Senior Applied AI Scientist

Senior Applied AI Scientist - Cisco

Join the Foundational Modeling team at Splunk, a Cisco company, where we advance the state of AI for high‑volume, real‑time, multi‑modal machine‑generated data – including logs, time series, traces, and events. We combine deep AI research expertise with the scale and operational excellence of Splunk and Cisco’s global engineering capabilities. Our work spans networking, security, observability, and customer experience, designing and deploying foundation models that enhance reliability, strengthen security, prevent downtime, and deliver predictive insights across Splunk Observability, Security, and Platform at enterprise scale.

You’ll thrive in a culture that values technical excellence, impact‑driven innovation, and cross‑functional collaboration in a flexible, growth‑oriented environment.

• Lead the research, design, and deployment of large‑scale foundation models for machine‑generated data – primarily time series, augmented with logs, traces, and events.
• Optimize distributed training and inference pipelines to maximize accuracy, performance, and efficiency at scale.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, and data science to ensure solutions meet defined technical requirements and deliver tangible business impact.
• Mentor teammates and contribute directly to model architecture reviews, experimental design, and production rollout processes.
• Stay current with AI/ML developments and integrate relevant advancements into ongoing projects and technical plans.

• Ph.D. in Computer Science or related quantitative field, plus 1+ years of industry research experience.
• Proven track record in at least one of: large language modeling for both structured and unstructured data, deep learning‑based time series modeling, advanced anomaly detection, and multi‑modality modeling.
• Solid proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or Tensor Flow.
• Experience translating research ideas into production systems.

• Deep Learning for Time Series & Forecasting – Expertise designing and deploying architectures such as temporal transformers, temporal convolutional networks, and spatial‑temporal models.
• Advanced Anomaly Detection – Experience creating robust, scalable approaches for high‑volume, real‑time time series data.
• Multi‑Modal AI Modeling – Strong track record fusing logs, time series, traces, tabular data, and graphs for foundation models tackling operational insights.
• Probabilistic Forecasting & Uncertainty Quantification – Skills in Bayesian deep learning and probabilistic models to capture and communicate predictive uncertainty.
• Large‑Scale Training & Optimization – Experience optimizing model architectures, distributed training pipelines, and inference efficiency.
• 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).

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.

Starting salary range for this position is $ to $ (U.S. and/or Canada). Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with Cisco matching, paid parental leave, short‑ and long‑term disability, basic life insurance, restricted stock units, paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, and optional volunteer days.

• 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.
• 16 days of paid vacation per full calendar year for non‑exempt employees (accrued at 4.92 hours per pay period).
• Flexible vacation time for exempt employees (no defined limit).
• 80 hours of sick time off at hire and each January 1st thereafter.
• Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer.

We’re looking for candidates based in the U.S. and Canada. The starting salary range posted reflects projected salary for this position in these locations. Individual pay is determined by hiring location, market conditions, skillset, experience, and qualifications.