Software Engineer, AI Engineering

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  • Location:
    Offsite, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • Area of Interest
    Engineer - Software
  • Compensation Range
    115900 CAD - 160400 CAD
  • Job Type
    Professional
  • Technology Interest
    AI or Artificial Intelligence, Networking, Software Development
  • Job Id
    1444938
New
The application window is expected to close on: 7/3/2025. Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received. 
 
Meet the Team 

The Simulation & Tools Team at Cisco is dedicated to developing innovative software tools designed to enhance engineering productivity across routing and switching platforms through groundbreaking technologies. Our small, highly entrepreneurial team delivers digital twins of our most complex platforms, offering a rapid development environment, along with AI based tools to help triage the most complex software issues. Our customers comprise of internal development and testing teams, customer engagement teams, and external global ISPs and hyperscalers. Join us and be part of shaping the future.
 
Your Impact 

As highly skilled Software Engineer, AI Engineer you will work with Large Language Models (LLMs) and Machine Learning (ML) on our team, you will design, develop, and maintain advanced productivity tools tailored for development, debugging, triaging, and automating workflows. You will also work on innovative AI-driven solutions, such as code generation systems, to empower developers and enhance overall efficiency.  In this role you will work on and contribute to:

AI-Driven Productivity Tools:
  • Design and develop tools to automate and optimize debugging and triaging processes.
  • Build ML-powered systems to enhance developer efficiency and reduce bottlenecks in workflows.
Code Generation and Advanced AI Work:
  • Implement LLM-based solutions for intelligent code generation, code review, and bug detection.
  • Develop systems that leverage fine-tuned LLMs for context-aware suggestions and improvements.
LLM and ML Model Development:
  • Train, fine-tune, and deploy LLMs to address specific engineering challenges.
  • Select appropriate ML models and algorithms to solve complex problems in debugging and triage.
Data Management:
  • Collaborate with data engineers to collect and preprocess datasets for model training and evaluation.
  • Ensure data quality, security, and compliance with organizational policies and standards.
Performance Optimization:
  • Continuously improve the performance, accuracy, and efficiency of AI-driven tools.
  • Monitor deployed models and ensure their reliability and scalability in production environments.
Cross-Team Collaboration:
  • Work closely with developers, system simulation engineers, QA engineers, and other stakeholders to identify pain points and design AI-driven solutions.
  • Communicate technical details and progress to non-technical teams and leadership.
Research and Innovation:
  • Stay up to date with the latest advancements in AI, LLMs, and ML.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies and identify opportunities to integrate them into the development pipeline.
 
Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelors with 6 + years of related experience in Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning, or Masters with 3 + years of related experience, or PhD with 1+ year of related experience.
  • Experience in building and deploying LLM-based solutions (e.g., OpenAI GPT, BERT, or similar models).
  • Working experience with Machine learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn).
  • Ability to program with languages such as Python, or similar.
  • Hands-on experience with debugging and triage tools or workflows in software development.
 
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience with fine-tuning pre-trained LLMs for specific use cases.
  • Knowledge of DevOps practices and tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines).
  • Exposure to large-scale distributed systems and cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).
  • Strong analytical skills with the ability to debug complex technical challenges.
  • Experience in optimizing AI/ML models for performance and scalability
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. Simply put – we power the future. 

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:

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.

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