Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Personalization

Loblaw Companies Limited; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Loblaw Digital is seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to lead the development of innovative ML systems that enhance personalized experiences for millions of Canadians. This role involves technical leadership, collaboration with teams, and shaping the future of personalized commerce. Candidates should have extensive experience in ML engineering, particularly in recommendation systems and deep learning. The position is full-time and based in Toronto, with a strong emphasis on mentorship and strategic influence.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in ML engineering with technical leadership.
• Proven expertise in recommendation systems and personalization.
• Strong communication skills for collaboration across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Define the technical vision for personalization and recommendation systems.
• Architect and lead development of large-scale ML systems.
• Mentor senior engineers and drive long-term strategy for ML platforms.

Skills

Python

SQL

Deep Learning

ML Engineering

Mentorship

Communication

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Airflow

GCP

Vertex AI

BigQuery

Job description

Loblaw Digital est l’équipe responsable de la construction et de l’exploitation des activités numériques pour le plus grand et le plus prospère détaillant au Canada. Nous créons des solutions de commerce électronique de pointe réactives, dont le site Cliquez et ramassez de Loblaws, qui offre une expérience de courses alimentaires en ligne novatrice. Nous avons également mis au point, et exploitons maintenant, le site primé JoeFresh.com, ainsi que l’application pour iPad et iPhone. Nous sommes établis dans le centre-ville de Toronto et fonctionnons comme une jeune entreprise, mais disposons des ressources d’une entreprise beaucoup plus importante. Nous sommes une équipe sympathique d’entrepreneurs en constante évolution qui travaille en collaboration en vue de transformer la façon dont les Canadiens magasinent.

Pourquoi ce role est-il important?

Please note, Loblaw's Return To Office Policy is 4 days in office

We are looking for a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to help shape the future of personalization at Loblaw Digital. This is a high-impact, hands-on technical leadership role that goes beyond individual contribution—your work will guide the architecture, scalability, and innovation of ML systems that power personalized experiences for millions of Canadians.

You will collaborate with engineering leaders, product managers and ML practitioners to develop cutting-edge systems—including multimodal recommendation engines, generative AI applications, and real-time inference platforms. As a Staff Engineer, you will act as a force multiplier: solving technically complex problems, mentoring senior engineers, and driving long-term strategy for our ML platforms.

As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer, you’ll be empowered to shape the future of personalized commerce through your technical leadership, curiosity, and impact. You'll have the opportunity to:

• Work with world-class engineers, data scientists, and product teams
• Lead development on cutting-edge ML projects that directly affect millions of customers.
• Make strategic decisions that shape our personalization roadmap and ML stack.
• Elevate the technical capabilities of the organization through mentorship and innovation.

What You'll Do:

• Define and drive the technical vision for personalization and recommendation systems, with a focus on scalability, performance, and innovation.
• Architect and lead development of large-scale, production-grade ML systems, including deep learning models, real-time inference services, and end-to-end ML pipelines.
• Champion the use of multimodal data (text, image, behavioral, contextual) to power highly personalized recommendations.
• Lead initiatives in generative AI, driving product discovery experiences through LLMs and related models.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering Managers, ML Engineers, and Product to translate complex business goals into robust, scalable systems.
• Set standards for technical excellence, contributing to architecture reviews, code quality, observability, and performance.
• Mentor senior engineers, conduct design and code reviews, and help teams navigate architectural trade-offs.
• Partner with infrastructure teams to evolve our ML platform and tooling using GCP, Vertex AI, BigQuery, Airflow (Cloud Composer), Docker, and Kubernetes.
• Rapidly prototype and develop proof-of-concept projects to explore and validate new ideas
• Stay current on advancements in AI/ML and continuously evaluate new technologies for potential adoption.

Does This Sound Like You?

• 10+ years of experience in ML engineering, with a track record of technical leadership on high-impact ML systems.
• Proven expertise in recommendation systems, personalization, or search ranking.
• Deep understanding of deep learning (especially with PyTorch or TensorFlow) and ML infrastructure at scale.
• Experience building real-time inference systems and working with multimodal architectures.
• Proficient in Python, SQL, and cloud-native development (preferably GCP).
• Experience designing and deploying robust, observable, and scalable systems.
• Familiar with tools like Docker, Kubernetes, Airflow (Cloud Composer), and distributed compute frameworks (e.g., Spark).
• Able to think strategically and influence decisions beyond your immediate team.
• Strong communication skills—you can explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and collaborate across disciplines.
• Passionate about mentorship, knowledge sharing, and fostering an inclusive, high-performing technical culture.

Comment Réussir:

Chez Loblaw Digital, nous recherchons toujours des personnes formidables pour continuellement renforcer notre culture. Nous croyons que les gens formidables façonnent nos valeurs, sont authentiques, bâtissent la confiance et créent des liens.

Si cela vous ressemble et que vous êtes ouvert d’esprit, que vous avez une bonne attitude face aux changements et que vous aimez les défis d’un environnement de travail aux détails dynamiques, postulez aujourd’hui.

Type d'emploi: Temps plein

Role: Poste régulier

Chez Loblaw Digital limitée considère que la diversité culturelle du Canada est une source de fierté nationale et un symbole de stabilité. Nous nous sommes donné comme priorité de refléter les diversités culturelles de notre pays dans les produits que nous vendons, les gens que nous embauchons et notre culture d’entreprise. Des mesures d’adaptation sont offertes sur demande pour les candidats et les collègues qui ont des handicaps.

En outre, nous croyons que la conformité aux lois consiste à faire ce qu'il faut. Le respect de la loi fait partie de notre Code de conduite; il renforce ce que nos clients et nos parties prenantes attendent de nous.