Principal ML Infra Engineer

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s human and AI-powered work marketplace that connects businesses with highly skilled, AI-enabled independent talent from across the globe. From entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 enterprises, companies rely on Upwork’s trusted platform and its mindful AI companion, Uma, to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With on-demand access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, Upwork enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and build agile teams for the age of AI and beyond.

Upwork’s platform has facilitated more than $25 billion in economic opportunity for talent around the world. Learn more at Upwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.

The Machine Learning Infrastructure & Data team is responsible for architecting and building the foundational ML systems and tools that enable efficient development, deployment, and management of machine learning models at scale.

As a Principal ML Infrastructure Engineer in the Machine Learning Infrastructure & Data team, you will play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and maintaining robust and scalable ML infrastructure components to support the company's machine learning initiatives. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including machine learning researchers, data scientists, and software engineers to build state-of-the-art platforms and tools that accelerate the development and deployment of machine learning models.

Responsibilities:

• Own technical workstreams from start to finish, contribute to the team’s product roadmap, and be responsible for major technical decisions and tradeoffs. Effectively participate in team’s planning, code reviews, and design discussions
• Consider the effects of projects across multiple teams and proactively manage conflicts. Work together with partner teams to achieve cross-departmental goals and satisfy broad requirements
• Design, implement, and optimize distributed systems and infrastructure components to support large-scale machine learning workflows, including data ingestion, feature engineering, model training, and serving.
• Develop and maintain frameworks, libraries, and tools to streamline the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle, from data preparation, model training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring.
• Architect and implement highly available, fault-tolerant, and secure systems that meet the performance and scalability requirements of production machine learning workloads.
• Collaborate and publish with machine learning researchers and data scientists on novel research and translate research into scalable and efficient software solutions.
• Stay current with the latest advancements in machine learning infrastructure, distributed computing, and cloud technologies, and integrate them into our platform to drive innovation.
• Mentor teammates, conduct code reviews, and uphold engineering best practices to ensure the delivery of high-quality software solutions.

What it takes to catch our eye:

• Senior/Leadership level experience in ML infrastructure engineering, ideally at an innovative technology company.
• Proven Impact: Show us your track record of delivering impactful solutions.
• Innovative Thinker: Bring creativity and fresh ideas to the table.
• Technical Proficiency: Solid foundation in software engineering and ML concepts.
• Collaborative Mindset: Strong communication and teamwork skills are a must.
• Continuous Learner: Stay updated with the latest advancements in the field of AI.
• Our Team's Tech stack: Compute: AWS, EKS, Databricks - Data: Snowflake, S3, SQLMesh, Feast - Workflow Automation: Airflow - Experiment Tracking: Weights & Biases, MLflow -  LLM Inference: Fireworks, in-house deployment on EKS

Come change how the world works.

At Upwork, you’ll shape the future of work for a global, remote-first workforce, creating economic opportunities for professionals worldwide. While we have a physical office in Palo Alto, we currently hire full-time employees in 21 U.S. states, making it easier than ever to join our mission from wherever you call home.

Our culture is built on trust, risk-taking, customer focus, and excellence, all in service of our core mission: to create economic opportunities so people have better lives. We embrace authenticity and inclusion, encouraging everyone to bring their whole selves to work. Personal and professional growth is a priority here, supported through development programs, mentorship, and our Upwork Belonging Communities.

We’re proud to offer benefits that go beyond the basics, including comprehensive medical coverage for you and your family, unlimited PTO, a 401(k) plan with matching, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Visit our Life at Upwork page to learn more about our values, working principles, and the overall employee experience.

Ready to help shape the future of work? Check out our Careers page to learn more about opportunities at Upwork.

Upwork is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics under federal, state, or local law.

Please note that a criminal background check may be required once a conditional job offer is made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with applicable law, including the California Fair Chance Act and local Fair Chance ordinances.