Manager Ai Researcher Jobs (NOW HIRING)

The application window is expected to close on: 06/20/2026
Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.
This position is based in San Jose, CA or North Carolina and operates under a hybrid work model.
Meet the Team
Our team is part of the Cisco AI and Automation portfolio, responsible for the "Circuit" platform-the central AI engine that powers productivity and process automation for all of Cisco. We are a rapidly expanding, high-impact group dedicated to building the vehicle for AI-driven business transformation. We operate at the intersection of applied research and production, ensuring our technology is not only cutting-edge but also optimized for performance and cost-efficiency for our 80,000+ monthly users.
Your Impact
As an AI Ops Engineer, you will develop software consistent with Cisco's 'Design Thinking Principles,' with a core focus on simplification, UX, and secure coding practices. You will serve as a key driver in the evolution of our AI ecosystem, moving beyond standard development to explore, evaluate, and implement next-generation AI techniques. By partnering with product management and design teams, you will ensure our platform remains the most relevant and efficient tool for our wide range of users. You will directly tackle high-impact technical challenges-such as optimizing LLM token usage, automating model routing, and fine-tuning LLM models-to ensure our platform scales effectively. You will leverage advanced AI coding tools (such as Cursor, Copilot, or Claude Code) to align LLM performance (logical and speed) towards making AI generated code production ready. This is an opportunity to work on a high-visibility platform where your contributions to product innovation and development processes have a tangible, global impact on how Cisco runs its business.
Responsibilities

• Conduct applied research to evaluate and implement new AI techniques, such as automatic model routing and batch capacity management, to optimize cost and performance.
• Where applicable propose and evaluate results of fine-tuning open source LLMs with sharply defined goal metrics. Compare these with similar out of box industry models.
• Build, integrate, and maintain AI agents and features within the Circuit platform to drive process automation across the company.
• Use Agentic AI to modernize existing features in Circuit platform.
• Continuously monitor the AI landscape to stack-rank and integrate new models from vendors while deprioritizing underperforming technologies.
• Be the "Team Captain" for specific features, driving consensus across cross-functional teams and mentoring peers to elevate the team's collective technical proficiency.
• Lead the delivery of high-quality design features from initial concept through to production integration and performance measurement.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 8+ years, Master's degree with 5+ years, or PhD with 2+ year of related experience in Computer Science, AI/ML, or a related technical field.
• Proven experience conducting applied research to solve complex technical problems, including the evaluation and integration of new AI/ML technologies.
• Solid conceptual and practical knowledge of AI/ML technologies, including LLMs, model fine-tuning, and their application in production environments. Curious, creative and track record of constant learning.
• Demonstrated experience in software development with a focus on building, testing, and deploying scalable features in a production environment. Including vibe coding and deploying those artifacts. Hands-on experience using AI-assisted coding tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code) to build, validate, and deploy production-level software artifacts. Ability to read and judge the stability of the auto generated code, such that, it does not violate security standards.
• Strong critical thinking skills with the ability to evaluate and document technical trade-offs regarding cost, quality, and performance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in AI Ops, MLOps, or building/fine-tuning custom LLMs to achieve well defined metrics.
• Proven track record of leading technical projects and mentoring junior engineers.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills; ability to influence cross-functional partners and work effectively within a team environment.
• Experience with "Design Thinking" principles, specifically applying system-level design to AI-driven user experiences.
• Hands-on experience with real-time AI workload management and token optimization strategies.
• Experience building and productizing agentic applications with focus on evaluation and business acceptance.
• Experience creating orchestration between domain specific agents, such that, it is adapting to new agents being added in the domain. Work should demonstrate strategies to auto-tune the orchestrator's routing quality.
• Have demonstrated work on leveraging Agentic harnesses for complex workflows.

Why Cisco?
At Cisco, we're revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era - and beyond. We've been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.
Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you'll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.
We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.
Message to applicants applying to work in the U.S. and/or Canada:
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.
The applicable full salary ranges for this position, by specific state, are listed below:
New York City Metro Area:
$212,300.00 - $317,100.00
Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:
$193,800.00 - $282,100.00
* 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.