Senior Machine Learning Engineer

Attentive; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 244,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellness benefits

Equity options

Job summary

A leading AI marketing platform is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to build and operate scalable ML systems that drive real-time personalization. The ideal candidate will have over 6 years of experience in production ML software, strong Python skills, and familiarity with frameworks like TensorFlow and PyTorch. This full-time position, located in San Francisco, offers an annual salary range of $244,000 to $320,000 plus equity and benefits.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional experience building production machine-learning software systems.
• Proven experience owning ML systems with clear downstream impact.
• Strong proficiency in Python and experience with ML frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Design and operate scalable machine learning systems for real-time targeting.
• Own ML projects from data exploration to deployment and monitoring.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to translate business problems into ML solutions.

Skills

Machine learning systems

Python programming

Data processing

Collaboration

Communication skills

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Kubernetes

AWS

SQL

Job description

Attentive® is the AI marketing platform for 1:1 personalization redefining the way brands and people connect. We’re the only marketing platform that combines powerful technology with human expertise to build authentic customer relationships. By unifying SMS, RCS, email, and push notifications, our AI-powered personalization engine delivers bespoke experiences that drive performance, revenue, and loyalty through real-time behavioral insights.

Recognized as the #1 provider in SMS Marketing by G2, Attentive partners with more than 8,000 customers across 70+ industries. Leading global brands like Crate and Barrel, Urban Outfitters, and Carter’s work with us to enable billions of interactions that power tens of billions in revenue for our customers.

With a distributed global workforce and employee hubs in New York City, San Francisco, London, and Sydney, Attentive’s team has been consistently recognized for its performance and culture. We’re proud to be included in Deloitte’s Fast 500 (four years running!), LinkedIn’s Top Startups, Forbes’ Cloud 100 (five years running!), and Inc.’s Best Workplaces.

About The Role

Our Machine Learning Engineering team powers personalized experiences for hundreds of millions of customers across thousands of brands. As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, you will play a critical role in building, scaling, and operating production-grade ML systems that drive real-time personalization across the Attentive platform.

You will operate with a high degree of ownership, partner closely with Product and Engineering, and help raise the technical bar across our ML systems in a fast-paced, high-impact environment.

What You’ll Accomplish

• Design, build, and operate scalable machine learning systems used in real-time targeting, decisioning, personalization systems
• Own ML projects end-to-end, from data exploration and modeling to deployment, monitoring, and iteration
• Proactively safeguard model and system quality through testing, monitoring, validation, and alerting
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, data, and other engineering partners to translate business problems into ML solutions
• Continuously improve system reliability, performance, and engineering efficiency
• Contribute to technical direction and best practices across the ML engineering team
• Mentor and support other engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and knowledge sharing
• Thrive in a high-impact, fast-paced, late-stage startup environment

Your Expertise

• 6+ years of professional experience building production machine-learning software systems
• Proven experience owning ML systems long enough to see the downstream impact of design decisions
• Strong proficiency in Python and experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or xgboost
• Experience with data processing and analytics tools such as pandas, Spark, SQL, and matplotlib
• Hands‑on experience building automated pipelines for data processing, model training, validation, and deployment
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver ML-powered features
• Strong communication skills and a high sense of ownership

What We Use

• Infrastructure: Kubernetes (AWS EKS), Istio, Datadog, Terraform, Cloudflare, Helm
• Backend: Java / Spring Boot microservices (Gradle), DynamoDB, Kinesis, Airflow, Postgres, PlanetScale, Redis
• Frontend: React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Storybook, Radix UI, Vite, Playwright
• ML & Data: Python, Metaflow, HuggingFace 🤗, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Panda

You’ll get competitive perks and benefits, from health & wellness to equity, to help you bring your best self to work.

For US Based Applicants

• The US base salary range for this full-time position is $244,000 - 320,000 annually + equity + benefits
• Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location

By applying for this position, your data will be processed as per Attentive's Privacy Policy.

Attentive Company Values

Default to Action - Move swiftly and with purpose

Be One Unstoppable Team - Rally as each other’s champions

Champion the Customer - Our success is defined by our customers' success

Act Like an Owner - Take responsibility for Attentive’s success

Learn more about AWAKE, Attentive’s collective of employee resource groups.

If you do not meet all the requirements listed here, we still encourage you to apply! No job description is perfect, and we may also have another opportunity that closely matches your skills and experience.

At Attentive, we know that our Company's strength lies in the diversity of our employees. Attentive is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities for all employees, applicants and covered individuals regardless of protected characteristics. We prioritize and maintain a fair, inclusive and equitable workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Attentive is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need any assistance or reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.