Manager, Machine Learning Engineering

GoFundMe; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 219,000 - 329,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Healthcare benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401(k)

Job summary

GoFundMe is seeking an experienced ML/AI Operations leader to own the reliability and scale of production ML systems across the platform. You will lead a team of engineers, set technical direction, and partner with data science to streamline model deployment, CI/CD, and observability.

You will drive on-call processes, SLOs/SLAs, and incident response while balancing innovation with safety and cost. Extensive cloud, Python, and ML framework expertise are essential.

Qualifications

• 7+ years building production ML systems in high-availability environments.
• 1–3+ years directly managing engineers, hiring and developing teams.
• Strong proficiency in Python and ML libraries (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn).
• Experience designing real-time model serving at scale and CI/CD for ML.
• Data engineering fluency with SQL, Spark/Databricks, and Snowflake.

Responsibilities

• Own reliability, scalability, and health of ML/AI production systems.
• Lead and grow ML/AI operations engineering team.
• Partner with data science to streamline model deployment and CI/CD.
• Drive ML observability, automated retraining, and incident response.
• Manage vendor relationships and make build-vs-buy decisions.

Skills

Python

ML Ops

Leadership

CI/CD

Model serving

Observability

SQL

Cloud platforms

Education

Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in CS/Stats/Data Science

Tools

AWS

Databricks

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Snowflake

GitHub

Job description

Want to help us help others? We’re hiring!

GoFundMe is the world’s most powerful community for good, dedicated to helping people help each other. By uniting individuals and nonprofits in one place, GoFundMe makes it easy and safe for people to ask for help and support causes – for themselves and each other. Together, our community has raised more than $40 billion since 2010.

Candidates considered for this role will be located in the San Francisco Bay Area. There will be an in‑office requirement of 3x a week.

The Job

• Own the reliability, scalability, and operational health of ML/AI production systems across GoFundMe, including training pipelines, feature stores, model serving, and monitoring/observability infrastructure.
• Lead, hire, and grow a team of ML/AI operations engineers, setting technical direction through design reviews, architecture decisions, and shared best practices for production ML and AI systems.
• Partner with data science and ML engineering teams to streamline the path from model development to production deployment, including CI/CD for ML, model packaging, versioning, and rollback strategies.
• Establish ML operational excellence org-wide by driving standards for model observability (latency, errors, drift, calibration, business KPI deltas), automated retraining triggers, and incident response playbooks.
• Build and mature on‑call processes, SLOs/SLAs, and postmortem practices for ML/AI systems, treating model incidents with the same discipline as production infrastructure incidents.
• Drive operational strategy for GoFundMe's generative AI systems alongside traditional ML, balancing innovation velocity with safety, compliance, cost, and reliability.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with Product, Engineering, Design, and Legal/Privacy stakeholders to translate business goals into team priorities and measurable operational outcomes.
• Manage vendor and platform relationships (e.g., cloud ML platforms, LLM providers) and make build‑vs‑buy calls that balance cost, control, and speed.
• Report on team health, system reliability metrics, and operational risk to senior engineering leadership.
• Employ a diverse set of tools and platforms, including Python, AWS, Databricks, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Snowflake, and GitHub, to guide your team in developing, deploying, and maintaining scalable and robust machine learning systems.

You

• 7+ years of hands‑on experience building and shipping production machine learning systems, with demonstrated ownership of backend services and ML pipelines in a high‑availability environment.
• 1‑3+ years of experience directly managing engineers, ideally in an MLOps, ML platform, or infrastructure context, with a track record of hiring and developing strong teams.
• Strong proficiency in Python and ML libraries/frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit‑learn, plus strong software engineering fundamentals (testing, code review, CI/CD, API design, performance, and reliability) — enough depth to stay hands‑on and credible with your team.
• Experience designing and operating real‑time model serving at scale, including containerization, scalable inference, feature retrieval, and safe rollout strategies (canaries, shadowing, backward‑compatible schema evolution).
• Strong data engineering fluency: building reliable datasets and features using SQL, Spark/Databricks, and warehouse technologies (e.g., Snowflake), with an understanding of event semantics, identity resolution, and data quality controls.
• Proven experience implementing ML monitoring for both technical and business metrics (drift, calibration, segment performance, latency, error budgets) and running models reliably in production.
• Familiarity with generative AI/LLM infrastructure and operational considerations (latency, cost, safety guardrails) is a strong plus.
• Ability to break down ambiguous, high‑impact problems, define crisp interfaces and success metrics, and deliver iteratively while managing stakeholder expectations across engineering leadership, product, and data science.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills and a proven ability to raise the bar on architecture, engineering quality, and operational rigor for production ML/AI systems.
• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Statistics, Data Science, or a related technical field is preferred.
• Sense of humor is optional but appreciated.

Why you’ll love it here

• Make an Impact: Be part of a mission‑driven organization making a positive difference in millions of lives every year.
• Innovative Environment: Work with a diverse, passionate, and talented team in a fast‑paced, forward‑thinking atmosphere.
• Collaborative Team: Join a fun and collaborative team that works hard and celebrates success together.
• Competitive Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay and comprehensive healthcare benefits.
• Holistic Support: Enjoy financial assistance for things like hybrid work, family planning, along with generous parental leave, flexible time‑off policies, and mental health and wellness resources to support your overall well‑being.
• Growth Opportunities: Participate in learning, development, and recognition programs to help you thrive and grow.
• Commitment to DEI: Contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion through ongoing initiatives and employee resource groups.
• Community Engagement: Make a difference through our volunteering program.

We live by our core values:

impatient to be great, find a way, earn trust every day, fueled by purpose. Be a part of something bigger with us!

GoFundMe is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that actively pursues candidates of diverse backgrounds and experiences. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, nationality or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, age, medical condition, mental or physical disability, or military or veteran status.

The annual U.S. salary range for this full‑time position is $219,000 - $329,000. The company also offers equity and other benefits to employees, including healthcare, dental, vision, life insurance and 401(k) saving program. In addition to this wage, there are geolocation differentials that will increase pay depending on the work location. Additionally pay may vary depending on other factors including skills, experience, education, or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific total compensation package based on your location during the hiring process.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete a job application or a job interview or to otherwise participate in the hiring process, please fill out this accommodation form.

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Learn More About GoFundMe

We’re proud to partner with GoFundMe.org, an independent public charity, to extend the reach and impact of our generous community, while helping drive critical social change. You can learn more about GoFundMe.org’s activities and impact in their FY ’26 annual report.

Our annual “Year in Help” report reflects our community’s impact in advancing our mission of helping people help each other.

For recent company news and announcements, visit our Newsroom.