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.
AI Engineer — Customer Success & Services (F5)
Location: Hybrid (San Jose / Seattle )
Why this role matters
As F5 scales its SaaS and subscription offerings, intelligent automation and AI-driven experiences across support and success workflows are mission-critical. The AI Engineer will design, build, and operate the core ML/AI systems that power self-service, agent assist, knowledge automation, routing, summarization, and safety/observability tooling — delivering measurable improvements in CSAT, deflection, MTTR and agent productivity.
Position summary
You will lead the technical vision and delivery for AI systems across the Customer Success & Support portfolio (myF5, case management, knowledge, omni-channel). You’ll translate product needs into robust machine learning architectures, own model lifecycle and MLOps, implement safe RAG/LLM systems and observability, and partner closely with Product, Support Ops, Security/Compliance, and external vendor platforms to ship production-grade solutions. You are both a hands-on engineer able to deliver production code and an influencer who mentors engineers and sets engineering standards.
Key responsibilities
Define technical architecture and roadmap for AI capabilities in support workflows: retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), LLM-based assistants, intent classification, summarization, knowledge generation/maintenance, and conversational systems.
Lead end-to-end model lifecycle: data pipelines, training, evaluation, fine-tuning, validation, deployment and continuous monitoring (MLOps).
Build and operate production-quality ML services and APIs (scalable inference, caching, batching, latency SLAs); write performant, well-tested code (primarily Python).
Design and implement safety, privacy, and governance controls for generative systems: hallucination mitigation, provenance/explainability, access control, logging/audit, and data protection (including FedRAMP/GovCloud considerations where required).
Full-Stack Development: Design, develop, and maintain scalable systems, combining frontend development using React/Next.js with TypeScript and backend development with Java (Spring Boot, Hibernate) and additional backend languages like Node, Python, or Go.
Backend Expertise with Java: Build high-performance, scalable backend systems using modern Java frameworks (Spring Boot, Hibernate). Ensure APIs, microservices, and integrations are robust, efficient, and secure.
Cloud Services: Implement and maintain cloud-native applications on Azure or AWS, leveraging managed services such as computing, networking, databases (e.g., Postgres, DynamoDB, Cosmos DB), and object storage (e.g., S3, Azure Blob).
Proficient in implementing robust testing strategies for Java applications using frameworks such as JUnit, TestNG, Mockito, Selenium, and Cucumber.
Event-Driven Architecture: Design and implement event-driven systems using tools such as Solace, Kafka, or AWS SNS/SQS, ensuring real-time communication and asynchronous workflows.
DevOps & CI/CD: Create and maintain CI/CD pipelines with tools like GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or Jenkins, streamlining deployment processes.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Utilize IaC tools like Terraform, ARM, or Bicep to manage cloud configurations and provision reliable infrastructure.
Containerization & Orchestration: Develop and deploy scalable containerized applications using Docker and Kubernetes (e.g., AKS/EKS).
Integrate AI components with platform systems (Salesforce Service Cloud / Experience Cloud, myF5 portal, search engines like Coveo), and with Azure/AWS cloud services and data platforms.
Instrument KPIs and observability for AI features (deflection rate, CSAT impact, SLA compliance, model accuracy, latency, drift)—use metrics to drive iterations.
Prototype, experiment, and evaluate new models and approaches; maintain a “research → product” mindset to bring practical, timely AI to production.
Coach and mentor engineers and data scientists; set best practices for reproducible experiments, feature engineering, model tests, and CI/CD for models.
What success looks like
Significant, measurable increase in self-service adoption and case deflection (quantified percent improvement year-over-year).
Demonstrable improvements in agent productivity (e.g., faster average handle time, reductions in escalations) attributable to LLM-assisted tooling.
Stable, low-latency ML services with clear observability and alerting; demonstrable model governance (audit trails, reduced hallucination incidents).
Cross-functional stakeholders (Support, Security, Product, Sales) report high satisfaction and trust in AI capabilities.
Required qualifications
6+ years building full-stack systems at scale
Strong Experience in React.js, Next.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Go, Java
Experience with responsive design and UI/UX best practices.
Strong object-oriented programming skills.
Hands-on experience with AWS (S3, DynamoDB, Aurora, Kinesis) and Azure (Blob Storage, CosmosDB, AKS). Proficient in utilizing compute, networking, and managed database solutions.
CI/CD Tools: GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins
Infrastructure as Code: Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates
Experience automating deployments and streamlining workflows.
10+ years software engineering experience (or equivalent), with significant recent experience building and shipping ML/AI systems to production.
Strong programming skills in Python; experience writing production-quality services and APIs.
Deep applied ML expertise: model training, evaluation, feature engineering, experimental design, and productionization. Familiarity with deep learning and NLP architectures (transformers/LLMs).
Hands-on experience with LLMs: fine-tuning, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation, conversational agents, summarization, and mitigation of LLM failure modes.
Strong MLOps and data engineering experience: building data pipelines, model CI/CD, monitoring, and automated retraining workflows. Familiarity with Spark/Databricks, SQL and large-scale data processing.
Cloud experience (AWS and/or Azure) and delivering services with production security, identity, and networking concerns.
Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements (customer success/support workflows) into technical solutions and to communicate complex technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders.
Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field, or equivalent experience.
Skills & behaviors we value
Strategic technical thinker who pairs vision with pragmatic execution.
Customer-obsessed: focuses on measurable customer outcomes and operational efficiency.
Collaborative across product, support, security, and external partners.
Data-driven: designs experiments and uses metrics to prioritize and iterate.
Pragmatic AI champion: knows both the opportunity and limits of generative systems and operationalizes them responsibly.
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.
The annual base pay for this position is: $171,600.00 - $257,400.00F5 maintains broad salary ranges for its roles in order to account for variations in knowledge, skills, experience, geographic locations, and market conditions, as well as to reflect F5’s differing products, industries, and lines of business. The pay range referenced is as of the time of the job posting and is subject to change.
You may also be offered incentive compensation, bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. More details about F5’s benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.f5.com/company/careers/benefits. F5 reserves the right to change or terminate any benefit plan without notice.
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 [email protected].
Skills Required
- 10+ years software engineering experience (or equivalent) with recent experience building and shipping ML/AI systems to production.
- 6+ years building full-stack systems at scale.
- Strong experience in React.js, Next.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Go, and Java.
- Deep applied ML expertise: model training, evaluation, feature engineering, experimental design, productionization, and familiarity with transformers/LLMs.
- Hands-on experience with LLMs: fine-tuning, prompt engineering, RAG, conversational agents, summarization, and mitigation of failure modes.
- Strong MLOps and data engineering experience: data pipelines, model CI/CD, monitoring, automated retraining; familiarity with Spark/Databricks and large-scale data processing.
- Cloud experience with AWS and/or Azure (S3, DynamoDB, Aurora, Kinesis, Blob Storage, Cosmos DB, AKS); production security, identity, and networking.
- Backend expertise in Java using modern frameworks (Spring Boot, Hibernate) and building scalable APIs and microservices.
- Experience building production ML services with scalable inference, caching, batching, and latency SLAs; strong Python programming skills.
- Experience with CI/CD tools (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins) and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, ARM, Bicep).
- Containerization and orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes (AKS/EKS).
- Design and implement event-driven architectures using Solace, Kafka, or AWS SNS/SQS.
- Proficient in testing strategies for Java applications using JUnit, TestNG, Mockito, Selenium, and Cucumber.
- Ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions and communicate tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders.
- Bachelor's or advanced degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field, or equivalent experience.
F5 Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about F5 and has not been reviewed or approved by F5.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants and an employee stock purchase plan are positioned as meaningful parts of total compensation, with RSUs and a discount ESPP commonly included. Pay packages for many technical roles are considered competitive when equity is taken into account.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid vacation that increases with tenure, sick time, paid holidays, and paid family leave are prominently featured. Additional programs like volunteer time and periodic wellness long weekends are highlighted as part of the time-off ecosystem.
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Inclusive Benefits Coverage — Health plans include travel support for specific care (such as reproductive and gender‑affirming services) and mental health resources, alongside comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage. These elements are presented as part of a broad, inclusive approach to healthcare.
F5 Insights
What We Do
F5 application services ensure that applications are always secure and perform the way they should—in any environment and on any device. F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) powers applications from development through their entire life cycle, across any multi-cloud environment, so our customers – enterprise businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands—can deliver differentiated, high-performing, and secure digital experiences.
