Distinguished Engineer - Applied Research

When you join Verizon

You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely — even if they’re daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love — driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together — lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife.

What you’ll be doing...

As an AI Engineer for the Network team, you will design, build, and deploy advanced machine learning models and artificial intelligence solutions to optimize our next-generation network infrastructure. You will work at the intersection of AI and telecommunications, utilizing vast amounts of telemetry and network data to drive automation, enhance predictive maintenance, and improve overall network performance and reliability.

• Developing and deploying predictive models for network traffic forecasting, anomaly detection, and fault isolation.
• Creating AI-driven solutions to enable self-healing networks and autonomous network operations.
• Collaborating cross-functionally with network architects, data engineers, and software developers to integrate ML models into core network systems.
• Evaluating and implementing emerging AI technologies (including GenAI and LLMs) to streamline network operations, automate configurations, and assist in complex troubleshooting.
• Ensuring the scalability, security, and performance of AI algorithms deployed at the network edge and in the cloud.

What we’re looking for...

You are a highly analytical problem-solver who is passionate about leveraging data and AI to solve complex telecommunications challenges. You have a strong engineering mindset, capable of not just experimenting with models, but deploying and scaling them in robust production environments. You thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced setting and are eager to push the boundaries of how artificial intelligence can transform modern connectivity.

You’ll need to have:

• Bachelor’s degree or four or more years of work experience.
• Eight or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training.
• Strong programming proficiency in Python, C++, or Java.
• Hands-on experience designing and training machine learning models using frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Scikit-learn.
• Experience taking ML models from conception to production deployment in scalable cloud environments (e.g., AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Understanding of data architecture, databases (SQL/NoSQL), and data processing frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark, Hadoop).

Even better if you have one or more of the following:

• A Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Electrical Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• Domain knowledge in telecommunications, including an understanding of 4G/5G architecture, RAN, Core Networks, or SDN/NFV.
• Experience with MLOps practices, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and model lifecycle management tools (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow).
• Expertise in specialized AI branches relevant to networking, such as Reinforcement Learning, Graph Neural Networks, or Time-Series forecasting.
• Proven ability to translate highly complex technical concepts into actionable business insights for non-technical stakeholders.

If Verizon and this role sound like a fit for you, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every “even better” qualification listed above.

In this hybrid role, you'll have a defined work location that includes working from home and a minimum of three days per week in the office, which will be set by your manager. Employees are responsible for maintaining compliance with hybrid work policies.

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Equal Employment Opportunity 

Verizon is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to veteran status, disability or other legally protected characteristics.

Benefits and Compensation

Our benefits are designed to help you move forward in your career, and in areas of your life outside of Verizon. From health and wellness benefit options including: medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, AD&D insurance, identity theft protection, pet insurance and group home & auto insurance. We also offer a matched 401(k) savings plan, up to 8 company paid holidays per year and up to 6 personal days per year, paid parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition assistance, plus other incentives, we’ve got you covered with our award-winning total rewards package. Depending on the role, employees have the opportunity to receive compensation in the form of premium pay such as overtime, shift differential, holiday pay, allowances, etc. Newly hired employees receive up to 15 days of vacation per year, which grows with additional service. For part-timers, your coverage will vary as you may be eligible for some of these benefits depending on your individual circumstances.

The salary will vary depending on your location and confirmed job-related skills and experience. This is an incentive based position with the potential to earn more. For part-time roles, your compensation will be adjusted to reflect your hours.The annual salary range for the location(s) listed on this job requisition based on a full-time schedule is: $157,500.00 - $275,000.00.