Technical Leader, Machine Learning Engineer

Cisco Systems, Inc.; San Francisco, California, City of Albany (CA, MO, NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Technical Leader in the AI Software & Platform Team, where you will drive innovative ML solutions that enhance security for businesses worldwide. This role involves designing and deploying transformer-based models and optimizing ML infrastructure to tackle real-world challenges. Collaborate with a diverse team of engineers and researchers to develop scalable, robust AI systems that meet customer needs. With a strong emphasis on learning and development, this position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to an inclusive future while advancing your career in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

Dedicated paid time off to volunteer

Flexible work arrangements

Inclusive Communities for networking

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• 7+ years in software development or 5+ years with a Master's degree.
• Experience building ML systems end-to-end including data processing.
• Strong understanding of ML fundamentals and deep learning architectures.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and deployment of ML solutions for real-world applications.
• Collaborate with teams to align AI solutions with business needs.
• Research and apply cutting-edge ML techniques to optimize products.

Skills

Python

Go

Machine Learning Systems

Deep Learning

Transformer-based Models

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

PhD

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

LangChain

LlamaIndex

Hugging Face

Job description

The application window is expected to close on April 20, 2025

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applicants are received.

Meet the Team

The AI Software & Platform Team delivers AI products, so businesses around the world defend against threats and safeguard the most important aspects of business with security resilience. We are passionate about making businesses secure and simplifying security with zero compromise.

Your Impact

As a Technical Leader, you will drive end-to-end ML solutions, designing and deploying transformer-based models, building data pipelines, optimizing ML infrastructure, and developing AI-powered systems that solve real-life industry challenges. You will work across modeling, infra, ML ops, and system development, collaborating with engineers, researchers, and customers to shape the future of AI.

• Lead the design and deployment of end-to-end ML solutions for real-world applications
• Develop and fine-tune transformer-based models for diverse AI challenges
• Work across modeling, ML infrastructure, system development, and deployment
• Collaborate with customers and internal teams to align AI solutions with business needs
• Ensure AI models are scalable, robust, and production-ready
• Provide technical mentorship and lead initiatives within the ML team
• Research and apply cutting-edge ML techniques to optimize AI-driven products

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors degree with 7+ years (or) Masters degree with 5+ years (or) PhD degree with 2+ year of software development industry experience
• 3+ years of industry experience in building ML Systems end-to-end (data processing, model training, deployment)
• Experience in Python or Go and ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with real-world AI problems, especially in customer-facing applications
• Strong understanding of ML fundamentals, classic ML algorithms, modern transformer-based models and deep learning architectures
• Knowledge of LangChain, LlamaIndex, and Hugging Face models
• Background in AI security, risk detection, or fraud detection (a plus, but not required)
• Research experience or contributions to open-source ML projects
• Self-starter with a strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently

#WeAreCisco

#WeAreCisco where every individual brings their unique skills and perspectives together to pursue our purpose of powering an inclusive future for all.

Our passion is connection-we celebrate our employees' diverse set of backgrounds and focus on unlocking potential. Cisconians often experience one company, many careers where learning and development are encouraged and supported at every stage. Our

technology, tools, and culture pioneered hybrid work trends, allowing all to not only give their best, but be their best.

We understand our outstanding opportunity to bring communities together and at the heart of that is our people. One-third of Cisconians collaborate in our 30 employee resource organizations, called Inclusive Communities, to connect, foster belonging, learn to be informed allies, and make a difference. Dedicated paid time off to volunteer-80 hours each year-allows us to give back to causes we are passionate about, and nearly 86% do!

Our purpose, driven by our people, is what makes us the worldwide leader in technology that powers the internet. Helping our customers reimagine their applications, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals is what we do best. We ensure that every step we take is a step towards a more inclusive future for all. Take your next step and be you, with us!