Senior Lead AI Researcher: LLM Architect for Networking

Cisco Systems; Milpitas (CA); Hybrid; USD 234,000 - 384,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) plan with Cisco matching

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Basic life insurance

Cisco RSU grants

10 holidays + floating holiday

Birthday day off + wellness days

Paid vacation time / Sick time

Volunteer days

Annual bonuses (non-sales)

Job summary

Cisco Systems seeks a Senior Lead AI Researcher to architect Cisco’s proprietary intelligence, driving end-to-end pre-training and generative AI research for purpose-built models. The role supports securing Cisco’s networking and observability infrastructure, in a hybrid Milpitas, CA setting.

Responsibilities include leading LLM development, coordinating cross-functional work, and publishing in top AI venues to advance Cisco’s competitive edge.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in STEM with a Bachelor's, or 8+ years with a Master's, or 5+ years with a PhD in a related field.
• Experience leading or contributing to full-cycle pre-training, distillation or continual pre-training of an LLM.
• Minimum of 3 peer-reviewed publications in top AI venues.
• 3+ years using PyTorch or TensorFlow on distributed GPU clusters (100+ GPUs).
• 2+ years applying ML to networking, data center, security or observability data.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of purpose-built large language models that secure and optimize Cisco’s infrastructure.
• Drive advanced pre-training initiatives to build foundational models delivering value across the product portfolio.
• Conduct innovative generative AI research to improve networking automation and human-computer interaction.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate research breakthroughs into business solutions.
• Publish research in top AI venues and contribute to the broader scientific community.

Skills

PyTorch

TensorFlow

LLM

Distributed computing

100+ GPUs

Education

STEM degree (Bachelor's/Master's/PhD)

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

LLM

Distributed computing clusters

100+ GPUs

Job description

Cisco Systems seeks a Senior Lead AI Researcher to architect Cisco’s proprietary intelligence, driving end-to-end pre-training and generative AI research for purpose-built models. The role supports securing Cisco’s networking and observability infrastructure, in a hybrid Milpitas, CA setting.

Responsibilities include leading LLM development, coordinating cross-functional work, and publishing in top AI venues to advance Cisco’s competitive edge.