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The application window is expected to close on: Jan 25th, 12 PM ET 2026

Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Meet the Team

Foundation AI’s mission is build. The Foundation AI team joined Cisco through the Robust Intelligence acquisition in fall 2024 to lead research and development of security and AI at Cisco. The team has deep expertise in AI and security and is an active contributor to cutting edge research and standards on AI and security. At Cisco, our mission is to build AI Security at Cisco scale as well as lead the next generation of AI infrastructure for disruptive security products across Cisco.

Robust Intelligence pioneered the category of AI Security and built the first platform for securing AI applications from supply chain, model vulnerabilities, and real time attacks. Funded by Sequoia and Tiger Global, Robust Intelligence customers include the world’s largest banking and financial institutions, HR and payroll services, FinTech and financial software, technology and consumer electronics, insurance, consulting, travel, data centers and cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity as well as government agencies. The company was acquired by Cisco in 2024.

Your Impact

Foundation AI is seeking a Senior Director of AI Product Engineering to define and drive the roadmap for the organization’s core AI initiatives including foundational models, reasoning systems, evaluation frameworks, and AI infrastructure built for security-critical environments. A central part of this role involves close collaboration with Splunk and Cisco Security, driving the integration of Foundation AI into their products and platforms.

This role sits at the intersection of AI research, architecture, and product engineering, shaping how Foundation AI translates frontier advances into robust, secure, and scalable capabilities. You will partner with research scientists, software and platform engineers, and security leaders to evolve the organization’s technical roadmap, establish engineering excellence, and ensure that our innovations directly advance Cisco’s trusted-AI mission.

This is a hands-on leadership position requiring both depth and range: technical fluency in modern AI systems, strategic judgment in portfolio direction, and the ability to align diverse contributors around clear technical outcomes.

• Define and evolve Foundation AI’s end-to-end engineering roadmap from foundational model capabilities to integration with Cisco’s security stack and Splunk’s operational workflows.

• Lead joint engineering initiatives across Splunk and Cisco Security, ensuring that Foundation AI capabilities land seamlessly in production environments.

• Partner with research and architecture teams to transition experimental technologies into hardened, production-ready systems.

• Establish technical benchmarks and evaluation methods for performance, robustness, and trustworthiness.

• Collaborate across data, infrastructure, and product teams to ensure scalability, efficiency, and security in AI systems design.

• Represent Foundation AI’s technology strategy in executive discussions and cross-organizational planning forums including Splunk-aligned design reviews and security platform working groups.

• Cultivate a high-performing engineering culture that values scientific curiosity, disciplined execution, and impact.

• Translate complex research and architectural concepts into actionable engineering plans and measurable achievements.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, or related technical field or equivalent work experience.

• 10+ years of experience in product management including leadership, research and engineering strategy within advanced technology organizations.

• Demonstrated success leading large-scale or distributed system development in the cyber security field, including architecture, road-map definition, delivery, and sustainment.

• Strong technical understanding of modern AI systems, data pipelines, evaluation frameworks, and deployment environments.

• Proven experience in driving alignment and execution across multidisciplinary teams, including matrixed collaboration with external product organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field focused on systems, reasoning, or secure AI infrastructure.

• Proven experience at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, including model robustness, threat detection, or data provenance.

• Deep understanding of AI safety, evaluation methodologies, and engineering guidelines for important systems.

• Track record of leading multi-functional teams that bridge research, platform architecture, and secure product engineering, especially within large-scale platforms such as Splunk.

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 $337,100.00 to $426,700.00 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 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.

+ 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 of unused sick time carried forward from one calendar year to 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:

$337,100.00 - $490,700.00

Non-Metro New York state & Washington state:

$299,900.00 - $436,700.00

* 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.

Cisco is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.

Cisco will consider for employment, on a case by case basis, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.