Principal Applied AI Scientist jobs in United States
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Cisco · 1 month ago

Principal Applied AI Scientist

Cisco is revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era. The Principal Applied AI Scientist will define and champion the strategic vision for AI and foundation models, leading the end-to-end lifecycle of research, design, and deployment for large-scale foundation models targeting machine-generated data.

Communications InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareHardwareSoftware
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Growth Opportunities
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H1B Sponsor Likelynote

Responsibilities

Define and champion the strategic vision for AI and foundation models across Splunk and Cisco platforms, shaping the research and technology roadmap to anticipate and address industry-defining challenges
Lead the end-to-end lifecycle of research, design, and deployment for large-scale foundation models targeting machine-generated data, with deep focus on logs and complementary modalities (time series, traces, events)
Partner with executive leadership, engineering, product, and data science teams to ensure AI solutions align with broader organizational objectives, product strategies, and customer needs
Cultivate organizational excellence by mentoring senior technical talent, fostering research communities, and driving best practices in AI across global teams
Embed cutting-edge research and technological advances into products, driving sustained competitive advantage and transformation at enterprise scale

Qualification

Large language modelingDeep learning frameworksAnomaly detectionMulti-modal AI modelingPythonMLOpsLog analytics expertiseResearch track recordMentorshipCollaboration

Required

PhD in Computer Science, or related quantitative field, plus 8+ years of industry research experience
Proven track record in at least one of the following areas: large language modeling for both structure and unstructured data, deep learning‑based time series modeling, advanced anomaly detection, and multi-modality modeling
Solid proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow)
Experience translating research ideas into production systems

Preferred

Deep NLP & Domain‑Adapted LLMs: Background in building and adapting large‑scale language models (e.g., T5, BERT, LLaMA, GPTs) for specialized domains including structured/unstructured logs, text, and event sequences
Log Analytics Expertise – In‑depth knowledge of structured/unstructured system logs, event sequence analysis, anomaly detection, and root cause identification
Advanced Anomaly Detection – Experience creating robust, scalable approaches (statistical, deep learning, or hybrid) for high‑volume, real‑time logs data
Multi‑Modal AI Modeling – Strong track record fusing logs, time series, traces, tabular data, and graphs for foundation models tackling complex operational insights
Large‑Scale Training & Optimization – Experience optimizing model architectures, distributed training pipelines, and inference efficiency to minimize cost and latency while preserving accuracy
MLOps & Continuous Learning – Fluency in automated retraining, drift detection, incremental updates, and production monitoring of ML models
Strong Research Track Record – Publications in top AI/ML conferences or journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, CVPR, ACL, KDD) demonstrating contributions to state‑of‑the‑art methods and real‑world applications

Benefits

Medical, dental and vision insurance
A 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
Paid parental leave
Short and long-term disability coverage
Basic life insurance
10 paid holidays per full calendar year
1 floating holiday for non-exempt employees
1 paid day off for employee’s birthday
Paid year-end holiday shutdown
4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by Cisco
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year
Flexible vacation time off program
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date and each January 1st thereafter
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
Annual bonuses subject to Cisco’s policies
Performance-based incentive pay on top of their base salary

Company

Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, telecommunications equipment, and other technology services and products. It is a sub-organization of Cisco Press.

H1B Sponsorship

Cisco has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (1238)
2024 (1231)
2023 (1273)
2022 (2127)
2021 (1991)
2020 (1173)

Funding

Current Stage
Public Company
Total Funding
unknown
1990-02-13IPO

Leadership Team

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Chuck Robbins
Chair and CEO
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Carl Solder
Chief Technology Officer - Cisco System Australia/New Zealand
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Company data provided by crunchbase