AI/ML capabilities by designing algorithms and neural architectures for NLP, machine perception, and Generative AI. You will develop scalable, production-ready ML solutions powering Cisco’s products and delivering measurable business impact.

The role involves leading model design, data pipelines, and automated workflows, with emphasis on state-of-the-art methods and cross-functional collaboration across teams.

Qualifications

• Strong ML and DL expertise for NLP and machine perception.
• Hands-on experience with transformers, CNNs, distillation, and GANs.
• Experience automating ML workflows and scalable deployments.

Responsibilities

• Analyse Cisco and external datasets to identify ML opportunities.
• Design and optimise models using transformers and CNNs.
• Lead exploration of state-of-the-art algorithms for production ML apps.
• Champion CI/CD-driven model deployment and lifecycle management.

Skills

Machine Learning

NLP model design

Transformer architectures

Knowledge distillation & GANs

Education

Bachelor's degree with 12+ years, Master’s with 8+ years, or PhD with 5+ years of relevant experience

Job description

Meet the Team

Join our team that's advancing Cisco’s AI/ML capabilities by designing innovative algorithms and neural network architectures for natural language processing, machine perception, and Generative AI. You will drive the development of scalable, production-ready machine learning solutions that power Cisco’s products and deliver measurable business impact.

Your Impact

• Analyse Cisco and external datasets to identify opportunities, formulate hypotheses, and translate business needs into feasible ML solutions.
• Design and optimise advanced models using transformers, convolutional neural networks, knowledge distillation, student‑teacher frameworks, GANs, and other emerging techniques.
• Lead the exploration and adoption of state‑of‑the‑art algorithms and architectures for complex, business‑critical ML applications.
• Establish technical vision and model design practices across functions and product portfolios, guiding teams toward scalable and reliable solutions.
• Automate ML workflows spanning model selection, training, inference, and deployment to improve efficiency and performance.
• Architect specialised data pipelines and optimisation techniques to enhance model training, accuracy, and computational efficiency.
• Champion CI/CD-driven model integration, deployment, lifecycle management, and continuous improvement.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 12+ years, Master’s degree with 8+ years, or PhD with 5+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and neural network architecture design for NLP, machine perception, or related applications.
• Hands‑on experience developing and optimising advanced ML models, including transformer‑based and convolutional architectures, knowledge distillation, student‑teacher models, and GANs.
• Proficiency in model training, inference optimisation, data preparation, and specialised data‑splitting strategies.
• Experience automating ML workflows, improving model performance, and addressing scalability, efficiency, and reliability challenges.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated technical leadership in shaping system architecture and mentoring engineers on ML platforms and cloud‑native best practices.
• Strong systems‑thinking skills to balance model quality, scalability, reliability, latency, and cost in production environments.
• Proven ability to evaluate emerging AI/ML approaches and translate research into scalable, production‑ready solutions.
• Passion for staying current with advancements in AI/ML, Generative AI, and next‑generation model architectures.

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.