Machine Learning Engineer

The application window is expected to close on: 02/17/2026 Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received. The application window is open until further notice. Note: Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applicants are received. Meet the Team The Cisco AI Research team is composed of AI research scientists, data scientists, and network engineers with deep subject matter expertise. This diverse group collaborates on both foundational and applied research projects, driven by the challenge of connecting people and devices at a global scale. The team is newly formed and dynamic, blending AI and networking domain experts who work closely with engineers, product managers, and strategists experienced in AI and distributed systems. Members have the opportunity to shape the culture and direction of this growing team. Your Impact We are seeking a Data Engineer to build and scale LLM training data pipelines, including human-in-the-loop labeling, synthetic data generation, and dataset quality systems. This role sits at the intersection of data engineering, machine learning systems, and data quality, and is critical to enabling scalable, high-quality training data for ML products. Design, build, and maintain data pipelines for labeling, validation, and continuous dataset improvement. Develop systems for synthetic data generation and enhance dataset quality and diversity. Build scalable processes for data ingestion, transformation, cleansing, and auditing of unstructured data. Collaborate with ML researchers and data annotation teams to define data requirements and quality metrics. Implement automation and ML-assisted labeling workflows, including quality monitoring. Minimum Qualifications 5–7 years of experience in data engineering, machine learning engineering, or related roles. Proven experience building large-scale data pipelines for unstructured or semi-structured data. Hands-on expertise with ML data workflows, including dataset creation, labeling, and evaluation. Proficiency in Python and data processing frameworks (e.g., Spark, Beam, Ray). Experience with ML systems and tools, such as training pipelines and model evaluation frameworks. Preferred Qualifications Experience with human-in-the-loop ML systems, active learning, or weak supervision. Exposure to large language models, computer vision, or speech datasets. Experience building internal tools or platforms used by annotation or operations teams. Background in distributed systems or ML infrastructure. 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 $155,900.00 to $214,100.00 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 list ... (truncated, view full listing at source)