ML engineer

Location: Jersey City , NJ

Duration: Contract to Hire

Role/Title: ML Engineer

## Key Responsibilities
- Lead the end-to-end design, development, and deployment of scalable machine learning models and systems in production.
- Architect robust, high-performance ML infrastructure and data pipelines that support training, validation, and real-time inference.
- Drive technical decision-making, setting standards for code quality, model governance, and MLOps practices.
- Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and mid-level engineers through code reviews, pairing, and knowledge sharing.
- Partner with data scientists to operationalize advanced research into reliable, production-ready services.
- Define and implement monitoring, observability, and automated retraining strategies to ensure model reliability and detect drift.
- Collaborate with product, engineering, and business leadership to shape ML roadmaps and translate strategic goals into technical deliverables.
- Evaluate and introduce emerging ML technologies, frameworks, and methodologies to keep the organization at the forefront of innovation.
- Own the technical health of ML systems, including performance optimization, cost efficiency, and scalability.

## Required Qualifications
- Bachelor''s or Master''s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field.
- **10+ years** of hands-on experience deploying machine learning models in production, with a track record of delivering large-scale systems.
- Expert-level programming skills in **Python**, with basic understanding in additional languages such as Java, Scala.
- Advanced understanding of data structures, algorithms, distributed systems, and software engineering principles.
- Extensive experience with cloud platforms (AWS) and containerization/orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).

Deep experience with MLOps tooling (MLflow, Kubeflow, SageMaker, Vertex AI) and CI/CD for ML.
- Proven experience designing and maintaining large-scale data processing systems.
- Demonstrated experience leading technical projects and mentoring engineers.

## Preferred Qualifications
-- Advanced knowledge of deep learning, NLP, computer vision, or large language models.
- Experience with distributed training, model optimization, and high-throughput serving infrastructure.
- Understanding of ML frameworks such as **TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn**.

## Core Competencies
- Strategic thinking with strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Proven technical leadership and mentorship abilities.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity, drive initiatives independently, and manage competing priorities.
- Strong ownership mindset and commitment to engineering excellence.