Staff Applied ML Engineer

Job TitleStaff Applied Machine Learning EngineerLocation: San Francisco or Washington DC area (hybrid)Rest of US: open to relocating (support offered)IntroA specialist technology business at the forefront of intelligent systems is seeking an experienced staff-level applied machine learning engineer to help shape the next generation of edge-deployed AI. This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys solving complex, real-world problems and seeing their work operate in demanding, mission-critical environments.The OpportunityThis role sits at the intersection of research and production, offering the chance to shape both the technical roadmap and the way machine learning is applied across complex perception challenges. The successful candidate will take ownership of key initiatives, guide architectural decisions, and support the growth of other experienced engineers, while remaining close to the technology.Working within a cross-functional team spanning hardware, software and product, they will help deliver robust, efficient AI systems designed to operate reliably in constrained, edge-based environments. There is clear scope for progression into formal leadership or management for those interested.Key ResponsibilitiesLead the design, development and deployment of machine learning models across tasks such as object detection, classification, anomaly detection and sensor-based inferenceOwn end-to-end ML initiatives, from problem definition and experimentation through to production deploymentProvide technical leadership on model architecture, system design and edge deployment strategiesOptimise models and inference pipelines for embedded hardware under strict compute and bandwidth constraintsShape dataset strategy, including labelling, augmentation, synthetic data generation and domain adaptationGuide experimentation across computer vision, signal processing and multi-modal fusionMentor and support experienced engineers, contributing to their technical development and best practicesBuild and refine real-time processing pipelines across on-device and cloud environmentsDevelop internal tools for benchmarking, debugging and performance analysisEvaluate emerging research and technologies, influencing their adoption within the product roadmapContribute to code quality, technical standards and knowledge sharing across the teamWhat They're Looking ForStrong academic background in Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Robotics or a related field (Master's or PhD preferred)Significant experience (typically 10+ years) building and deploying ML models in productionDeep expertise in Python and modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlowProven track record working with diverse data types (e.g. image, time-series, geospatial or RF data)Strong experience deploying and optimising models for edge or embedded systemsSolid grounding in ML best practices, including validation, tuning and monitoring at scaleAbility to lead projects, influence technical direction and make pragmatic engineering decisionsExperience mentoring or guiding other engineersStrong communication skills, able to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholdersEligibility to obtain and maintain security clearanceBackground in maritime, aerospace or remote sensing domains would be advantageousImportant to knowUnfortunately, due to the sector the company operates in, they can only consider US Citizens eligible for Security Clearance for this role.

Created: 2026-05-14