Senior Staff Data Science Engineer

Sandisk understands how people and businesses consume data and relentlessly innovates to deliver solutions that enable today’s needs and tomorrow’s next big ideas. With a rich history of groundbreaking innovations in Flash and advanced memory technologies, our solutions power the digital world. Sandisk meets people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the moment, enabling them to keep moving and pushing possibility forward through advanced manufacturing capabilities and an industry-leading portfolio of products recognized globally for innovation, performance, and quality. Sandisk has two facilities recognized by the World Economic Forum as part of the Global Lighthouse Network for advanced 4IR innovations and as Sustainability Lighthouses for breakthroughs in efficient operations.

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Staff AI/ML Engineer to lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced AI/ML and Generative AI solutions that drive innovation across our engineering, manufacturing, and business operations. This role requires deep expertise in machine learning engineering, data science methodologies, and large-scale AI systems, combined with strong domain intuition in semiconductor/NAND environments. You will operate at the intersection of data, models, and real-world systems, translating complex, high-impact problems into scalable AI solutions.

Responsibilities

• AI/ML, Data Science & Domain Integration
  • Develop advanced machine learning, statistical, and optimization models to solve complex business and engineering problems
  • Apply end-to-end data science rigor: problem framing, feature engineering, modeling, validation, and impact measurement
  • Work with large-scale datasets (e.g., process, yield, test, operational data) to derive actionable insights
  • Integrate domain knowledge (semiconductor/NAND processes, constraints, variability) directly into model design and interpretation
• Generative AI & Intelligent Systems
  • Design and deploy GenAI solutions (LLMs, RAG pipelines, agent-based systems) for engineering and operational use cases
  • Build knowledge-driven systems leveraging enterprise data (documents, logs, process data)
  • Develop evaluation frameworks to ensure quality, grounding, and reliability of GenAI outputs
  • Apply GenAI to enable decision support, automation, and productivity at scale
• End-to-End System Architecture
  • Architect production-grade AI/ML systems, including:
    • Data pipelines and feature engineering frameworks
    • Model training and experimentation platforms
    • Real-time and batch inference systems
  • Design systems that balance accuracy, scalability, latency, and cost efficiency
  • Establish patterns for integrating AI into existing enterprise platforms and workflows
• MLOps & Production Excellence
  • Build and scale MLOps pipelines (CI/CD, model registry, monitoring, drift detection)
  • Ensure reproducibility, observability, and governance of AI systems
  • Lead efforts to operationalize models into reliable, maintainable production systems
• Collaboration & Mentorship
  • Partner with cross-functional teams (engineering, manufacturing, product, IT) to translate requirements into solutions
  • Mentor engineers and data scientists in advanced modeling, system design, and GenAI capabilities

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a related quantitative field
• 8–12+ years of experience in AI/ML engineering, data science, or related domains
• Strong expertise in:
  • Python and modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn)
  • Statistical modeling, experimentation, and data science methodologies
  • Scalable ML system design and production deployment
• Proven track record of delivering production-grade AI/ML systems with measurable business impact

Qualifications

• Preferred
  • PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Machine Learning, AI, Statistics, Operations Research, Electrical Engineering) with significant industry experience
  • Deep experience applying AI/ML in complex, real-world systems (e.g., semiconductor, manufacturing, or large-scale operational environments)
  • Hands-on experience with:
    • Generative AI / LLM systems (RAG, prompt engineering, evaluation frameworks, fine-tuning)
    • MLOps platforms (MLflow, Azure ML, Kubeflow, or equivalent)
    • Distributed data platforms (Spark, Databricks)

Pay

The salary range for this role is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. The range is applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York, or remote jobs that can be performed in these states. An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, ability, knowledge of the job, performance, contribution, results, geographic location, shift, internal and external equity, and business and organizational needs.

Benefits

• Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan providing incentive awards based on Company and individual performance
• Annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which may include restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents (eligibility varies by role and performance)
• RSU awards available to eligible new hires
• Paid vacation time and paid sick leave
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life, accident, and disability insurance
• Tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts
• Employee assistance program
• Voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident, and hospital indemnity
• Tuition reimbursement
• Transit benefits
• Applause Program
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Sandisk's Savings 401(k) Plan