Machine Learning Engineer – World Model

Institute of Foundation Models; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 450,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Bonus

401K plan

PTO

Parental leave

EAP

Life insurance

Job summary

Institute of Foundation Models in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Machine Learning Engineer focused on ML infrastructure and MLOps to design and operate scalable systems powering our research environment. You will collaborate with researchers to translate experimental workflows into production-ready pipelines, emphasizing reliability, observability, and cost efficiency.

You will design and implement scalable ML infrastructure, data pipelines, and model evaluation systems, partnering closely with

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in MLOps, ML infrastructure, or related backend/platform engineering roles.
• Strong experience with cloud platforms (preferably AWS) for compute, storage, and access control.
• Experience designing and operating distributed systems (Kubernetes, Ray, or similar).
• Solid software engineering skills (Python, Docker, Git).
• Familiarity with data processing pipelines and orchestration tools (Spark, Kafka).
• Experience with observability practices (monitoring, logging, alerting).
• Ability to translate ambiguous requirements into production-ready systems in collaboration with researchers.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate scalable ML infrastructure on AWS (compute, storage, networking, access control).
• Develop and maintain MLOps workflows for data versioning and experiment tracking.
• Build and manage distributed data processing and model evaluation pipelines.
• Own architecture decisions for ML infrastructure with focus on reliability, scalability, and cost efficiency.
• Implement observability across systems including monitoring, logging, and alerting.
• Integrate OpenWebUI, Gradio, or similar UIs for data quality assurance.
• Collaborate with researchers to translate experimental workflows into production-grade systems.

Skills

MLOps

Cloud AWS

Distributed systems

Python

Docker

Git

Observability

Tools

Kubernetes

Ray

Spark

Kafka

OpenWebUI

Gradio

Job description

About the Institute of Foundation Models

We are a dedicated research lab for building, understanding, using, and risk-managing foundation models. Our mandate is to advance research, nurture the next generation of AI builders, and drive transformative contributions to a knowledge-driven economy.

As part of our team,you’llhave the opportunity to work on the core ofcutting-edgefoundation model training, alongside world-class researchers, data scientists, and engineers, tackling the most fundamental and impactful challenges in AI development. You willparticipatein the development of groundbreaking AI solutions that have the potential to reshape entire industries. Strategic and innovative problem-solving skills will be instrumental in establishing MBZUAI as a global hub for high-performance computing in deep learning, driving impactful discoveries that inspire the next generation of AI pioneers.

The Team

We are theAllWorldTeamunder theInstitute of Foundation Model (IFM)atMBZUAI. AtAllWorld, we are pioneering the development of thePAN (Physical, Agentic, and Networked) world models—thenext-generationfoundation models to unlock machine intelligence beyond lingual.

Our mission is to tackle the fundamental challenges of world modeling andestablishanew paradigm for next-generation machine reasoning. We are looking for passionate individuals who share our vision and are eager to push the boundaries of AI together.

Role Overview

• We’relooking for a Machine Learning Engineer focused onML infrastructure andMLOpsto design andoperatethe systems that power our research environment.You’llbuild scalable, reliable, and observable cloud infrastructure, working closely with researchers to support data pipelines, experimentation, andevaluationworkflows.
• This role balancesfast-moving research needs with production-grade systems, ensuring that experimental work can scale reliably when needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, andoperatescalable ML infrastructure on AWS (e.g., compute, storage, networking, access control).
• Develop and maintainMLOpsworkflows for data versioning
• Build and manage distributed systems for large-scale data processing(filtering, captioning, etc.)and model evaluation.
• Own architecture decisions for ML infrastructure and drive best practices in reliability, scalability, and cost efficiency.
• Implement observability across systems, including monitoring, logging, and alerting.
• IntegrateOpenWebUI,Gradio, or similar UIs for data quality assurance
• Build andmaintaindashboards for experiment tracking and system health.
• Partner closely with researchers to translate experimental workflows into robust, scalable systems.

Qualifications

Must-Haves

• 3+ yearsof experience inMLOps, ML infrastructure, or related backend/platform engineering roles.
• Strong experience with cloud platforms (preferably AWS) and core services forcompute, storage, and access control.
• Experience designing andoperatingdistributed systems (e.g., Kubernetes, Ray, or similar frameworks).
• Solid software engineering skills, including system design, debugging, and testing (Python, Docker, Git).
• Familiarity with data processing and pipeline orchestration tools (e.g., Spark, Kafka, or similar).
• Experience with observability practices (monitoring, logging, alerting).
• Ability to work closely with researchers and translate ambiguous requirements into production-ready systems.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience in fast-paced or research-driven environments.
• Experience with large-scale video or multimodal data pipelines.
• Experience building automated model evaluation or benchmarking systems.
• Knowledge of cost optimization, security, and networking in multi-tenant environments.
• Familiarity with modern developer and AI-assisted coding(e.g., Codex, Cursor, Claude Code)

$150,000 - $450,000 a year

Visa Sponsorship

This position is eligible for visa sponsorship.

Benefits Include

• *Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• *Bonus
• *401K Plan
• *Generous paid time off, sick leave and holidays
• *Paid Parental Leave
• *Employee Assistance Program
• *Life insurance and disability