Senior ML Engineer (R14284)

Oportun; United States; Remote; USD 25,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Provident Fund

Life Insurance

Internet Allowances

Meal Allowances

Job summary

Oportun is seeking a senior machine learning platform leader to design, deploy, and operate complex platform capabilities across the ML lifecycle. You will own end‑to‑end initiatives, improve reliability, and drive engineer productivity.

You’ll collaborate with Data Science, Risk, Fraud, Product and Engineering to translate ambiguous business needs into practical technical solutions, and you’ll mentor engineers while advancing platform strategy and governance.

Qualifications

• You’ll have 5+ years of software‑engineering experience building and operating production systems.
• You bring strong Python programming and API design skills, plus distributed systems knowledge.
• You have experience with cloud‑native services, data platforms, and ML workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, implementation, deployment, and operation of platform capabilities for the ML lifecycle.
• Design scalable model deployment, feature computation, data validation, and monitoring systems.
• Build reusable platform components and improve reliability, observability, and automation.
• Mentor engineers and drive technical influence across product and data teams.
• Collaborate across Data Science, Product, Risk, Fraud and Engineering to translate needs into technical solutions.

Skills

Python

API design

Distributed systems

Service architecture

Testing

Software design

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Git workflows

Observability

Mentoring

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Git workflows

Job description

Headquarters: Remote - India

Location Note

We’re excited to consider talent currently based in India, as well as candidates who are open to relocating to India for this opportunity. Please note that, as this is a "Remote–India" position, the role must be performed from within India.

The Opportunity

The Machine Learning Platform team builds the software foundations that enable data scientists and machine learning engineers to develop, validate, deploy, and operate models safely and efficiently in production. In this role, you’ll lead complex platform work from business context through production outcomes, combining hands‑on engineering, architectural judgment, production ownership, and mentorship. In your first year, success means leading meaningful platform initiatives, improving reliability and developer experience, and becoming a trusted technical leader for the ML platform.

At the company, we move fast and hold each other to a high bar. You’ll partner across Data Science, Product, Risk, Fraud, and Engineering to solve ambiguous problems and move the needle for members and the business.

What You’ll DoYour day-to-day

You’ll lead the design, implementation, deployment, and operation of complex platform capabilities that support the machine‑learning lifecycle. You’ll design scalable systems for model deployment and serving, feature computation, data validation, workflow orchestration, monitoring, and production support. You’ll build reusable platform components, standards, and automation while improving reliability, scalability, observability, and operational readiness across ML systems. You’ll partner with Data Science, Product, Risk, Fraud, and Engineering teams to translate ambiguous business needs into practical technical solutions. You’ll own significant technical initiatives end to end and lead complex production investigations—clarifying requirements, leading design, delivering safely, measuring results, and implementing durable fixes. You’ll raise engineering quality through thoughtful code and design reviews, mentor engineers through pairing and technical guidance, and contribute to platform technical strategy. You’ll look for ways to use AI tools thoughtfully to work smarter, reduce manual work, and make better decisions faster.

Who You Are

The right fit looks like this

You do not need detailed implementation direction to be effective. Given an ambiguous problem and sufficient context, you can define the technical approach, explain trade‑offs, align stakeholders, lead delivery, and own the outcome after launch.

You’re comfortable navigating complexity and don’t wait for perfect information to move forward. You communicate clearly, give direct feedback, mentor others, and connect engineering work to member, business, and operational outcomes.

What You BringSkills & experience

You’ll have 5+ years of professional software‑engineering experience building and operating production systems, with strong programming skills in Python and deep knowledge of API design, distributed systems, service architecture, testing, and software‑design fundamentals. You’ve demonstrated experience designing and operating reliable, scalable cloud‑native services or data‑intensive systems, with experience in ML platforms, model serving, feature engineering, data platforms, MLOps, or related systems. You bring practical experience with SQL, databases, caching, and tracing data or requests across multiple systems, plus familiarity with the ML lifecycle from feature engineering and model training through evaluation, deployment, serving, monitoring, and governance. You have experience with Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Git‑based workflows, and production observability, and you can evaluate technical alternatives and clearly communicate recommendations, trade‑offs, risks, and dependencies. You’ve demonstrated the ability to mentor engineers, improve engineering practices, lead through technical influence, and connect engineering work to member, business, product, and operational outcomes.

Nice to Have

Experience with AWS, Databricks, MLflow, SageMaker, Spark/PySpark, Kafka, or streaming systems. Experience building feature platforms, model‑serving systems, workflow‑orchestration platforms, or internal developer platforms. Familiarity with monitoring model quality, data quality, feature coverage, latency, reliability, or cost efficiency, and experience working with sensitive data in a regulated or financial‑services environment. Experience with Java or another backend language in addition to Python, and familiarity with AI tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot to improve personal productivity.

Our AI Mindset

We build with AI. We lead with judgment. AI isn’t a feature here. It’s how we work.

We’re excited about what AI makes possible, and we’re looking for people who share that curiosity. You don’t need to be an expert. You need to be open to experimenting , willing to learn, and able to apply new tools in ways that actually move the needle.

In this role, you’ll be encouraged to explore AI tools, find practical use cases for your function, and bring ideas for working smarter. We believe the best outcomes come when human judgment and AI capability work together.

Why the companyWhat's in it for you

the company offers a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to support your physical, financial, and professional well-being. Benefits vary by country of employment.

Some of the benefits available to eligible employees include:

India Benefits:

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

Provident Fund

Life & Accident Insurance

Internet, Fuel, Meal & Telephone Allowances

Eligibility and plan details vary by location and employment status. To learn more about the company and our benefits, visit the company.com/careers #LI-REMOTE #LI-SS1

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants for employment opportunities without regard to race, age, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other category protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate.

California applicants can find a copy of the company's CCPA Notice here: https://the company.com/privacy/california-privacy-notice/ .

We will never request personal identifiable information (bank, credit card, etc.) before you are hired. We do not charge you for pre‑employment fees such as background checks, training, or equipment. If you think you have been a victim of fraud by someone posing as us, please report your experience to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).