Director, AI Engineering

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 251,000 - 363,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. is seeking an engineering leader to define and execute the technical strategy for AI solutions within the CX AI Incubation and Agent team.

You will lead high-performing engineering teams from concept to production, delivering autonomous agent platforms and AI-driven customer adoption solutions. You will drive architecture, standardize tech stacks, and partner with product management to translate strategic requirements into scalable, responsible AI applications.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field and 15+ years of software engineering experience (or Master’s with 12+ years).
• 5+ years of engineering management experience leading software and ML teams.
• Experience programming in Python, Java, C++, or modern OO languages.
• Experience building and scaling data-driven AI/ML systems and AI agent architectures.
• Experience deploying systems utilizing LLMs, NLP, Generative AI, or Agentic AI architectures.

Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end engineering delivery of agentic AI solutions across CX adoption and renewals.
• Lead architecture and build a core platform to host Agentic solutions.
• Manage and mentor cross-functional teams of software, ML, and data engineers and tech leads.
• Evaluate, select, and standardize tools and infrastructure across the portfolio.
• Partner with product and business stakeholders to translate requirements into production AI applications.
• Establish best practices for responsible AI, context engineering, and observable agent deployment.

Skills

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science,

Engineering management experience

Python

Java

C++

LLMs/NLP/Generative AI

Education

Master’s degree in AI/CS/ML

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field

Tools

Python

Java

C++

AI/ML platforms

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 09/12/2026 Location: San Jose (Onsite) No relocation will be provided

Meet the Team

The CX AI Incubation and Agent team builds breakthrough solutions across delivery intelligence, network automation, and edge computing for Cisco Customer Experience (CX) and our global customers. We partner across engineering, product, and design to develop scalable, responsible platforms leveraging Generative and Agentic AI. Join an inclusive, high-impact team pushing the boundaries of AI innovation to solve critical enterprise challenges.

Your Impact

As an engineering leader in Cisco CX, you will define and execute the technical strategy for AI solutions that transform customer adoption and renewals. You will lead high-performing engineering teams from concept to production, operationalizing autonomous agents, context engineering, and multi-agent orchestration platforms. In this role, you will combine deep technical architecture with business strategy to deliver production-grade AI systems at scale.

What You’ll Do

Drive engineering Delivery: Spearhead end-to-end development of agentic AI solutions across the CX customer adoption and renewals portfolio. Architecture and platform: Lead architecture and build core platform to host Agentic solutions. Lead Engineering Teams: Manage and mentor cross-functional teams of software, ML, and data engineers and technical leaders through full lifecycle delivery. Standardize Tech Stack: Evaluate, select, and standardize tools, frameworks, and foundation model infrastructure across the portfolio. Align Cross-Functionally: Partner with product management and business stakeholders to translate strategic requirements into production AI applications. Set Engineering Standards: Establish best practices for responsible AI, context engineering, and observable agent deployment.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field with 15+ years of software engineering experience (or Master’s degree with 12+ years).
• 5+ years of engineering management experience leading software and ML engineering teams.
• Experience programming in Python, Java, C++, or modern object-oriented languages.
• Experience building and scaling data-driven AI/ML systems, AI-native applications, and AI agents, including agent harnesses and production-grade agentic architectures.
• Experience building and deploying systems utilizing LLMs, NLP, Generative AI, or Agentic AI architectures.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, or Machine Learning.
• Experience architecting multi-agent orchestration pipelines and context engineering systems.
• Experience applying AI solutions to enterprise customer success, adoption, or renewal workflows.
• Proven track record of technical leadership and cross-functional execution in fast-paced environments.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage technical teams and executive business leaders.

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.

Compensation and Benefits

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: The starting salary range posted for this position is $250,600.00 to $362,600.00 and reflects the projected salary range for new hires in this position in U.S. and/or Canada locations, not including incentive compensation*, equity, or benefits. 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: $250,600.00 - $416,900.00 Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $241,400.00 - $371,000.00 * 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. Cisconians power the future. We make impact as a team, innovating fast and fearlessly to create meaningful solutions on a large scale. The depth and breadth of our technology doesn't just benefit our customers – it also means limitless opportunities for us to experiment and learn. We understand the power each of our unique backgrounds bring when we work together. Because of that, we have a global network of thinkers, doers, experts, and curious creators who help one another do their life’s best work.