Sr ML Engineer

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to join our Merchant Data Platform (MDP) AI/ML team, helping to build the next generation of an AI-powered merchant ecosystem. In this role, you will leverage cutting-edge machine learning and generative AI techniques to enhance merchant data, improve data quality, and unlock actionable insights that power critical business decisions across Visa’s global ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy scalable machine learning models and pipelines to enrich merchant data, including entity resolution, attribute inference, and data standardization
• Build end-to-end ML solutions (data ingestion → feature engineering → model training → deployment → monitoring), ensuring high performance, reliability, and scalability
• Apply advanced techniques such as NLP, LLMs, and probabilistic modeling to solve challenges like merchant name normalization, brand hierarchy mapping, and data deduplication
• Partner closely with product managers, data engineers, and platform teams to translate business problems into ML-driven solutions and influence product direction
• Develop and maintain data quality frameworks and observability systems to continuously monitor model performance, detect drift, and improve accuracy
• Optimize models and systems for latency, throughput, and cost efficiency, especially in real-time and large-scale environments
• Contribute to and improve MLOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines, feature stores, model lifecycle management, and experimentation frameworks
• Mentor junior engineers, review designs/code, and help elevate the team’s technical standards and best practices

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• 2+ years of relevant work experience and a Bachelors degree, OR 5+ years of relevant work experience
• Experience in developing and implementing AI/ML models and algorithms
• Experience in designing and building scalable machine learning pipelines

Preferred Qualifications:

• 3 or more years of work experience with a Bachelor’s Degree or more than 2 years of work experience with an Advanced Degree (e.g. Masters, MBA, JD, MD)
• Experience in collaborating with cross-functional teams to integrate AI/ML solutions
• Experience in collecting, preprocessing, and analyzing large datasets
• Experience in training and evaluating machine learning models
• Experience in modernizing legacy code and adopting emerging technologies
• Experience in acting as a design authority and shaping best practices within engineering teams
• Experience in communicating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Experience in leading multiple workstreams in AI application development
• Experience in generative AI and large language models (LLMs)
• Experience in infrastructure automation development and enhancing productivity using LLM models
• Experience in developing robust and scalable products for cybersecurity
• Experience in conducting research and experimenting with new AI/ML techniques
• Experience in mentoring junior team members and leading implementations on key modules

Skills & Experience We're Looking For

• Strong experience building and deploying production-grade machine learning systems at scale
• Proficiency in Python and ML frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar
• Hands-on experience with distributed systems, big data technologies (e.g., Spark), and cloud platforms
• Solid understanding of ML fundamentals, including model evaluation, feature engineering, and data pipelines
• Experience with real-time inference systems, data pipelines, and MLOps tooling
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to handle ambiguous, open-ended problems independently
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams

Impact You’ll Make

• Enable high-quality, standardized merchant data across global markets
• Unlock new insights and data products that drive business value and innovation
• Help scale Visa’s AI/ML capabilities across multiple regions and use cases
• Drive technical excellence and best practices in machine learning engineering

Pay & Benefits

Salary: $145,200.00 to $224,800.00 USD per year (may vary depending on job-related factors including knowledge, skills, experience, and location). This position may be eligible for bonus and equity.

Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, and Wellness Program.

Schedule & Work Environment

Visa requires at least 3 days in office (expectations will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager). Work hours vary upon the needs of the department. This position requires travel 5-10% of the time and will be performed in an office setting, requiring the incumbent to sit and stand at a desk, communicate in person and by telephone, and frequently operate standard office equipment such as telephones and computers.