Lead Machine Learning Engineer - Merchandising AI (ML Ops)

Target; Brooklyn Park (MN); Hybrid; USD 132,000 - 238,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote or Hybrid work arrangement

Health benefits and 401(k)

Job summary

Target is hiring a Lead Machine Learning Engineer for Merchandising AI to design and optimize production ML solutions at scale. You will join a Data Sciences team focused on predictive algorithms powering merchandising products and decisioning workflows.

You will mentor engineers, participate in code reviews, and collaborate across data science, software, and product management to deliver high-impact ML models while embracing cloud-native development and best practices.

Qualifications

• MS in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Physics or equivalent work experience in applied machine learning.
• 5+ years of experience in end-to-end ML application development, including data pipelining, model optimization, deployment and API design.
• Extensive experience with applied ML frameworks and distributed ML systems at scale.
• Highly proficient in Python programming and strong CI/CD practices for ML systems.
• Experience with Google Cloud Vertex AI and cloud ML ecosystem; familiarity with Docker and Kubernetes.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, implementation, and optimization of production machine learning solutions for merchandising.
• Collaborate with data scientists, software engineers and product managers to deliver scalable ML solutions.
• Review code, ensure maintainable, well-tested codebase with documentation; share knowledge across teams.

Skills

Python programming

ML Ops

CI/CD for ML

REST API design

Data pipelines

Distributed ML systems

Communication skills

Mentoring engineers

Team collaboration

Project management

Education

MS in Computer Science or Applied Mathematics

4-year degree in quantitative disciplines

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Google Cloud Vertex AI

REST API development tools

Hadoop

Spark

Kafka

Job description

JOIN US AS A LEAD MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER - MERCHANDISING AI

The pay range is $132,000.00 - $238,000.00

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.

About Us:

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.

A role with TargetData Sciencesmeans the chance to help develop and manage the state of the art predictive algorithms that use data at scale to automate and optimize decisions at scale. Whether you join our Applied Data Sciences or Machine Learning teams, you’ll be challenged to harness Target's impressive data breadth to build the algorithms that power solutions our partners in Digital Marketing, Supply Chain Optimization, Advanced AI, Search and Personalization rely on. Every Scientist on Target's Data Sciences team can expect modeling and data science, software/product development of highly performant code for model performance at scale.

As the Lead Machine Learning Engineer - Merchandising, you will join a Data Sciences team responsible for creating and optimizing the data and models used to build a world-class merchandising product. You will play a crucial role in designing, implementing, and optimizing production machine learning solutions. We will also expect you to understand best practice software design, participate in code reviews, and create a maintainable well-tested codebase with relevant documentation. At an organizational level, you may conduct training sessions, present work to technical and non-technical peers/leaders, build knowledge on business priorities/strategic goals and leverage this knowledge while building requirements and solutions for each business need.

Core responsibilities of this job are articulated within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

About you:

• 4-year degree in Quantitative disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or equivalent experience
• MS in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Physics or equivalent work or industry experience in applied machine learning
• 5 plus years of experience in end-to-end machine learning application development, including data pipelining, model optimization, deployment and API design
• Extensive experience with applied machine learning frameworks and the ability to developing highly distributed machine learning systems at scale
• Highly proficient in Python programming
• Strong understanding of CI/CD practices for machine learning systems and ML Ops principles
• Extensive experience with Google Cloud's Vertex AI and/or the broader cloud-based ML ecosystem
• Demonstrated knowledge of various testing frameworks and containerization like Docker and Kubernetes
• Lead the development of agentic AI solutions that connect data, tools, APIs and business rules into end-to-end decisioning workflows
• Demonstrated experience in REST API design and development
• Extensive understanding of Big Data technologies including Hadoop, Spark and Kafka
• Proven ability to collaborate with data scientists, software engineers and product managers to deliver scalable machine learning solutions
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to tell data-driven stories through visualizations and narratives
• Ability to mentor engineers and help establish engineering standards, architecture patterns, and best practices for AI/ML and cloud-native development.
• Self-driven, results-oriented and able to meet tight deadlines
• Motivated team player who thrives in a collaborative global environment

This position may be considered for a Remote or Hybrid (known internally at Target as "Flex for Your Day") work arrangement based on Target's needs. A Remote work arrangement means the team member works full-time from home or a alternate location that's not a Target location, does not have a desk at a Target location and may travel to HQ up to 4 times a year. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member's core role may be performed either remote or onsite at a Target location depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.

Benefits Eligibility

Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_E

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to [e-mail]. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.

Application deadline is : 10/29/2026