Lead Machine Learning Engineer (AI/ML), ITC

Nike; Karnataka; On-site; INR 3,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Nike Inc seeks a Lead AI/ML Engineer to shape and deliver scalable machine learning and generative AI solutions across corporate functions. You will own projects end-to-end, set technical direction, mentor engineers, and collaborate with stakeholders to drive measurable business impact.

You will work with AWS, SageMaker, Postgres, Redis, and data processing tools to build robust production systems, while upholding strong coding standards in Python within an agile product model.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or related field.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• 3+ years in ML engineering or related field.
• Demonstrated leadership in agile environments.

Responsibilities

• Own AI/ML projects end-to-end from concept to production.
• Set technical direction and mentor teammates to deliver value.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and other technology teams.

Skills

Python

Algorithms & DS

Team leadership

AWS

MLOps

CI/CD

Communication

SQL

Spark

Docker

Kubernetes

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

SageMaker

Databricks

Postgres

Redis

Airflow

Terraform

API Gateway

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Scikit-learn

Job description

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We seek passionate engineers to join our team. As a Lead AI/ML Engineer, you will influence and develop robust machine learning and generative AI solutions that have a direct impact on the business. You should have experience in Python; a strong background in algorithms and data structures; hands‑on AWS experience; as well as experience in database technology (e.g. Postgres, Redis) and data processing technology (e.g. SageMaker or Databricks). You should also have a demonstrable history of team leadership and value delivery, and be comfortable working in an agile product model.

As a Lead AI/ML Engineer, you will be expected to own projects end‑to‑end - from conception to operationalization - demonstrating a command of the full software development lifecycle. You will set the technical direction for your team, provide vision and guidance to your teammates, and raise the bar on engineering quality; therefore, strong communication and leadership skills are critical in this role.

WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON

If this is you, you’ll be working with the Corporate Functions Artificial Intelligence team at Nike focused on delivering AI capabilities for Nike’s corporate functions. With teammates globally distributed, you’ll be joining a global organization working to solve machine learning problems at scale. You’ll be designing and implementing scalable applications that leverage prediction models and optimization programs to deliver data driven decisions that result in immense business impact. You’ll also contribute to core advanced analytics, machine learning, and generative AI platforms and tools to enable both prediction and optimization model development. You thrive when surrounded by talented colleagues and aim to never stop learning. We are looking for candidates who enjoy a collaborative and academic environment where we develop and share new skills, mentor, and contribute knowledge and software back to the analytics and engineering communities both within Nike and at‑large.

WHO YOU WILL WORK WITH

You will work closely with business stakeholders, product owners, and your peers within the engineering team to ensure the successful delivery of solutions. Additionally, you will work with other technology teams that lead the up and down‑streams solutions to coordinate dependencies.

WHAT YOU BRING

To make it clear, we're not looking for just anyone. We're looking for someone special, someone who had these experiences and clearly demonstrated these skills:

• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, a Master's degree in a related engineering field, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of professional experience in software engineering
• 3+ years of experience in the field of Machine Learning Engineering or related fields
• A demonstrable history of technical leadership, mentoring engineers, and delivering value in an agile product model
• Strong analytical mindset and experience leading others in problem solving
• Proficiency working in a team and mentoring others to write robust, maintainable, and extendable code in Python; containerized in Docker, and automated with CI/CD
• Expertise with agile development and test‑driven development
• Expertise with data structures, data modeling and software architecture
• Expertise in producing predictive or mathematical optimization models and deploying them to production
• Expertise in MLOps and an ability to articulate the role of MLOps in the machine learning development lifecycle from experimentation to production and measurement
• Familiarity with frameworks such as Scikit‑learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Spark, FastAPI or similar platforms and frameworks
• Experience with complex data sets, ETL pipelines, SQL, and general data engineering
• Expertise with cloud architecture and technologies, especially Amazon Web Services: ECR, SageMaker, Lambda, API Gateway
• Familiarity with pipeline orchestration tools such as Airflow or Databricks Workflows
• Experience with database technology (e.g. Postgres, Redis) and data processing technology (e.g. SageMaker or Databricks)
• Expertise with Spark, Kubernetes, Docker, Jenkins, Databricks, or Terraform is highly desirable
• Effective communication skills with team members, stakeholders, the business, and in code
• Experience influencing technical strategy through all aspects of technical design and implementation
• Proficiency providing technical leadership within a team and mentorship to others