Distinguished Engineer, Machine Learning (Modeling and Tuning)

Who We Are

Cisco ThousandEyes is a Digital Experience Assurance platform that empowers organizations to deliver flawless digital experiences across every network – even the ones they don’t own. Powered by AI and an unmatched set of cloud, internet and enterprise network telemetry data, ThousandEyes enables IT teams to proactively detect, diagnose, and remediate issues – before they impact end- user experiences.

ThousandEyes is deeply integrated across the entire Cisco technology portfolio and beyond, helping customers deploy at scale while also delivering AI-powered assurance insights within Cisco’s leading Networking, Security, Collaboration, and Observability portfolios.

About The Role

The Application Window is expected to close on 1/10/25. However, the job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received. 

As a Distinguished Engineer on the AI/ML team, you will be responsible for guiding the team in  training and tuning the models and performing the model evaluations using Deep Learning  Machine Learning (AI/ML) Models, and Large Language Models. In this role, you will also be responsible for influencing data collection design, data engineering, feature engineering, and eval frameworks. The size, diversity, and richness of our data are simply unmatched. The Internet is changing fast, and we are too. The objective of this initiative is to adopt a highly novel and ambitious approach for optimizing networks to better serve applications. 

What You’ll Do

You will guide and influence a team of AI engineers in designing, implementing and maintaining large-scale AI/ML pipelines including tuning and evaluating LLMs. You will lead the team in building evaluation frameworks and metrics while evaluating traditional and transformer-based models and LLMs.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of software development experience and a minimum of 5 years of direct experience in building and evaluating ML models and delivering large-scale ML products. 
• PhD Preferred
• You will have deep experiences using AI/ML system design to influence product direction, user experiences, and ML/LLM lifecycle infrastructures. You will have experience in translating ambiguous product problems and challenges into clear AI/ML-based solutions.
• Proficient in crafting machine learning models, your expertise spans neural networks including transformer models, Large Language Models, decision trees, and other traditional machine learning models, translating conceptual ideas into actual solutions.
• Fluent in some of these machine learning frameworks such as SKLearn, XGBoost, PyTorch, or Tensorflow, and can leverage code as a strategic tool to shape innovative solutions
• Proficient in Python, their skills transform abstract machine learning concepts into robust, efficient, and scalable solutions
• As a strategic leader, you'll excel in making critical technical decisions, shaping roadmaps and visions that drive the success of transformative machine learning projects in application to the Network Assurance Roadmap
• Adept at guiding teams through the orchestration of large, high-impact projects, you will consistently deliver successful outcomes
• You'll bring forth a successful track record of navigating the complexities of large-scale production environments, ensuring the seamless integration of machine learning models into internet-scale services
• Proficient in harmonizing the efforts of cross-functional teams, including researchers, data scientists, and machine learning infrastructure teams, they create synergy between business goals and technology innovation
• Mastering the entire lifecycle of machine learning, from conceptualization and development to deployment and continual refinement

Cisco values the perspectives and skills that emerge from employees with diverse backgrounds. That's why Cisco is expanding the boundaries of discovering top talent by not only focusing on candidates with educational degrees and experience but also placing more emphasis on unlocking potential. We believe that everyone has something to offer and that diverse teams are better equipped to solve problems, innovate, and create a positive impact.
We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. Not all strong candidates will meet every single qualification. Research shows that people from underrepresented groups are more prone to experiencing imposter syndrome and doubting the strength of their candidacy. We urge you not to prematurely exclude yourself and to apply if you're interested in this work.

Cisco is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis. Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 

US – COMPENSATION RANGE – MESSAGE TO APPLICANTS

247800 USD - 371500 USD

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S.:

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. locations, not including equity or benefits. For non-sales roles the hiring ranges reflect base salary only; employees are also eligible to receive annual bonuses. Hiring ranges for sales positions include base and incentive compensation target. Individual pay is determined by the candidate's hiring location and additional factors, including but not limited to skillset, experience, and relevant education, certifications, or training. Applicants may not be eligible for the full salary range based on their U.S. hiring location. The recruiter can share more details about compensation for the role in your location during the hiring process.

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, plus a day off for their birthday. Employees accrue up to 20 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) each year and have access to paid time away to deal with critical or emergency issues without tapping into their PTO. We offer additional paid time to volunteer and give back to the community. Employees are also able to purchase company stock through our Employee Stock Purchase Program.

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 pays at the standard rate of 1% of incentive target for each 1% revenue attainment against the quota up to 100%. Once performance exceeds 100% quota attainment, incentive rates may increase up to five times the standard rate 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.