Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Platform

Samsara; United States; On-site; USD 243,100 - 286,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech company is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to lead the architectural evolution of safety systems. The role involves shifting from siloed models to a unified Perception Platform Layer and developing robust infrastructure for real-time decisions based on sensor data. Ideal candidates have over six years of experience in ML engineering and a Ph.D. in a relevant field. This is a remote position for candidates based in the US, with a competitive salary ranging from $243,100 to $286,000 USD.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in ML Engineering with a track record of shipping models in production.
• Deep understanding of distributed systems and computer vision.
• Experience with cloud ML workflows and containerization.
• Architectural mindset focusing on operational reliability.

Responsibilities

• Lead the transition to a modular perception platform.
• Design and implement real-time ML systems.
• Manage integration of models across edge and cloud.
• Develop evaluation frameworks for rare safety events.
• Mentor junior engineers and set engineering standards.

Skills

Machine Learning Engineering

Systems Design

Cloud ML Workflows

Containerization

Real-time Systems

Safety Critical Domains

Distributed Systems

Performance Profiling

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

About the role:

We are looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to lead the architectural evolution of our safety systems. You will move our ML stack from siloed, end-to-end models toward a unifiedPerception Platform Layer. Your mission is to build the robust infrastructure that translates raw sensor data into real-time, high‑stakes decisions, ensuring our models perform reliably across both cloud and edge environments.

This is a remote position for candidates based in the US.

You should apply if:

• You want to impact the industries that run our world: The software, firmware, and hardware you build will result in real-world impact-helping to keep lights on, get food into grocery stores, and most importantly, ensure workers return home safely.
• You want to build for scale: With over 2.3 million IoT devices deployed to our global customers, you will work on a range of new and mature technologies driving scalable innovation across industries.
• You are a lifelong learner: We have ambitious goals. Every Samsarian has a growth mindset as we work with a wide range of technologies, challenges, and customers that push us to learn on the go.
• You believe customers are more than a number: Samsara engineers enjoy a rare closeness to the end user and you will have the opportunity to participate in customer interviews, collaborate with customer success and product managers, and use metrics to ensure our work is translating into better customer outcomes.
• You are a team player: Working on our Samsara Engineering teams requires a mix of independent effort and collaboration. Motivated by our mission, we’re all racing toward our connected operations vision, and we intend to win together.

1. Platform Architecture & Unification

• Architect a Unified Perception Layer: Lead the transition from fragmented, task‑specific models to a modular perception platform that supports reusable components and downstream safety applications.
• System Design: Design and implement real‑time ML systems—from sensor ingestion and tracking to risk reasoning and actuation—ensuring clear interfaces and predictable system behavior.
• Hybrid Deployment: Orchestrate model integration across edge and cloud environments, managing versioning, rollouts, and mission‑critical fallback mechanisms.

2. Performance & Reliability Engineering

• Latency Ownership: Own end‑to‑end latency and reliability for safety‑critical pipelines. You will profile, schedule, and optimize messaging and backpressure across the entire stack.
• Observability & Feedback Loops: Build sophisticated monitoring for deployed models to detect drift, false positives/negatives, and latency regressions. You will "close the loop" to ensure production data informs the next iteration of training.

3. Rigorous Evaluation & Safety

• Safety Cases: Develop evaluation frameworks specifically for rare "long‑tail" safety events. You will define metrics and build targeted test sets that form the basis for principled ship/no‑ship decisions.
• Explainability: Partner with Applied Scientists to ensure research outputs are translated into production code that is not only performant but also debuggable and explainable.

4. Technical Leadership

• Strategic Influence: Shape the system abstractions early in the platform transition to minimize technical debt and maximize future scalability.
• Mentorship: Set the engineering standard for correctness and performance. You will mentor junior and mid‑level engineers, fostering a culture of rigorous ML engineering.

Minimum requirements for the role:

• Experience: 6+ years of experience in ML Engineering, with a proven track record of shipping models in production (ideally in safety‑critical domains like robotics, automotive, or industrial AI).
• Systems Mastery: Deep understanding of distributed systems, performance profiling, and computer vision.
• Infrastructure Fluency: Experience with Cloud ML workflows (AWS/GCP/Azure) and containerization, paired with an understanding of the constraints of edge hardware.
• Architectural Mindset: You don't just write code; you design systems. You understand the trade-offs between model complexity and operational reliability.

An ideal candidate also has:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science or quantitative discipline (e.g., Applied Math, Physics, Statistics)
• Experience with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and infrastructure‑as‑code (IaC) frameworks
• Familiar with deploying and managing ML applications in cloud environments, as well as leveraging cloud-based services for data storage, processing, and inference
• Experience building end‑to‑end ML applications from scratch

Annual Base Salary: $243,100 — $286,000 USD

Flexible Working

At Samsara, we embrace a flexible working model that caters to the diverse needs of our teams. Our offices are open for those who prefer to work in‑person and we also support remote work where it aligns with our operational requirements. For certain positions, being close to one of our offices or within a specific geographic area is important to facilitate collaboration, access to resources, or alignment with our service regions. In these cases, the job description will clearly indicate any working location requirements. Our goal is to ensure that all members of our team can contribute effectively, whether they are working on‑site, in a hybrid model, or fully remotely.

Belonging at Samsara

At Samsara, we welcome everyone regardless of their background. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, and other characteristics protected by law. We depend on the unique approaches of our team members to help us solve complex problems and want to ensure Samsara is a place where people from all backgrounds can make an impact.

Accommodations

Samsara is an inclusive work environment, and we are committed to ensuring equal opportunity in employment for qualified persons with disabilities. Please email [e-mail] or click here if you require any reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process.