Distinguished Engineer - Chief Architect
$342,700–$433,400 year
HybridSeattle, Washington, United States or San Jose, California, United States
Job Summary
Define the long-term architecture for Cisco's enterprise AI platform, encompassing agentic systems, multi-agent orchestration, LLM integration, and scalable data pipelines. Lead the design and resolution of complex technical challenges, including model routing, retrieval patterns, and enterprise-scale AI performance. Set architectural principles and reference patterns that reduce fragmentation across the eight-pillar operating model. Create a clear path converting advanced technical invention into production-grade platform capabilities. Act as the primary architectural bridge across Platform Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Product, and other business units to drive alignment on standards and frameworks. Represent Cisco as a recognized technical authority in enterprise AI, engaging with research communities, partners, and customers to articulate architecture approaches. Elevate organizational technical maturity through mentorship, architectural reviews, and guidance to build a bench of architectural talent.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
- 17+ years of experience in software engineering, technical architecture, distributed systems, AI/ML, or platform engineering
- Advanced degree may substitute for some experience
- Demonstrated experience as a principal engineer, architect, or senior technical leader in large-scale enterprise environments
- Proven ability to define technical strategy and drive architectural direction across multiple organizations and business domains
- Strong background of leading complex, multi-functional technical initiatives from concept through production
- Experience with AI/ML systems, distributed systems, cloud-native infrastructure, or large-scale data platforms
- Demonstrated history of architectural influence through standards, patents, publications, technical papers, or comparable contributions
- Minimum Qualifications
Desired Qualifications
- Deep expertise in generative AI, LLM integration, multi-agent systems, RAG, evaluation frameworks, and enterprise AI architecture
- Experience taking research concepts or early prototypes through productization into secure, scalable, production-ready offerings
- Strong familiarity with model orchestration, memory systems, tool invocation, agent reliability, and enterprise trust controls
- Experience in multi-cloud and hybrid environments, including GCP, AWS, Azure, and on-prem infrastructure
- Strong network within AI research, open-source, or partner ecosystems
- Experience mentoring engineering teams in high-velocity, experimental environment
- Prior customer-facing or partner-facing experience providing technical strategy, architecture guidance, or executive-level AI advisory support
- Experience with enterprise search, data integration, developer platforms, or large-scale internal productivity systems
- Preferred Qualifications
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