Sr. Director - AI Engineering (Security Business Group)

Cisco•San Jose, CA

About The Position

As the Senior Director of AI Engineering within the Security Business Group (SBG), you will lead the strategic vision and execution of our AI-driven security portfolio. You will head a world-class organization of engineers and software architects dedicated to transforming how Cisco protects the enterprise. Our team is at the forefront of the industry, building AI-powered security products that power Cisco’s security portfolio—from network security and threat detection to automated response and predictive analytics. We operate at the intersection of cutting-edge research and massive-scale production, ensuring that Cisco remains the leader in proactive, intelligent security. In this role, you will define the roadmap for AI/ML integration across our entire security stack. Your primary mandate is to drive an "AI-first" culture across the engineering organization, focusing on delivering tangible business value through AI-augmented workflows and operational excellence. While delivering AI capabilities in our products is highly valued, your core objective is to leverage AI to solve complex human and technical challenges, significantly improving engineering velocity and innovation output across the organization.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in software engineering, with recent or current work in a deep AI/ML engineering leadership role, with at least 6+ years in a senior leadership role managing large-scale engineering organizations.
Demonstrable hands-on experience in creating products and optimizing workflows using AI-assisted development tools, specifically Codex and Claude CLI.
Demonstrated success in taking AI/ML products from research/concept to large-scale production in a SaaS or security environment.
Extensive experience with hybrid cloud, internet-scale infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and modern MLOps frameworks, with a deep understanding of challenges in deploying AI at scale.
Solid understanding of cyber and network security principles, threat landscapes, and the role of AI in modern security operations (e.g., SASE, SWG, XDR, SOAR, Firewall, Identity)

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated thought leadership in the AI/Security space, evidenced by patents, published research, or speaking engagements at major industry conferences.
Proven ability to lead, inspire, and manage high-performing, geographically distributed teams.
Experience working closely with executive leadership to drive business growth, improve product margins, and enhance customer retention through technical innovation.
Deep experience in AI safety, governance, and the ethical deployment of AI models in highly regulated environments.
MS or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.

Responsibilities

Strategic AI Vision: Define and execute the long-term AI engineering strategy for the Security Business Group. You will drive innovation by identifying and overcoming complex organizational and technical hurdles, ensuring that AI is used as a force multiplier to deliver measurable value to our engineering teams and business outcomes.
Organizational Leadership: Lead, mentor, and scale a large, multi-disciplinary engineering organization. You will be the architect of our AI-first culture, fostering an environment that balances research-led experimentation with rigorous, production-grade engineering.
Engineering Innovation & Velocity: Drive the transformation of our engineering lifecycle by integrating AI-assisted development tools. You will lead the charge in identifying and overcoming structural and technical hurdles, ensuring that AI is used as a force multiplier to increase developer productivity, code quality, and speed-to-market for our internal engineering teams.
AI-Augmented Engineering Infrastructure: Oversee the design and deployment of internal AI platforms and development environments. You will ensure our engineers have the right tools—such as Codex and Claude CLI—to automate repetitive tasks, streamline complex coding workflows, and optimize the overall engineering development environment.
Organizational AI Evangelism: Partner with engineering leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to champion an AI-first culture. You will act as an internal executive advocate, driving the adoption of AI-driven methodologies that solve our most pressing organizational inefficiencies and foster a culture of rapid, data-informed innovation.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.

Upload and Match Resume