Staff AI – Machine Learning Engineer
BLACKBIRD.AI
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Remote
Location: Remote • 🇺🇸 United States
Visit company websiteJob Level
Lead
Tech Stack
Python
About the role
- Build and operate production-grade AI systems that combine machine learning, large language models, and structured data
- Translate ambiguous problem spaces into reliable, explainable AI capabilities that customers can trust
- Apply machine learning and AI techniques to graph-structured and networked data, enabling reasoning over entities, relationships, and complex information structures
- Design AI systems with strong guarantees around correctness, transparency, and performance
- Partner with data and backend engineers to bring AI capabilities into scalable platform services
- Evaluate, iterate, and improve AI systems using both quantitative metrics and real-world feedback
- Make thoughtful trade-offs across model quality, latency, cost, and system complexity
- Own AI components end-to-end, from initial design through deployment and long-term maintenance
- Provide technical leadership through design reviews, mentorship, and shared best practices.
Requirements
- 7+ years of experience in software engineering, ML engineering, or applied AI or equivalent senior experience with demonstrated Staff-level impact
- Strong experience building production AI systems, not just prototypes
- Deep proficiency in Python and modern ML/AI frameworks
- Hands-on experience with LLMs, including prompting, retrieval-augmented generation, tool use, and evaluation
- Experience designing explainable and auditable ML systems
- Solid understanding of API-driven architectures and data contracts
- Experience working with graph-structured or networked data, including reasoning over entities and relationships
- Ability to reason about performance, cost, and reliability in real systems
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with agentic AI or multi-step reasoning systems
- Experience with graph data models, network analysis, or knowledge graphs, including relationship modeling, traversal, or graph-based reasoning
- Experience applying ML or LLM techniques to graph or network-based problems (e.g., relationship discovery, influence propagation, community detection, or other network analysis)
- Experience building ranking, influence, or scoring models
- Experience designing LLM evaluation and validation frameworks
- Background in trust & safety, security, intelligence, or risk domains
- Startup or fast-paced product environment experience
- Experience with Databricks or similar platforms
- Comfort using AI-assisted development tools in daily workflows
Benefits
- Competitive compensation package, 401(k), and equity - everyone has a stake in our growth!
- Comprehensive health benefits for you and your loved ones, including wellness days and monthly wellness reimbursements - an apple a day doesn't always keep the doctor away!
- Generous vacation policy, encouraging you to take the time you need - we trust you to strike the right work/life balance!
- A flexible work environment with opportunities to collaborate with your team in person - you can have it all!
- Inclusion and Impact - soar to new heights!
- Professional development stipend - never stop learning!
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard skills
machine learninglarge language modelsPythonML frameworksexplainable AIAPI-driven architecturesgraph-structured datanetworked dataranking modelsLLM evaluation frameworks
Soft skills
technical leadershipmentorshipcommunication skillsproblem-solvingtrade-off analysis