Staff Machine Learning Engineer

About the role

As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer on Shipt's Personalization Platform team, you will drive key AI initiatives. In this role, you’ll collaborate with Data Scientists to design and deploy intelligent, personalized recommendation models to drive user engagement across Shipt. You will be a hands-on senior technical contributor in the Membership organization, contributing to architecture, design, and implementation to deliver high-quality AI-driven solutions in a rapidly evolving marketplace environment.

You will design, build, and maintain scalable ML infrastructure and production systems, as well as collaborate closely with Data Scientists to architect data pipelines for serving and training ML models for Shipt's Personalization Platform. You will lead the team in building scalable, low-latency, and fault-tolerant systems to serve real-time recommendations at scale and develop robust APIs and services to deliver real-time or batch recommendations (using Python, Go).

This is a hands-on, cross-functional role ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of Machine Learning, AI Engineering, and Business Impact.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy intelligent, personalized recommendation models to drive user engagement.
• Contribute to architecture, design, and implementation of AI-driven solutions.
• Build and maintain scalable ML infrastructure and production systems.
• Collaborate with Data Scientists to architect data pipelines for serving and training ML models.
• Lead the team to build scalable, low-latency, and fault-tolerant systems for real-time recommendations.
• Develop robust APIs and services for real-time or batch recommendations using Python and Go.

Requirements

• PhD/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years of experience in machine learning and backend software engineering.
• Proficiency in at least one backend programming language (e.g., Go, Java) and Python.
• Deep understanding of user modeling, embeddings, similarity search, and ranking models.
• Strong experience with serving architectures (e.g., REST/gRPC APIs, model servers).
• Experience with ML pipeline tools (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow, Airflow).
• Strong grasp of distributed systems, microservices, and system design.
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases and working with large-scale datasets.
• Exposure to experimentation platforms and online A/B testing.

Skills & Education

This list includes key skills used in this job but is not inclusive of all skills needed for the role.

• Back-End Development
• Machine Learning (ML)
• Python (Programming Language)
• Structured Programming

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience | Required

Pay

Pay Range: $137,400 - $239,000. Please note that the salary range above is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location.

Schedule

To foster connection while offering continued flexibility, hybrid team members have the following in-office expectations:

• Hybrid roles in Birmingham, AL typically work in-office at least 2 days per week, with core in-office days on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
• Hybrid roles in Minneapolis, MN typically work in-office at least 1 day per week on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
• Hybrid roles in San Francisco, CA typically work in-office at least 1 day per week between Monday and Thursday.
• Certain roles may require in-office presence on a full-time basis. Please work with your recruiter to learn more about the classification of this role.

About Shipt

Shipt is a retail tech company that connects people to reliable, high-quality delivery with a personal touch. Shipt connects customers to the things they want from the stores they love, retail businesses to more satisfied customers, and workers to new earning opportunities. At Shipt, we aim to put our team first to boost a sense of belonging, spark opportunities for growth, provide unique benefits, and commit to giving back to our communities in ways that make life better, both personally and professionally.

Shipt is an independently operated, wholly owned subsidiary of Target Corporation and available in more than 5,000 U.S. cities. Shipt was founded and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, please visit Shipt’s company site.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible family members.
• Enrollment in our company’s 401k plan.
• Discretionary vacation for exempt team members.
• Paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• Paid sick leave.
• Eligibility for an annual bonus.
• Potential for restricted stock units based on role.