AI Engineer

You will join Cisco's Customer Insights & Action (CIA) team within the Office of the CEO, partnering with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to drive key enterprise initiatives. Our team is skilled, passionate, and eager to learn new technologies. We collaborate closely with the ELT, customers, and peers, comprising Data Scientists, AI/ML Engineers, Strategy & Planning Managers, and Business Analysts. Our diverse expertise fosters scalability, productivity, and innovation across Cisco.

You will join Cisco’s Office of the CEO as a strategic partner to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to inform and drive action for the highest priority imperatives across the enterprise. You will work with a tight-knit, highly skilled team that demonstrates a proficiency and appetite for learning new technologies and trying new things. The team is a mix of technical Data Scientists and Business Analysts with varying years of experience in Cisco technologies and solutions, bringing excellent value to the team. Our collaborative delivery model drives scalability, productivity, and innovation across Cisco. Our team is passionate about what we do. We go above and beyond in partnering with not only the ELT but also our customers, teammates, and peers across the business.

You are an AI professional with extensive experience in Generative AI, Machine Learning, and the development of intelligent agent systems. You possess a deep understanding of Large Language Models (LLMs) and have a strong background in developing and fine-tuning machine learning models. Additionally, you are an excellent problem-solver with the ability to work independently and collaboratively using strong communication skills to effectively interact with remote team members. You have a passion for creating innovative solutions that push the boundaries of AI technology. You thrive in a fast-paced environment where you can work on multiple projects at once, requiring your unique blend of innovation and speed of execution.

What You’ll Do

As an AI Engineer joining our innovative team, you will help drive the development and delivery of advanced AI projects with a focus on Generative AI and Machine Learning techniques. You will develop Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Q&A systems, similar to ChatGPT, to provide sophisticated and accurate responses to complex queries. To create these intelligent agent systems, you will leveraging LLMs and other advanced Generative AI technologies. Additionally, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of AI solutions and stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI/ML technologies to drive innovation.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in STEM with 3+ years of relevant experience (or) Master’s degree in STEM with 1+ years of relevant experience
• Experience with Generative AI techniques, such as NLP (natural language processing) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Experience with programming languages such as Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch or JAX
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.
• Experience with machine learning algorithm development, data structures and software design principles.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience seamlessly integrating RAG systems with Pinecone, Elastic search, and SQL databases to support real-time data retrieval and natural language processing (NLP).
• Experience in UI development using tools like Streamlit or custom solutions.
• Familiarity with version control systems like Git.

Why Cisco

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!

U.S. employees have access to quality medical, dental and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution, short and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance and numerous wellbeing offerings.

Employees receive up to twelve paid holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating holiday (for non-exempt employees), plus a day off for their birthday. Non-Exempt new hires accrue up to 16 days of vacation time off each year, at a rate of 4.92 hours per pay period. Exempt new hires participate in Cisco’s flexible Vacation Time Off policy, which does not place a defined limit on how much vacation time eligible employees may use, but is subject to availability and some business limitations. All new hires are eligible for Sick Time Off subject to Cisco’s Sick Time Off Policy and will have eighty (80) hours of sick time off provided on their hire date and on January 1st of each year thereafter. Up to 80 hours of unused sick time will be carried forward from one calendar year to the next such that the maximum number of sick time hours an employee may have available is 160 hours. Employees in Illinois have a unique time off program designed specifically with local requirements in mind. All employees also have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community.

Employees on sales plans earn performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary, which is split between quota and non-quota components. 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 up to 125% of target. Cisco sales plans do not have a minimum threshold of performance for sales incentive compensation to be paid.