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AI Research Scientist II (Intern) United States

Cisco Systems, Inc.
life insurance, vision insurance, parental leave, paid holidays, sick time, 401(k)
United States, California, San Francisco
201 3rd Street (Show on map)
Feb 25, 2026

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.

Applications are accepted until further notice.

Meet the Team

Join a collaborative team of researchers and engineers dedicated to unlocking insights from substantial volumes of structured, unstructured, transactional, and real-time data. Together, we analyze diverse data sources to understand customer usage patterns and deliver actionable, impactful insights using advanced metrics, algorithms, and statistical techniques.

Your Impact

As an AI Research Intern, you will drive innovation by contributing to sophisticated research in large language models (LLMs), natural language processing (NLP), and multimodal deep learning. You will work alongside senior researchers and cross-functional teams to bridge the gap between theoretical research and scalable AI applications, transforming raw data into strategic insights that advance the field of AI at Cisco.

  • Design and Execute Experiments: Develop, implement, and evaluate state-of-the-art machine learning models and algorithms, focusing on performance, scalability, and accuracy.

  • Advanced Model Development: Participate in the full research lifecycle, including data preprocessing, architectural design, and the fine-tuning of AI models for diverse enterprise applications.

  • Collaborative Research: Support strategic initiatives by comparing algorithms, tuning hyperparameters, and documenting findings for internal reports and potential academic publications.

  • Knowledge Sharing: Present research results to technical and non-technical stakeholders, contributing to the team's collective expertise and helping to identify new business opportunities.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program with 2 years of relevant experience, or currently enrolled in a graduate degree program with 0 years of relevant experience. Relevant fields include: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, Mathematics, Software Engineering, or a related program.

  • Proficiency in software development, with strong experience in Python and familiarity with other languages such as Go or C++.

  • Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret complex datasets using advanced statistical methods and data analysis libraries (e.g., pandas, NumPy, SciPy).

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience training and optimizing Large Language Models (LLMs)-including modeling, fine-tuning (SFT/RLHF), and quantization-using frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Hugging Face Transformers.

  • Experience working with high-performance inference engines (e.g., vLLM, NVIDIA Triton, TorchServe) for efficient LLM serving.

  • Familiarity with agentic AI concepts, multi-agent frameworks, and the development of autonomous AI workflows.

  • Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) for scaling and deploying distributed AI models.

  • Deep understanding of deep learning architectures (Transformers, CNNs, RNNs) and NLP concepts, ideally evidenced by advanced academic projects, previous internships, or contributions to research papers.

ProductIntern26

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:

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 ofunused sick timecarried forwardfrom one calendar yearto 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:

$44,000.00 - $185,000.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$44,000.00 - $185,000.00

* 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.

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