Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Research & Innovation Team

SAP SE; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 272,000; Full time

Job summary

SAP SE is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer for its Research & Innovation team in the Silicon Valley region. You will work with MLE leads on AI prototypes, research projects, and startup evaluations, shaping cutting-edge ML methods and scalable deployments.

You'll contribute to model training, evaluation, and lifecycle processes while collaborating across frontend, backend, and AI engineering teams in a fast-paced, research-driven environment.

Qualifications

• Master of Science degree in Software Engineering or related field.
• Strong expertise in agentic engineering, latest AI tooling, terminal agents, agentic harnesses, context engineering.
• Experience in developing data-driven microservices, APIs, CI/CD pipelines, Data pipelines, TDD, hands-on experience with docker containers and Kubernetes, familiar with one of the cloud providers.
• At least 5+ years of professional experience as an MLE or developer.
• Experience working with SAP BTP & SAP AI Core.
• At least 2+ years of professional experience optimizing and serving Machine Learning models.
• Experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow)
• Ability to work in an agile environment using SCRUM methodology.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills and fluent in English.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with lead MLEs contributing to research, prototype development, and startup evaluations.
• Work on model training, continued pretraining, RL, fine-tuning, LoRA and novel approaches.
• Create high level requirements and designs.
• Contribute to research papers and publication.
• Follow and help define architectural / coding best practices and participate in software design and code reviews with a diverse team.
• Contribute to all processes of the ML lifecycle: data collection, annotation, modeling, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring.

Education

Master of Science in Software Engineering

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

PyTorch

TensorFlow

CI/CD

Data pipelines

Job description

Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Research & Innovation Team

We help the world run better
At SAP, we keep it simple: you bring your best to us, and we'll bring out the best in you. We're builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, and we need your unique talents to help shape what's next. The work is challenging - but it matters. You'll find a place where you can be yourself, prioritize your wellbeing, and truly belong. What's in it for you? Constant learning, skill growth, great benefits, and a team that wants you to grow and succeed.

Summary:

At SAP, our vision is to build the autonomous enterprise and build responsible, reliable, and relevant AI that builds on SAPs 50+ years of business process and enterprise knowledge. With SAPs rich data and context, we aim to revolutionize the way business processes operate.

Within the team of SAP Research & Innovation North America, we work on ways to infuse every SAP application with AI native capabilities, innovate AI native prototypes that turn into products, and drive cutting edge research with universities. We are currently actively working with Stanford and the institute for Human Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) and UCI, publishing research on topics such as agentic collaboration, terminal agents, and reasoning. The team also conducts technical evaluations of AI startups. Our team is a fast-paced and agile innovation team, consisting of machine learning engineers and software engineers.

As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer on our team you will be working with the MLE leads on the latest prototypes and research.

The Role:

• Work closely with our lead MLEs contributing to research, prototype development, and startup evaluations
• Work on model training, continued pretraining, RL, fine-tuning, LoRA and novel approaches.
• Create high level requirements and designs.
• Contribute to research papers and publication.
• Follow and help define architectural / coding best practices and participate in software design and code reviews with the development team consisting of frontend-, backend-, full-stack, Dev-Ops and AI engineers.
• Contribute to all processes of the ML lifecycle: data collection, annotation, modeling, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring

What you bring:

Required:

• Master of Science degree in Software Engineering or related field.
• Strong expertise in agentic engineering, latest AI tooling, terminal agents, agentic harnesses, context engineering
• Experience in developing data-driven microservices, APIs, CI/CD pipelines, Data pipelines, TDD, hands-on experience with docker containers and Kubernetes, familiar with one of the cloud providers.
• At least 5+ years of professional experience as an MLE or developer.
• Experience working with SAP BTP & SAP AI Core.
• At least 2+ years of professional experience optimizing and serving Machine Learning models.
• Experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow)
• Ability to work in an agile environment using SCRUM methodology.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills and fluent in English.

Meet your team:

SAP Research & Innovation North America is largely based out of Silicon Valley, closely working with the SV ecosystem, startups and universities. We are a fast-paced, agile team that works on cutting-edge AI topics, experimenting with the latest approaches for agentic engineering and pushing the frontier of what is possible.

Bring out your best

SAP innovations help more than four hundred thousand customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end business application software and related services for database, analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. As a cloud company with two hundred million users and more than one hundred thousand employees worldwide, we are purpose-driven and future-focused, with a highly collaborative team ethic and commitment to personal development. Whether connecting global industries, people, or platforms, we help ensure every challenge gets the solution it deserves. At SAP, you can bring out your best.

We win with inclusion

SAP’s culture of inclusion, focus on health and well-being, and flexible working models help ensure that everyone – regardless of background – feels included and can run at their best. At SAP, we believe we are made stronger by the unique capabilities and qualities that each person brings to our company, and we invest in our employees to inspire confidence and help everyone realize their full potential. We ultimately believe in unleashing all talent and creating a better world.

SAP is committed to the values of Equal Employment Opportunity and provides accessibility accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with SAP and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to Recruiting Operations Team: [e-mail].

For SAP employees: Only permanent roles are eligible for the SAP Employee Referral Program , according to the eligibility rules set in the SAP Referral Policy. Specific conditions may apply for roles in Vocational Training.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, et al), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or disability.

Compensation Range Transparency :

SAP believes the value of pay transparency contributes towards an honest and supportive culture and is a significant step towards demonstrating SAP’s commitment to pay equity. SAP provides the annualized compensation range inclusive of base salary and variable incentive target for the career level applicable to the posted role. The targeted annual combined range for this position is 131000-271600USD .The actual amount to be offered to the successful candidate will be within that range, dependent upon the key aspects of each case which may include education, skills,experience, scope of the role, location, etc. as determinedthrough theselection process. Any SAP variable incentive includes a targeted dollar amount and any actual payout amount is dependent on company and personal performance. Please reference this link for a summary of SAP benefits and eligibility requirements: SAP North America Benefits .

Please note that any violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the hiring process.

Requisition ID: 454805 | Work Area: Software-Design and Development | Expected Travel: 0 - 10% | Career Status: Professional | Employment Type: Regular Full Time | Additional Locations: #LI-Hybrid

Nearest Major Market: San Jose

Nearest Secondary Market: Palo Alto

Job Segment: ERP, R&D Engineer, Cloud, SAP, Technology, Engineering, Research