Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Search & Intelligence

Atlassian; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 240,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Equity and incentives

Bonuses and compensation programs

Flexible work options

Job summary

At Atlassian, we’re seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to join the Search & Intelligence organization in Seattle. You’ll lead the development and deployment of cutting-edge ML algorithms powering AI capabilities across Atlassian’s products, partnering with product, engineering, and analytics teams to translate complex business needs into impactful solutions.

The role offers flexible work options—office, remote, or hybrid—and a compensation program that includes potential bonuses and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in CS or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• At least five years of ML, data science, or related industry experience.
• Strong programming skills in Python and Java/Kotlin/TypeScript.
• Proficiency in SQL; experience with Spark and AWS/Databricks.
• Experience building, deploying, and scaling ML models for business applications using large datasets.
• Strong communication skills to explain data science concepts to diverse audiences.
• Pragmatic, business-focused approach; value delivery over perfection.
• Agile mindset and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and implementation of ML algorithms and models powering AI capabilities.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and analytics teams to translate needs into solutions.
• Design system and model architectures; lead experiments and evaluation.
• Provide technical mentorship to ML engineers.
• Help shape Atlassian's AI strategy and implementation across products.

Skills

Python

Java/Kotlin/TypeScript

SQL

Spark

AWS/Databricks

ML deployment

Communication

Agile mindset

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Spark

Databricks

AWS

Job description

Engineering | Seattle, United States | Remote, Remote | San Francisco, United States | Mountain View, United States or Remote |

Atlassian is a global leader in team collaboration and productivity software, empowering teams to unleash their potential and achieve remarkable results. Our suite of tools, including Jira, Confluence, Trello, Bitbucket, and Rovo, is trusted by millions of users worldwide to plan, track, and manage their work effectively. At Atlassian, we are dedicated to building innovative tools and technologies that drive the future of work.

We are looking for a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to join our Search & Intelligence organization. The team builds Atlassian’s flagship AI products, including agentic search and chat, long-horizon agents, and capabilities that enrich Atlassian’s Teamwork Graph. We also develop the frameworks, models, and infrastructure that accelerate AI feature development across the company.

Working at Atlassian

Atlassians can choose where they work – whether in an office, from home, or a combination of the two. That way, Atlassians have more control over supporting their family, personal goals, and other priorities. We can hire people in any country where we have a legal entity.

What you’ll do

As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer, you will lead the development and implementation of cutting-edge machine learning algorithms and sophisticated models that power AI capabilities across Atlassian’s products and services. You will collaborate closely with product, engineering, and analytics teams to translate complex business and customer needs into impactful solutions.

Your responsibilities will span designing system and model architectures, leading rigorous experimentation and evaluation, and providing technical mentorship to emerging ML engineers. Beyond these core responsibilities, you will help shape our AI strategy and ensure its transformative potential is realized across Atlassian.

At Atlassian, we strive to design equitable, explainable, and competitive compensation programs. We follow consistent hiring practices and account for each candidate's skills, knowledge, and experience when setting base pay within the range.

Please visit go.atlassian.com/payzones for more information on which locations are included in each of our geographic pay zones. However, please confirm the zone for your specific location with your recruiter.

This role may also be eligible for benefits, bonuses, commissions, and equity.

In The United States, we have three geographic pay zones. For this role, our current base pay ranges for new hires in each zone are:

Zone A: $236,700 - $309,025

Zone B: $213,030 - $278,123

Zone C: $196,461 - $256,491

On your first day, we’ll expect you to have

A bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

At least five years of relevant industry experience in machine learning, data science, or a related discipline.

Strong programming skills in Python and one or more production languages such as Java, Kotlin, or TypeScript.

Proficiency in SQL and experience with Spark and cloud-based data environments such as AWS or Databricks.

Experience building, deploying, and scaling machine learning models for business applications using large, complex datasets.

Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain data science concepts to diverse audiences and tell compelling, data-driven stories.

A pragmatic, business-focused approach. You hold a high bar for quality while applying the 80/20 principle and recognizing when delivering a valuable solution today is better than pursuing perfection later.

An agile mindset and an appreciation for continuous iteration, learning, and improvement.

It’s great, but not required, if you have

Experience fine-tuning, post-training, and optimizing state-of-the-art large language models, embedding models, and ranking models.

Experience developing and evaluating advanced agentic AI systems, including tool-using agents capable of planning, multi-step reasoning, and autonomous task execution.

Experience working in consumer or B2C environments, SaaS, or enterprise and B2B products.

A track record of solving ambiguous and complex problems by navigating uncertainty, breaking challenges into manageable components, and developing innovative, practical solutions.

Atlassian offers a wide range of perks and benefits designed to support you, your family and to help you engage with your local community. Our offerings include health and wellbeing resources, paid volunteer days, and so much more. To learn more, visit go.atlassian.com/perksandbenefits .

About Atlassian

At Atlassian, we're motivated by a common goal: to unleash the potential of every team. Our software products help teams all over the planet and our solutions are designed for all types of work. Team collaboration through our tools makes what may be impossible alone, possible together.

We believe that the unique contributions of all Atlassians create our success. To ensure that our products and culture continue to incorporate everyone's perspectives and experience, we never discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

To provide you the best experience, we can support with accommodations or adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Simply inform our Recruitment team during your conversation with them.

In line with local law, identity verification (which may include use of biometric data) is a condition of employment with Atlassian for employment fraud purposes.

Don’t see an exact role match? No problem! Join our Talent Community and stay up‑to‑date on company and careers updates relevant to your career.