Sr Machine Learning Engineer I

Axon; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 151,000 - 241,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k with employer match

Paid time off

Parental leave

Medical plans

Wellness support

Learning & Development

ERGs

Snacks

Job summary

Axon is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Dedrone by Axon) to design, build, and deploy ML systems powering real-time detection and airspace-awareness. You will work across data analysis, experimentation, deployment, monitoring, and ongoing improvement to deliver safe capabilities worldwide.

The role is hybrid from Seattle, WA, requiring collaboration with scientists, software engineers, and product teams to scale prototypes into production-ready solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field, or equivalent hands-on experience building ML systems.
• 8+ years of experience developing and deploying ML systems in real-world applications.
• Strong Python proficiency and experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy ML models for real-world sensing and perception.
• Build training, evaluation, and inference pipelines for rapid experimentation and production releases.
• Analyze large datasets to improve model performance and robustness.
• Define offline and online evaluation metrics connecting model performance to outcomes.
• Deploy and operate ML systems across cloud, edge, and embedded environments.
• Develop and improve MLOps capabilities, including versioning, CI/CD, and monitoring.

Skills

Python

ML systems

MLOps

CI/CD

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science / Electrical Engineering / Applied Mathematics

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

Join Axon and be a Force for Good.

At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We’re explorers, pursuing society’s most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other.

Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you’ll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter.

Your Impact

As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Dedrone by Axon, you will design, build, and deploy machine learning systems that power real-time detection, classification, tracking, and airspace-awareness capabilities. You will bridge research and production by transforming promising models into reliable, scalable, and high-performance systems. You will work across the full machine learning lifecycle—from data analysis and experimentation through deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement—and help deliver critical safety capabilities to customers worldwide.

What You’ll Do

Location:Hybrid from Seattle, WA

• Design, develop, and deploy machine learning models for real-world sensing and perception applications.
• Build training, evaluation, and inference pipelines that support rapid experimentation and reliable production releases.
• Analyze large, noisy, and multi-modal datasets to identify data-quality issues, improve model performance, and increase robustness.
• Define meaningful offline and online evaluation metrics that connect model performance to customer and product outcomes.
• Optimize models and inference systems for production constraints such as latency, compute, memory, bandwidth, and reliability.
• Deploy and operate machine learning systems across cloud, edge, and embedded environments.
• Monitor production model performance, investigate failures and degradation, and improve models based on field data.
• Develop and improve MLOps capabilities, including model and data versioning, automated testing, CI/CD, deployment, and monitoring.
• Partner closely with scientists, software engineers, and product teams to turn prototypes into scalable, production-ready capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership through architecture reviews, design documentation, code reviews, and mentorship.
• Stay current with advances in machine learning, model optimization, evaluation, and production ML systems.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related field—or equivalent hands-on experience building machine learning systems.
• 8+ years of experience developing and deploying machine learning systems in real-world applications.
• Strong Python proficiency and experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar.
• Experience taking machine learning capabilities from experimentation through production deployment and ongoing operation.
• Experience deploying models in cloud, edge, or embedded environments.
• Strong understanding of statistics, experimental design, model evaluation, and performance trade-offs.
• Experience working with large, noisy, imbalanced, or multi-modal datasets.
• Familiarity with MLOps practices such as automated training and evaluation, model versioning, CI/CD, monitoring, and reproducible experimentation.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including testing, maintainable design, version control, and production debugging.
• Ability to communicate technical decisions clearly and collaborate across research, engineering, and product teams.
• A collaborative mindset aligned with Axon’s values: Aim Far, Win Right, Own It, Join Forces, and Be Obsessed with the Customer.

Benefits that Benefit You

• Competitive salary and 401k with employer match
• Discretionary paid time off
• Paid parental leave for all
• Medical, Dental, Vision plans
• Fitness Programs
• Emotional & Mental Wellness support
• Learning & Development programs
• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• And yes, we have snacks in our offices

Benefits listed herein may vary depending on the nature of your employment and the location where you work.

Location: This role is based out of our Seattle, WA office and follows a hybrid schedule. We rely on in-person collaboration and ask that team members work onsite Tuesdays through Fridays, with the flexibility to work remotely on Mondays, unless there is an approved workplace accommodation. We believe that connection fuels innovation, and our in-office culture is designed to foster meaningful teamwork, mentorship, and shared success.

Axon is a total compensation company, meaning compensation is made up of base pay, bonus, and stock awards. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: level, function, training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, geographic market, and often a combination of all these factors. Our benefits offer an array of options to help support you physically, financially and emotionally through the big milestones and in your everyday life. To see more details on our benefits offerings please visit https://www.axon.com/careers.

Base Pay Range $150,750 — $241,200 USD

Don’t meet every single requirement? That's ok. At Axon, we Aim Far. We think big with a long-term view because we want to reinvent the world to be a safer, better place. We are also committed to building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they check every box in the job description. If you’re excited about this role and our mission to Protect Life but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification listed here, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Important Notes

The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, exhaustive of all duties, responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. The job description may change or be supplemented at any time in accordance with business needs and conditions.

Some roles may also require legal eligibility to work in a firearms environment.

We collect personal information from applicants to evaluate candidates for employment. You may request access, deletion, or exercise other CCAA rights at [e-mail] or via our Axon Privacy Web Form. For more information, please see the Your California Privacy Rights section of our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Notice.

Axon’s mission is to Protect Life and is committed to the well‑being and safety of its employees as well as Axon’s impact on the environment. All Axon employees must be aware of and committed to the appropriate environmental, health, and safety regulations, policies, and procedures. Axon employees are empowered to report safety concerns as they arise and activities potentially impacting the environment.

We are an equal opportunity employer that promotes justice, advances equity and values diversity and fosters inclusion. We’re committed to hiring the best talent — regardless of race, creed, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances — and empowering all of our employees so they can do their best work. If you have a disability or special need that requires assistance or accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email [e-mail]. Please note that this email address is for accommodation purposes only. Axon will not respond to inquiries for other purposes.