Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Our client is a profitable, San Diego based and mission-driven HealthTech company that recently raised strategic funding to accelerate growth.

Their platform provides services to school districts, children, families, and municipalities to access critical mental health and behavioral health support.

We are actively seeking a talented and creative Staff Machine Learning Engineer to lead key initiatives from the ground up: building applied ML systems, setting infrastructure foundations, and shaping the future of behavioral health access.

This is a rare opportunity to build applied ML systems from the ground up, in a startup-like environment but with the stability of a highly profitable and established organization.

Your work won’t be abstract: it will directly impact how students, families, and communities get matched with life-changing wellness support.

Duties Include:Lead the development and deployment of core ML models (recommender systems, classification, personalization)Design and implement production pipelines, monitoring systems, and infrastructure to support ML at scaleIntegrate ML models into a Django-based backend using both batch and real-time methodsPartner on the design of an ML Gateway to connect models cleanly to production systemsCollaborate closely with NLP and data engineering teams to define schemas, feedback loops, and standardsEstablish best practices for model versioning, observability, and operational efficiencyHelp set technical strategy while mentoring others and contributing to team culture Projects You’ll Tackle:Intelligent provider matching using multiple signals (clinical fit, availability, insurance, geography)Building vector-based semantic search for better results, especially for non-technical usersCreating robust ML infrastructure for a mission-critical, regulated environmentCollaborating on NLP models that classify and route free-text inputs for faster triagePartnering on LLM-enabled tools for care coordination and support Required Experience:7+ years of current experience building and shipping ML systems in commercial, product-focused companies3+ years as Senior IC or Lead Engineer, owning end-to-end ML projects (e.g., recommender systems, classification, personalization)Strong, hands-on Python and backend integration experience (e.g., batch, APIs), bonus if with DjangoTrack record with model monitoring, deployment, and tools like MLflow, AirflowSolid grasp of systems design and engineering best practicesWork Location: Remote-friendly, but San Diego-based candidates strongly preferred.

Team meets in person 2–3 days per week.Required: Must be authorized to work in the U.S.

without current or future visa sponsorship.

Bonus Experience:Semantic search, vector embeddings, or LLMsHealthcare, mental health, or other mission-driven domainsAWS-native ML infrastructure, Kubernetes, Docker COMPENSATION: $180K – $220K base salaryBENEFITS: Excellent comprehensive healthcare and wellness benefits, 401K, pre-IPO equity, and potential for relocation package to move to San Diego