Software Engineer - Data Infrastructure

Luma; Redwood City (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Luma seeks a Data Infrastructure Engineer in Research to build and scale data infrastructure supporting multimodal AI systems. You will develop high-throughput data pipelines and collaborate with ML researchers to enable efficient experimentation and robust platform services.

You will focus on distributed systems, performance, and reliability, contributing to open-source data tools and adopting best practices across teams in a fast-paced, product-driven environment.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in Python and willingness to learn Python for large-scale data infrastructure
• Experience with distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Ray, Spark, Beam) and building high-throughput data systems
• Ability to design and optimize data pipelines for ML research and internal teams
• Strong problem-solving skills and understanding of data engineering at scale
• Collaborative, product-focused mindset; comfortable in fast-paced environments
• Experience sourcing, integrating, and optimizing data from diverse and large datasets
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, product-focused environment with a strong execution mindset
• Open to candidates across seniority levels, from mid-level contributors to senior engineers and managers

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain scalable data infrastructure for high-throughput ML workflows
• Collaborate with ML researchers and product teams to ensure data systems meet evolving needs
• Develop and optimize large-scale data pipelines and batch processing jobs
• Contribute to architecture and implementation of reliable, high-performance data platforms
• Integrate open-source tools and continuously improve data infrastructure through monitoring and tuning
• Participate in cross-functional projects to improve data reliability, scalability, and operational excellence
• Support evaluation and adoption of new programming languages and frameworks
• Engage in continuous improvement of data infrastructure through monitoring and performance tuning
• Collaborate with research & engineering teams to refine best practices for data infrastructure development

Skills

Python

Distributed frameworks

Data pipelines

Problem solving

Collaboration

Data sourcing

Fast-paced env

Senior-friendly

Job description

About The Role

As a Data Infrastructure Engineer in Research at Luma, you will play a critical role in building and scaling the data infrastructure that supports our cutting-edge multimodal AI systems. Your work will focus on developing high-throughput, large-scale data processing pipelines tailored for machine learning research and internal ML platform needs. You will collaborate closely with ML researchers and product teams to create reliable, efficient, and easy-to-use data infrastructure that empowers innovation and accelerates development. This role requires a strong foundation in distributed systems and data engineering, with an emphasis on supporting complex machine learning workflows rather than traditional product data infrastructure.

About The Role

As a Data Infrastructure Engineer in Research at Luma, you will play a critical role in building and scaling the data infrastructure that supports our cutting-edge multimodal AI systems. Your work will focus on developing high-throughput, large-scale data processing pipelines tailored for machine learning research and internal ML platform needs. You will collaborate closely with ML researchers and product teams to create reliable, efficient, and easy-to-use data infrastructure that empowers innovation and accelerates development. This role requires a strong foundation in distributed systems and data engineering, with an emphasis on supporting complex machine learning workflows rather than traditional product data infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain scalable data infrastructure for high-throughput machine learning workflows
• Collaborate with ML researchers and product teams to ensure data systems meet evolving needs
• Develop and optimize large-scale data pipelines and batch processing jobs
• Contribute to the architecture and implementation of reliable, high-performance data platforms
• Integrate open-source tools and continuously improve data infrastructure through monitoring and tuning
• Participate in cross-functional projects to improve data reliability, scalability, and operational excellence
• Support the evaluation and adoption of new programming languages and frameworks relevant to data infrastructure
• Engage in continuous improvement of data infrastructure through monitoring, troubleshooting, and performance tuning
• Collaborate with research & engineering teams to help define and refine best practices for data infrastructure development

Qualifications

• Proficiency in Python (or similar languages with willingness to learn Python) and experience with large-scale, high-throughput data infrastructure
• Familiarity with distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Ray, Spark, Beam)
• Ability to design and optimize data pipelines for ML research and internal teams
• Strong problem-solving skills and understanding of data engineering at scale
• Collaborative, product-focused mindset; comfortable in fast-paced environments
• Experience sourcing, integrating, and optimizing data from diverse and large datasets
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, product-focused environment with a strong execution mindset
• Open to candidates across seniority levels, from mid-level individual contributors to senior engineers and managers.

Nice to have

• Prior experience working with complex data infrastructure or AI/ML platforms highly desirable
• Experience with open source data infrastructure projects is a plus
• Experience working in the robotics industry preferred

Compensation Range: $170K - $360K