Staff Software Engineer, AI/ML Quality, Shopping Agent, Cloud Applied AI

Google LLC; Kirkland (WA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401k with match

PTO 20 days

Sick time 40h/yr

Maternity leave 28-30 weeks

Baby bonding leave 18 wks

Paid holidays 13

Job summary

Google LLC in Kirkland/Sunnyvale is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for AI/ML Quality in Shopping Agent, Cloud Applied AI. You will own the quality metrics and evaluation pipelines for multimodal interactions, collaborating with research teams to optimize prompts and grounding for better accuracy and conversion.

This role focuses on scalable, high-availability AI products within Gemini Enterprise and Vertex AI ecosystems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products, and 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
• 5 years of experience leading ML design and optimizing end-to-end Machine Learning (e.g., model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, fine tuning).
• 2 years of experience with GenAI techniques (e.g., LLMs, Multi-Modal, Large Vision Models) or with GenAI-related concepts (language modeling, computer vision).

Responsibilities

• Lead the definition and execution of quality metrics for the Shopping Agent, ensuring response accuracy, safety, and brand alignment across multimodal interactions (text, voice, image).
• Design and implement automated evaluation pipelines and 'golden datasets' for complex shopping journeys, including virtual try-on, reasoning, and support queries.
• Collaborate with research and modeling teams to perform 'quality hill-climbing' for foundational models, optimizing prompts and grounding to reduce hallucinations and improve conversion outcomes.
• Develop robust integration tests for agentic actions (e.g., add-to-cart, checkout) and ensure seamless interoperability between the Shopping Agent and Customer Service Agent platforms.

Skills

ML design leadership

GenAI techniques

Project leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Quality metrics design

Automated evaluation

Grounding for multimodal AI

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience

Master's degree or PhD in Engineering/Computer Science

8 years of algorithms experience

Tools

Gemini Enterprise

Vertex AI

Job description

Staff Software Engineer, AI/ML Quality, Shopping Agent, Cloud Applied AI

Share Staff Software Engineer, AI/ML Quality, Shopping Agent, Cloud Applied AI

X In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
• Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year

In most instances, this position requires in-person interviews as part of the hiring process.

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Sunnyvale, CA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products, and 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
• 5 years of experience leading ML design and optimizing end-to-end Machine Learning (e.g., model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, fine tuning).
• 2 years of experience with GenAI techniques (e.g., LLMs, Multi-Modal, Large Vision Models) or with GenAI-related concepts (language modeling, computer vision).

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8 years of experience with data structures and algorithms.
• 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role leading project teams and setting technical direction.
• 3 years of experience working in a complex, matrixed organization involving cross-functional, or cross-business projects.
• Experience with retail workflows (catalog, cart, checkout) and customer support nuances that design user-centric test scenarios.
• Experience launching and maintaining high-availability consumer-facing AI products.

About the job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

With your technical expertise you will manage project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables. You will design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance software solutions.

Join the Shopping Agent team to revolutionize retail with Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. Our mission is to build the operational backbone for modern commerce, embedding intelligence directly into a retailer’s infrastructure to strengthen customer relationships. We are launching a rapidly deployable, multimodal Shopping Agent - a full-stack concierge capable of complex reasoning, virtual try-on, and seamless sales and support. By leveraging Google’s foundational AI (Gemini, Vertex AI), we aim to create a "flywheel effect" where every new agent enhances the entire ecosystem.

In this role, you will help drive the quality of a product designed to transform brands from invisible warehouses into hyper-personalized, intelligent destinations.

The Cloud Applied AI (AAI) powers business growth with Gemini Enterprise. Our portfolio includes Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (Shopping Agent, CX Agent Studio, Agent Assist, Vertex AI Search - Commerce, Customer Experience Insights), along with other vertical and domain packaged solutions. We enable high adoption and speed to value by building solutions that are quickly deployed, delivering new 0-to-1 capabilities with startup agility. Team members operate at the forefront of AI, collaborating directly with model builders with unprecedented speed. Join us to work on cutting-edge projects and shape the future of AI in a fast-paced, collaborative, and impactful environment.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $207000 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google .

• Lead the definition and execution of quality metrics for the Shopping Agent, ensuring response accuracy, safety, and brand alignment across multimodal interactions (text, voice, image).
• Design and implement automated evaluation pipelines and "golden datasets" for complex shopping journeys, including virtual try-on, reasoning, and support queries.
• Collaborate with research and modeling teams to perform "quality hill-climbing" for foundational models, optimizing prompts and grounding to reduce hallucinations and improve conversion outcomes.
• Develop robust integration tests for agentic actions (e.g., add-to-cart, checkout) and ensure seamless interoperability between the Shopping Agent and Customer Service Agent platforms.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.