Director, Physical AI

020 Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 230,000 - 291,000; Full time

Job summary

Cisco Systems, Inc. seeks a highly technical Director of Physical AI and Common Services to lead end-to-end strategy, architecture, and integration of autonomous robotic fleets across global data centers and executive facilities.

You will own hardware customization, on-chassis software, safety governance, and JDAs with leading robotics manufacturers to enable secure AI containers and agent runtimes on robotics hardware.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of professional engineering experience in robotics, mechatronics, embedded systems, or autonomous physical hardware systems.
• Direct technical leadership experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams (e.g., mechatronics, firmware, computer vision, or robotics software).
• Experience developing, integrating, or deploying autonomous mobile robot (AMR), quadrupedal, or robotic platforms.
• Experience programming in C++ or Python for robotics, embedded systems, or edge compute applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end strategy, architecture, and execution for robotic fleets across Cisco data centers and campuses.
• Oversee hardware customization, on-chassis software, and safety governance of autonomous robotic systems.
• Establish Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) with robotics OEMs for on-chassis hosting of Cisco AI containers, LLMs, and agents.
• Coordinate integration with Cisco's enterprise AI fabric and edge compute pipelines for real-time operations.

Skills

C++

Python

Robotics

Embedded systems

Team leadership

Robotics platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree or PhD

Tools

ROS 2

Nav2

LiDAR

Job description

The application window is expected to close on: 10/29/2026

Meet the Team Cisco's Enterprise AI Platforms & Infrastructure (EAIPI) organization is establishing a Physical AI and Common Services engineering field to extend autonomous intelligence from software agents into the physical enterprise environment. As Cisco scales its AI foundation across global campuses, critically important data centers, and executive briefing facilities, physical robotics represents the next critical frontier in autonomous operations, physical security, and facilities intelligence. We enable and provide leadership for the development, design, and optimization of information technology, robotics, and edge systems functions supporting company business processes and technical information systems platforms.

In this role, you will direct the analysis, selection, and modification of enterprise systems, application software, network hardware/software integration, and database management, ensuring infrastructure architecture standards improve efficiency, platform compatibility, and uninterrupted service. You will select, develop, and evaluate personnel to ensure efficient operations and facilitate the integration of third-party platforms into enterprise IT services while protecting Cisco’s data, tools, and information systems. We are seeking an exceptionally technical Director of Physical AI and Common Services to lead the end-to-end strategy, technical architecture, mechatronic modifications, and software engineering for our quadrupedal and bipedal robotic fleets, bridging on-chassis edge AI compute with Cisco's enterprise AI fabric.

Your Impact

As the Director of Physical AI and Common Services, you will have comprehensive ownership across hardware customization, on-chassis software development, campus and data center operational pilots, and multi-functional safety governance. Lead technical evaluation, procurement co-development, and engineering execution across quadrupedal platforms and bipedal/humanoid robotic systems. Structure and lead technical co-development landmarks and Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) with leading robotics manufacturers to enable direct on-chassis hosting of Cisco internal intelligence containers, Large Language Models (LLMs), and agent runtimes. Direct physical retrofits, mechanical bracket design, sensor integration (thermal imaging, LiDAR, depth cameras, Meraki surveillance), far-field microphone arrays, directional audio speakers, and RFID/NFC badging hardware. Design, deploy, and operationalize autonomous concierge robots across executive briefing facilities. Integrate low-latency conversational speech-to-speech AI triggered by wake-word detection, multi-state LED intent signaling (listening, thinking, navigating), and dynamic guest credential verification via badging reader hardware. Implement intelligent lead/follow behaviors, real-time 360-degree obstacle avoidance, dynamic door/portal actuation protocols, and waypoint generation (Orbit/Autowalk) to escort executives and guests. Architect and deploy autonomous quadruped and humanoid patrol routines across Cisco global data centers. Build on-chassis edge ML pipelines for directional acoustic listening to detect failing server cooling fans, power supplies, and mechanical bearing wear prior to service disruption. Deploy thermal imaging, optical character recognition (OCR) for server status indicators, cable path verification, and environmental telemetry audits integrated into Cisco SRE monitoring systems. Architect on-chassis edge compute payloads running containerized ROS 2 (Humble/Iron) environments with high-throughput sensor fusion. Connect physical robots into Cisco's Circuit / MyAgent ecosystem via Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent-to-Agent (A2A) interfaces, allowing AI agents to command and query physical robots securely. Implement 802.1X network authentication, Duo/Okta identity federation, and zero-trust edge access control. Enforce edge data filtering with zero persistent storage of visitor video, image, or audio capture in strict compliance with Cisco Data Protection & Privacy (DPP) standards. Manage and expand the primary robotics sandbox lab, simulation environments, and physical staging cages. Partner with Workplace Resources (WPR), Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), and local municipal fire authorities to establish high-density lithium-ion battery containment, fire suppression protocols, and safety gating. Collaborate with Global Procurement Services (GPS) on preferred vendor onboarding, Corporate Security (SSBR) on outdoor perimeter pilots, Legal/IP on patent harvesting and JDA boundaries, and Outshift on joint robotics research.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Mechatronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field or equivalent practical work experience.
• 10+ years of professional engineering experience in robotics, mechatronics, embedded systems, or autonomous physical hardware systems.
• Direct technical leadership experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams (e.g., mechatronics, firmware, computer vision, or robotics software).
• Experience developing, integrating, or deploying autonomous mobile robot (AMR), quadrupedal, or robotic platforms.
• Experience programming in C++ or Python for robotics, embedded systems, or edge compute applications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Robotics, Mechatronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent work experience in a related technical field.
• Deep expertise in ROS / ROS 2 (Humble/Iron/Rolling), Nav2 navigation stacks, local SLAM, LiDAR-inertial odometry, 360-degree obstacle avoidance, and Sim2Real simulation platforms (NVIDIA Isaac Sim / Isaac ROS, Gazebo, MuJoCo).
• Experience with mechanical payload design, rapid prototyping, actuator dynamics, kinematics/dynamics of legged locomotion, power distribution boards (PDB), high-density Li-ion Battery Management Systems (BMS), embedded firmware (FreeRTOS), CAN bus, EtherCAT, USB 3.2, I2C, and SPI.
• Experience with on-device AI acceleration (NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin, TensorRT, CUDA, ONNX Runtime), real-time speech-to-speech models (Whisper, lightweight SLMs), wake-word detection, 3D point cloud perception, depth estimation, thermal vision, and Visual-Language-Action (VLA) models.
• Experience with custom fleet management bridges (Boston Dynamics Orbit, Formant), Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol design, distributed pub/sub architectures, and gRPC/REST APIs.
• Experience implementing 802.1X wireless authentication, Duo/Okta identity, mTLS zero-trust communication, ISO 25785-1 industrial mobile robot safety compliance, and data privacy governance.
• Demonstrated experience building, operating, and safety-certifying physical robotics laboratories, including high-density battery containment, municipal fire suppression compliance, and physical hazard mitigation.
• Proven track record structuring and driving Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) and co-development programs with commercial robotics OEMs.

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

The starting salary range posted for this position is $230,000.00 to $290,800.00 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: $230,000.00 - $334,500.00
• Non-Metro New York state & Washington state: $203,200.00 - $296,300.00
• * 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.

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.