Senior Software Engineer I, Machine Learning, ML Enablement

Etsy; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 182,000 - 246,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Annual bonus

Benefits

Job summary

Etsy is seeking a Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning to build and operate the infrastructure that trains, hosts, and serves Etsy's ML models, including an internal serving platform and open-source LLMs.

You will design scalable, observable systems enabling millions of inferences per second, collaborating with Applied Scientists and Engineers across Etsy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in CS or related field.
• 5+ years building backend/infrastructure systems.
• Strong Python production code experience.
• Cloud infrastructure experience (GCP) and Kubernetes.
• Observability tooling for distributed systems.
• Knowledge of ML fundamentals and LLM hosting.
• Understanding transformer architectures and serving impacts.

Responsibilities

• Write high-quality production-grade Python code and participate in code reviews.
• Build, operate, and improve infra for training and serving ML models on GCP and Kubernetes.
• Design and maintain serving infra for open-source and internal models (LLMs).
• Apply ML fundamentals to inform infra decisions and performance.
• Partner with Applied Scientists to align infra with model pipelines.
• Contribute to system design decisions balancing performance, cost, and reliability.
• Leverage generative AI tools to improve productivity and outcomes.

Skills

Python

Cloud (GCP)

Kubernetes

Observability

Backend systems

Distributed systems

ML fundamentals

Transformer architectures

Data structures

AI tooling

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

Barista

Job description

Company Description

Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy employee, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human.

We believe exceptional companies are built by exceptional teams, and we're intentional about it. That means hiring great people, setting them up for success from day one, and giving them real reasons to grow their careers here. We invest in development that goes beyond promotions, and we foster the trust and relationships that help people do their best work together.

What's the role?

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning to help build and operate the infrastructure that trains, hosts, and serves Etsy's machine learning models — including our internal serving platform, and a growing portfolio of predictive and generative (open source LLM) models.

You won't just be deploying models; you'll be architecting the systems that make model serving fast, reliable, and scalable for millions of inferences per second. Your work directly enables Applied Scientists and Engineers across Etsy to train, host, and iterate on models with confidence, from classic ML predictors to large open-source language models.

This is a full-time position in ML Enablement team, reporting to its Engineering Manager.

What's this team like at Etsy?

• The Machine Learning Enablement initiative builds the core infrastructure that turns complex ML workflows into seamless, self-service platforms for Etsy's Applied Scientists and Engineers.
• The Models Training and Serving Platform team builds and operates the core infrastructure that powers model training and serving across Etsy, including Barista, our internal model-serving platform, along with a range of hosted modelsets and open-source LLMs.
• We own the path from a trained model to a production-ready, observable, and scalable serving endpoint — spanning infrastructure, deployment tooling, and reliability.
• We work on significant, complex challenges that intersect multiple critical teams and systems, where you can make a rewarding impact.
• We are light on process and heavy on collaboration, working with many partner teams within our org and beyond in order to improve our leverage.
• We are a platform team with a product driven mentality, driving innovation using our Machine Learning systems in effective and creative ways.

What does the day-to-day look like?

• Write high-quality, production-grade Python code (additional languages a plus); participate in code reviews and pair programming; contribute to and help drive architectural decisions.
• Build, operate, and improve infrastructure for training and serving ML models on GCP and Kubernetes, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and observability.
• Design and maintain serving infrastructure for open-source and internally hosted LLMs, including model deployment, resource management, and performance tuning.
• Apply working knowledge of ML fundamentals — including neural network deep learning as well as latest transformer architectures along with prediction and inference systems — to make sound infrastructure and design decisions.
• Partner cross-functionally with Applied Scientists to understand model training and serving needs, and translate that understanding into infrastructure that removes friction from their workflows.
• Contribute to system design discussions, weighing tradeoffs across performance, cost, and reliability for infrastructure serving 100M+ users.
• Thoughtfully use generative AI and other productivity tools to work efficiently, with a focus on learning and intentional contribution.
• Of course, this is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Etsy's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law.

Qualities that will help you thrive in this role are:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Applied Statistics, Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of professional experience building, iterating on, and troubleshooting complex backend and infrastructure systems.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including solid command of algorithms and data structures, with the ability to write production-ready code in Python.
• Hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (Google Cloud preferred) and Kubernetes, including deploying and operating production workloads.
• Familiarity with observability tooling (metrics, logging, tracing) for monitoring and debugging distributed systems.
• Working knowledge of machine learning fundamentals and concepts, with awareness of LLM serving infrastructure and hosting open-source models.
• Basic understanding of transformer architectures, predictors, and how model design choices affect serving infrastructure.
• Comfort with system design for large-scale, high-availability infrastructure.

Compensation & Benefits

In addition to salary, you'll be eligible for an equity package, an annual performance bonus, and our competitive benefits that support you and your family. Base salary is determined by your location, skills, and experience. Etsy uses two geographic pay zones to reflect the labor markets where we compete for talent: one called Geo-1, covering the New York City metropolitan area, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle metropolitan area, and one called Geo-2, covering all other U.S. locations. Salary ranges for this role vary by zone and are listed below.

Location

We prioritize candidates based within commutable distance of Etsy's Brooklyn Office. Depending on proximity, we ask team members to come in once or twice per week. Remote candidates outside commutable distance may be considered on a case-by-case basis, with the expectation of occasional travel to the office. Learn more details about our work modes and workplace safety policies here.

Salary Range

• Geo-1: 182,000.00 - 246,000.00 USD Annual
• Geo-2: 164,000.00 - 222,000.00 USD Annual

Our Promise

At Etsy, we believe that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace furthers relevance, resilience, and longevity. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. Etsy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion or creed, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, citizenship or immigration status, marital or familial status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status**, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law**. If, due to a disability, you need an accommodation during any part of the interview or hiring process, please let your recruiter know and we will work with you to meet your needs. While Etsy supports visa sponsorship, sponsorship opportunities may be limited to certain roles and skills.