Job Description

At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation.

Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where each individual can thrive.

F5 is seeking an experienced Data Scientist, specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), to innovate and strengthen our pioneering security platforms. This role focuses on building and deploying intelligent tools using leading AI/LLM technologies for automated red-teaming, vulnerability detection, adversarial attack simulation, and intelligent defense mechanisms. You will work hands-on to operationalize AI models, contributing to secure and robust model deployments within F5’s platforms.

In this role, you will collaborate closely with AI researchers, software engineers, and product teams to productionize cutting-edge AI solutions for securing and optimizing AI-powered systems and processes. The ideal candidate possesses strong technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and a passion for transforming AI innovations into practical, scalable security solutions.

Key Responsibilities

AI/ML Model Development and Application

• Research, design, develop, fine-tune, and evaluate LLMs, intelligent agents, and deep learning models for AI security and system optimization.
• Create advanced tools for tasks like automated red-teaming, vulnerability detection, adversarial attack simulation, and intelligent defenses.
• Implement and deploy AI/LLM-powered features as robust, scalable, and secure components in F5's security platforms.
• Optimize AI/LLM models for inference speed, cost-efficiency, and resource utilization in production.

MLOps and AI Workflow Pipeline Development

• Develop and maintain pipelines for end-to-end AI/LLM workflows, covering data preprocessing, training, fine-tuning, validation, deployment, and monitoring.
• Proactively monitor model performance and behavior in production, addressing safety, alignment, and security vulnerabilities.
• Apply software engineering best practices to AI/LLM workflows for secure and seamless deployments into our platforms.

Collaborative Development and Innovation

• Partner with cross-functional teams, including researchers and engineers, to productionize cutting-edge AI/LLM techniques and integrate them into F5’s products.
• Translate technical advancements into practical solutions aligned with customer needs and business objectives.
• Communicate findings and solutions through documentation and presentations for data-driven decision-making.

AI Security and Emerging Research

• Develop tools and strategies to detect and mitigate vulnerabilities, such as prompt injection and data poisoning threats.
• Investigate and utilize advancements in Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) to improve AI model reliability and alignment with F5’s operational priorities.
• Continuously stay updated on industry trends and research to integrate state-of-the-art AI/LLM advancements into platforms.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related quantitative field.
• 3-5 years of professional experience, including hands-on experience developing, training, and deploying AI/LLM models.
• Familiarity with AI/LLM libraries and tools such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face Transformers, or similar frameworks.
• Understanding of LLM security vulnerabilities and implementing mitigation solutions.
• Proven expertise in deploying AI/ML models in production environments, emphasizing secure deployments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills applied to complex AI challenges.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience fine-tuning and deploying large-scale language models, including using frameworks like vLLM or TGI
• Familiarity with Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) for improving LLM alignment and performance.
• Knowledge of vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Weaviate) and their applications in AI workflows.
• Expertise with cloud platforms and distributed computing for large-scale AI operations.
• Hands-on experience optimizing models for cost, speed, and resource efficiency in production workflows.

Why Join F5’s Data Science Team
At F5, you’ll have the opportunity to play a pivotal role in strengthening system security and decision-making processes using advanced AI/LLM techniques. You’ll collaborate with industry-leading experts and work in a dynamic, inclusive environment that values innovation, teamwork, and real-world impact. By joining F5’s Data Science team, you’ll drive transformative change across our platforms and contribute to advancements in securing AI-powered systems at scale.

What Success Looks Like

• Demonstrating leadership in delivering robust, scalable, and secure AI/LLM-powered solutions for F5’s platforms.
• Collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams to align technical solutions with business needs and customer priorities.
• Developing innovative tools and methods to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities within AI systems.
• Consistently applying advanced analytical techniques and operationalizing data-driven insights to enhance platform efficiency and reliability.

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The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.

Please note that F5 only contacts candidates through F5 email address (ending with @f5.com) or auto email notification from Workday (ending with f5.com or @myworkday.com)

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is the policy of F5 to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants without regard to unlawful considerations of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, sensory, physical, or mental disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, discipline, and termination. F5 offers a variety of reasonable accommodations for candidates Requesting an accommodation is completely voluntary. F5 will assess the need for accommodations in the application process separately from those that may be needed to perform the job. Request by contacting accommodations@f5.com