# Lead AI Researcher (Hybrid) at Cisco

- Company: Cisco
- What the company does: Cisco is a worldwide technology leader powering an inclusive future for all. Learn more about our products, services, solutions, and innovations. Backed by Sequoia and Menlo.
- Company website: https://www.cisco.com/
- Type: Startups (AI role)
- Level: Senior
- Location: 2 Locations
- Work setup: On-site
- Posted: 2026-09-16
- Apply by: 2026-10-31
- Apply: https://cisco.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Cisco_Careers/job/Milpitas-California-US/Lead-AI-Researcher--Hybrid-_2022010
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/cisco-lead-ai-researcher-hybrid/

## About the role

As a Lead AI Researcher, you will serve as a foundational architect for Cisco’s proprietary intelligence, directly influencing how we secure and automate the global network. You will bridge the gap between cutting-edge generative AI research and real-world infrastructure, moving beyond standard fine-tuning to lead high-stakes, end-to-end pre-training initiatives.

## What they're looking for

- Bachelor’s degree in STEM with 12+ years of experience or a Master’s degree in STEM with 8+ years of experience, or a PhD in STEM or a related technical field with 5+ years of relevant research experience,
- Minimum of 3 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier AI venues such as ACL, EMNLP, ICLR, ICML, NAACL, or NeurIPS
- 3+ years of experience utilizing PyTorch or TensorFlow to implement and train models on distributed computing clusters (e.g., environments utilizing 100+ GPUs)
- 2+ years of experience applying machine learning models to networking, data center, security, or observability datasets to solve complex system-level problems
- Experience working in an industrial research lab environment, driving projects from conceptual research to practical application
- Subject matter expertise in networking, cybersecurity, or observability, and the ability to apply AI to these complex domains