Distinguished Engineer - Chief Architect (San Diego)

The application window is expected to close on: 08/21/2026Job posting may be removed earlier if the position is filled or if a sufficient number of applications are received.This position is based in Unitad States and operates under a hybrid work model prefered location San Jose California , North Carolina and Seattle. Meet the TeamThe AI Platforms and Enablement team is the engine behind Cisco’s internal AI transformation. Our mission is to build and scale CIRCUIT, Cisco’s universal enterprise AI platform designed to collapse information silos and amplify productivity through intelligent, agentic experiences. CIRCUIT is more than a platform—it is the foundation for how Cisco will reimagine work through secure, scalable AI. Our team combines platform development with enterprise enablement, ensuring that business units can adopt AI capabilities, integrate proprietary data, and transform legacy workflows into intelligent, autonomous experiences. The organization operates through an Eight-Pillar CIRCUIT model spanning Platform Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Process Engineering, Product Management, UX Design, Technical Program Management, Innovation & Advanced Architecture, and Strategy & Operations. Together, these pillars balance specialized execution with multi-functional collaboration to move from invention to production at enterprise scale. Within this model, Innovation & Advanced Architecture serve as the Invention Lab. This team works on solving Cisco’s most complex AI architecture challenges, incubating breakthrough capabilities, and establishing the path from invention to production-ready platform features. Your ImpactYou will define the long-term architecture for Cisco’s enterprise AI platform, encompassing agentic systems, multi-agent orchestration, LLM integration, search and AI convergence, retrieval and memory frameworks, evaluation and reliability systems, human‑in‑the‑loop controls, and scalable data pipelines. Your work will ensure the platform remains modular, secure, resilient, interoperable, and future‑ready.You will lead the design and resolution of the organization’s most complex technical challenges, including multi‑agent system reliability, orchestration frameworks, long‑term context retention, model routing, retrieval patterns, trust mechanisms, and enterprise‑scale AI performance. You will set architectural principles and reference patterns that reduce fragmentation and enable consistent execution across the eight‑pillar operating model.You will create and drive a clear path that converts advanced technical invention into production‑grade platform capabilities. Partnering closely with Platform Engineering, you will ensure new ideas are designed for production from the outset and hardened into operationally ready services. In collaboration with Product Management, you will align technical innovation with CIRCUIT’s long‑term roadmap and value proposition.You will act as the primary architectural bridge across Platform Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Process Engineering, Product, and other Cisco business units, driving alignment on standards, frameworks, and reference architectures. You will work across corporate functions to ensure internal AI efforts build on CIRCUIT in a way that is secure, interoperable, and extensible.You will lead rapid exploration of emerging areas such as agent collaboration, autonomous planning, practive workflows, tool use, long‑term memory, and new interaction models, evaluating technical feasibility, scalability, and enterprise readiness. You will stay closely connected to advances in AI research, open‑source ecosystems, model providers, cloud platforms, and enterprise AI frameworks, guiding adoption where it creates durable advantage for Cisco.You will represent Cisco as a recognized technical authority in enterprise AI, engaging with research communities, partners, customers, and industry ecosystems. You will translate complex technical strategy into clear direction for executives, senior engineering leaders, and strategic stakeholders, and support high‑level customer and partner conversations by articulating Cisco’s AI architecture approach and lessons learned from operating CIRCUIT at scale.You will elevate the technical maturity of the organization through mentorship, architectural reviews, standards setting, and guidance. You will coach senior engineers and technical leaders, build a strong bench of architectural talent, develop a culture of high‑velocity experimentation and rigorous engineering quality, and contribute to Cisco’s technical reputation through patents, white papers, architectural standards, and thought leadership.Minimum 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 environmentsProven ability to define technical strategy and drive architectural direction across multiple organizations and business domainsStrong background of leading complex, multi-functional technical initiatives from concept through productionExperience with AI/ML systems, distributed systems, cloud-native infrastructure, or large-scale data platformsDemonstrated history of architectural influence through standards, patents, publications, technical papers, or comparable contributionsPreferred 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 offeringsStrong familiarity with model orchestration, memory systems, tool invocation, agent reliability, and enterprise trust controlsExperience in multi-cloud and hybrid environments, including GCP, AWS, Azure, and on-prem infrastructureStrong network within AI research, open-source, or partner ecosystems.Experience mentoring engineering teams in high-velocity, experimental environmentPrior customer-facing or partner-facing experience providing technical strategy, architecture guidance, or executive-level AI advisory supportExperience with enterprise search, data integration, developer platforms, or large-scale internal productivity systemsWhy 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 $342,700.00 to $433,400.00 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.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 employees1 paid day off for employee’s birthday, paid year-end holiday shutdown, and 4 paid days off for personal wellness determined by CiscoNon-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 employeesExempt 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 nextAdditional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues for family membersOptional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteerFor 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