• Design, build, and deploy advanced AI models for intelligent code generation, contributing across model architecture, experimentation, evaluation, and integration into production systems
• Push the boundaries of agentic GenAI by developing models that not only generate code but also reason, plan, self-correct, and interact with tools, APIs, and execution environments to improve reliability and usability
• Enhance code-generation capabilities for DSLs and structured languages, helping shape the next generation of developer experiences powered by LLMs in both interactive and automated workflows
• Optimize training and inference workflows through efficient data pipelines, distributed training strategies, and model-level performance improvements to ensure low latency, high accuracy, and cost-effectiveness
• Partner closely with engineering and product teams to ensure research outcomes are aligned with customer needs and translate into scalable, high-impact product features
• Contribute to the scientific culture of the team, sharing best practices in rigorous experimentation, reproducibility, evaluation design, and documentation

Participate in long-term AI innovation by identifying emerging opportunities, proposing new directions, and shaping roadmap priorities in collaboration with research and engineering leaders

PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related technical field with 2+ years of industry or post-doctoral research experience; or a Master’s degree with 6+ years of relevant applied ML or research experience

• Demonstrated expertise in at least one of the following:
• Large language models for program synthesis, code understanding, or formal languages
• Multi-step planning or agentic AI for developer workflows
• Strong programming proficiency in Python and hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow

Experience translating research prototypes into production systems, including deployment, optimization, and performance evaluation

Working knowledge of experimental design, benchmarking, reproducibility, evaluation metrics, and scientific documentation

• The starting salary range posted for this position is $212,300.00 to $275,800.00 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
• 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

Employees in Illinois, whether exempt or non-exempt, will participate in a unique time off program to meet local requirements