Machine Learning Sales Engineer

lightningai; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Lightning AI in New York is seeking a highly skilled Machine Learning Solutions Engineer to serve as a technical partner to our go-to-market teams. You will translate complex customer requirements into scalable AI and ML solutions on the Lightning AI platform, leading technical discovery, demonstrations, and POCs.

In this role, you will engage cross-functionally with Sales, Product, Engineering, Customer Success, and Partnerships to accelerate customer adoption, influence product direction, and

Qualifications

• 5-7 years in solutions engineering or related leadership roles.
• Ability to simplify AI and architecture concepts for non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience partnering with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Marketing.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and talent development experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical discovery and product demonstrations.
• Translate customer requirements into scalable ML solutions on the Lightning AI platform.
• Conduct proofs-of-concept and post-sales engagements.
• Collaborate with Sales, Product, Engineering, and Customer Success to drive adoption.

Skills

Solutions engineering

Sales engineering

Cross-functional collaboration

Talent development

Forecasting & accountability

Startup leadership

Job description

Who We Are

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems-designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction.

Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in.

We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute.

The Way We Work

The people who thrive here are builders who move fast, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously improve themselves, their teams, and our company. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping.
• Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through.
• Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together.
• Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work.
• Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most.
• Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.

Machie Learning System Engineer

Team: Solutions Engineering

Location: [NYC] - Hybrid

Reports to: Head of Solution Engineering

About Lightning AI

Lightning AI is building the platform and infrastructure that make it dramatically easier for teams to develop, train, deploy, and scale AI systems. As the company behind PyTorch Lightning, and following our merger with Voltage Park, we bring together developer-first AI tooling with high-performance compute infrastructure for researchers, startups, and enterprises building at the frontier of AI.

We operate with a simple set of values: Move Fast, Focus, Balance, Craftsmanship, and Minimal. We care about people who can operate with urgency, solve hard problems directly, and build with high standards without creating unnecessary complexity.

What You’ll Do

As a customer-facing Machine Learning Solutions Engineer, you will serve as a key technical partner to our go-to-market organization, translating complex customer requirements into scalable AI and machine learning solutions on the Lightning AI platform. You will lead technical discovery, product demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, and post-sales engagements, helping customers successfully evaluate, deploy, and expand their use of the platform. Working at the intersection of customers, sales, product, and engineering, you will bring deep technical expertise to the sales process while translating real-world customer needs into actionable product insights. This highly cross-functional role is critical to accelerating customer adoption, influencing product direction, and demonstrating the business and technical value of Lightning A I.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years in solutions engineering, sales engineering, field engineering, technical pre-sales, ML infrastructure, or related technical leadership roles.
• Deep understanding of complex technical selling, enterprise evaluation cycles, POCs, executive alignment, and cross-functional deal execution.
• Credibility with technical buyers and the ability to simplify AI, infrastructure, platform, and architecture concepts for senior business stakeholders.
• Experience partnering closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, Customer Success, Partnerships, Marketing, and Revenue Operations.
• Strong talent judgment and a track record of hiring, coaching, and developing technical field leaders.
• A high-accountability operating style with strong forecasting discipline, field inspection, and customer follow-through.
• Comfort leading in a fast-moving startup where the market, product, and GTM motion are evolving quickly.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience in AI infrastructure, cloud infrastructure, developer platforms, MLOps, data platforms, GPUs, or high-performance compute.
• Experience building a solutions engineering organization through rapid growth or category creation.
• Hands-on technical background in software engineering, ML engineering, platform engineering, infrastructure, or data systems.
• Experience supporting both direct enterprise sales and partner/channel technical motions.

Why Lightning AI

You will help define how companies build and scale real AI systems, not just sell another generic so