Distinguished Engineer, Machine Learning (Modeling and Tuning)

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.

The Application Window is expected to close on 6/11/25. 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 Deep Neural Models and performing the model evaluations. 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. 

You will guide and influence a team of AI engineers in designing, implementing, and maintaining large-scale AI/ML models, including tuning and evaluating Deep Neural Networks, Graph Neural Networks, Transformer Models, and fine-tuning/continuous pre-training SLMs. You will lead the team in building evaluation frameworks and metrics while evaluating traditional and transformer-based models and LLMs.

• 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 in CS or Mathematics or Statistics 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 deep neural networks including Transformer Models, Large Language Models, Graph Neural Models, and other traditional machine learning models, translating conceptual ideas into actual solutions.
• Fluent in coding some of these machine learning frameworks such as SKLearn, PyTorch, JAX, Tensorflow
• Proficient in Python, skilled in transforming abstract machine learning concepts into robust, efficient, and scalable solutions
• As a technical 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 AI Ops and Digital/Network Assurance Roadmap
• You'll bring forth a successful track record of navigating the complexities of large-scale production environments for models, 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

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.

US – COMPENSATION RANGE – MESSAGE TO APPLICANTS

247800 USD - 371500 USD

Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada: 

When available, the salary range posted for this position reflects the projected hiring range for new hire, full-time salaries in U.S. and/or Canada 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. or Canada 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 (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.