Distinguished Engineer - Applied Science - Outshift

Please note this posting is to advertise potential job opportunities. This exact role may not be open today, but could open in the near future. When you apply, a Cisco representative may contact you directly if a relevant position opens.

We are a part of Outshift by Cisco focused on identifying breakthrough emerging solutions that create new markets and businesses for Cisco. We incubate these new opportunities in partnership with our business groups, corporate partners, and other startups. The team also continues to progress Cisco’s important work with Standards bodies and runs research partnerships with groundbreaking Universities.

Our organization is anticipating high growth. We are seeking talent with the agility and creativity to explore opportunities and fill in needs as they arise across our teams. Applicants should be seeking a flexible role, in which they not only provide leadership in their primary function but also contribute in meaningful ways to other projects. We are looking for individuals who are passionate about shifting quickly to different domains that may be outside of their normal scope of responsibilities.

Learn more about us at https://outshift.com.

The Outshift team is highly visible within Cisco as it's leading the future innovation for the business. As part of the Strategy, Incubations & Applications group led by Cisco’s Chief Strategy Officer, you’ll be working with some of the organization’s most forward thinkers.

In this role, you can expect to work with engineering, design, and scientists in defining and executing the product plan:

• Conduct customer, market, competitive, and industry research. Additionally, have a proven grasp on overall landscape for generative AI machine learning models, tooling, and/or applications, and develop a clear strategy around how to elevate competitive differentiators
• Own the creation of Minimal Viable Product (MVP) definition and then defining a product roadmap that elevates the competitive differentiators at every stage. Define customer value prop and return on investment at each stage
• Work with marketing and business development teams in identifying and executing effective Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies for your product. Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and metrics to track progress
• Key metrics & measures – Establishing milestones & metrics to evaluate the success and failure of the project. Also, pay close attention to metrics and measures important to customer stakeholders and establish a compelling Return On Investment (ROI) for them

Collaborate with marketing team in identifying key collaterals – product documents, data sheets, value props, sales decks, ROI calculators, demo videos (it is especially important for the product manager to own demo scripts and video during MVP and initial stages of the product life cycle).

In this role, you will work in an innovative team, apply, and advance powerful AI technologies in products that make tangible business impacts, create the latest AI-powered user experiences on various platforms, work alongside committed generative AI product management, software engineering teams gain expertise in the most in-demand AI domains for the future, and contribute to shaping Cisco’s AI strategies for the next decade.
If you want the challenge of fast-paced growth, the satisfaction of seeing your thoughtful ideas come to life, and the pride in helping grow a best-in-class AI team, this is the place for you.

• Lead a team of applied scientists and drive applied ML initiatives across products.
• Drive the Generative AI strategy and lead pivotal initiatives to employ the most recent advances in ML/AI including Large Language models (LLMs) in a fast-paced, experimental environment and create differentiation.
• Lead development, implementation, and optimization of LLMs and generative AI technologies, including training, fine-tuning and computation optimizations, and deliver novel and highly impactful features.
• Work with peer leaders in Outshift and wider Cisco Senior AI practitioners (PE, DE, Fellows) from other business groups to align strategies and collaborate on AI initiatives.
• Conduct research and develop innovative AI models using state-of-the-art techniques across various modalities including NLP, CV, time series, and multimodal.
• Mentor applied scientists and hold us to a high standard of technical rigor and excellence in ML.
• Guide the team on State-of-the-Art techniques, and model architectures including LLMs and Gen AI.

• PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or related quantitative field.
• 12+ years of industry experience in Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing/understanding, Reinforcement learning.
• 10+ yrs exp in Java, C++, Python, or other related languages.
• Practical experience in developing, training, deploying, and evaluating AI models in real-world applications and knowledge of deep learning frameworks.
• Understanding and hands-on experience in Large Language Models, Natural Language Processing, Computer vision, Image Processing, and generative AI techniques.

• Depth and breadth in state-of-the-art machine learning technologies.
• A highly driven leader who is known to deliver in high growth and highly dynamic environments.
• Be an advocate for creative technical trends. Acknowledged for driving decisions collaboratively, resolving challenges, and ensuring follow-through.
• Extraordinarily resourceful & rigorous, you can operate successfully among forward-thinking and charismatic people.
• Equally comfortable and capable of interacting with technologists as with business executives.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Why Cisco?

#WeAreCisco. We are all unique, but collectively we bring our talents to work as a team, to develop innovative technology and power a more inclusive, digital future for everyone. How do we do it? Well, for starters – with people like you!

Nearly every internet connection around the world touches Cisco. We’re the Internet’s optimists. Our technology makes sure the data travelling at light speed across connections does so securely, yet it’s not what we make but what we make happen which marks us out. We’re helping those who work in the health service to connect with patients and each other; schools, colleges and universities to teach in even the most challenging of times. We’re helping businesses of all shapes and size to connect with their employees and customers in new ways, providing people with access to the digital skills they need and connecting the most remote parts of the world – whether through 5G, or otherwise.

We tackle whatever challenges come our way. We have each other’s backs, we recognize our accomplishments, and we grow together. We celebrate and support one another – from big and small things in life to big career moments. And giving back is in our DNA (we get 10 days off each year to do just that).

We know that powering an inclusive future starts with us. Because without diversity and a dedication to equality, there is no moving forward. Our 30 Inclusive Communities, that bring people together around commonalities or passions, are leading the way. Together we’re committed to learning, listening, caring for our communities, whilst supporting the most vulnerable with a collective effort to make this world a better place either with technology, or through our actions.

So, you have colorful hair? Don’t care. Tattoos? Show off your ink. Like polka dots? That’s cool. Pop culture geek? Many of us are. Passion for technology and world changing? Be you, with us! #WeAreCisco