Staff Engineer, ML/AI Platform

Attentive; United States; On-site; USD 170,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Attentive is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for its Machine Learning Platform team. The role involves architecting AI/ML infrastructure, influencing strategy, and mentoring team members. You will build foundational components for AI capabilities with a focus on performance and reliability.

This position offers a competitive salary range of $170,000 - $280,000 annually, plus equity and benefits. The ideal candidate will have 5+ years of MLOps experience and a deep understanding of ML tools.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience specifically in ML Platform/MLOps.
• Proven record of managing ML platform components.
• Strong understanding of online and offline inference systems.

Responsibilities

• Architect ML platform strategy spanning data pipelines and training infrastructure.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship in ML infrastructure discussions.
• Build architectures that bridge platform capabilities with product needs.

Skills

ML Platform/MLOps

Python

Experience with Spark

Experience with Ray

Knowledge of MLFlow

Knowledge of Kubeflow

Model lifecycle systems

Tools

Argo

Metaflow

Job description

About the Role

We’re seeking an accomplished Staff Software Engineer to join Attentive’s Machine Learning Platform team as a high-impact individual contributor focused on building the AI and ML infrastructure that powers our AI product suite. You’ll architect and build the foundational platform components that enable AI / ML engineers and data scientists to train, deploy, and serve models and agentic infrastructure with velocity, performance, and reliability at scale. As a Staff-level IC, you’ll operate as a technical force multiplier, setting the technical direction for AI and ML infrastructure across Attentive’s AI organization. You’ll lead through influence and technical excellence, advocating for long-term architectural progress while balancing immediate platform needs. Your work will span strategic initiatives measured in quarters and years, focusing on high‑leverage decisions that enable entire teams to ship AI and ML capabilities faster and more reliably.

What You’ll Accomplish

• Setting Technical Direction - Architect ML platform strategy spanning data pipelines, training infrastructure, and serving layers using cutting‑edge tooling like Ray, MLFlow, Metaflow, Argo, and Spark.
• Uplevel and Innovate Core AI & ML Stack - Build and operate production‑grade, low‑latency ML serving layers with robust model lifecycle systems including champion/challenger testing, automated rollouts, versioning, and rollback capabilities.
• Uplevel and Innovate Core AI & ML Stack - Define and drive Attentive’s agentic stack.
• Technical Leadership - Provide ML infrastructure perspective in high‑level discussions about Attentive’s AI strategy spanning multiple quarters and teams.
• Technical Mentorship - Mentor platform and ML engineers, actively championing team members.
• Being the “Glue” - Build universal interfaces, architectures, and patterns—like data access layers and prediction serving APIs—that bridge platform capabilities with product needs to streamline high‑priority ML work across the organization.

Your Expertise

• You have the experience to know what works, what doesn’t, and why in AI and ML systems.
• 5+ years focused specifically on ML Platform/MLOps, with deep understanding of gold‑standard practices and best‑in‑class tooling.
• Proven track record of owning and building core components of ML platforms using tools like Spark, Ray, MLFlow, Kubeflow, or Metaflow.
• You’ve built and operated a high‑throughput agentic stack (MCP / data infrastructure, context store, orchestration, and prompt layer).
• Strong expertise in Python for both batch processing and online service frameworks.
• Experience designing and operating online and offline inference systems, understanding the critical differences and tradeoffs between them.

Sample Projects

• Design and implement inference pipelines with champion/challenger shadow testing and automated model promotion.
• Lead and scale Attentive’s agentic stack from the ground up.
• Scale real‑time feature streaming to handle low‑latency, high‑volume reinforcement learning workloads.
• Build a universal data access layer and prediction serving interface that powers ML capabilities across Attentive’s product suite.

For US Based Applicants

• The US base salary range for this full‑time position is $170,000 - $280,000 annually + equity + benefits.
• Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location.

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Attentive is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities for all employees, applicants and covered individuals regardless of protected characteristics. We prioritize and maintain a fair, inclusive and equitable workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Attentive is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need any assistance or reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.

If you do not meet all the requirements listed here, we still encourage you to apply! No job description is perfect, and we may also have another opportunity that closely matches your skills and experience.