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Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Job Opportunity at Instacart

Toronto, Canada
Full-time
Senior
Posted: March 17, 2025
Hybrid
CAD 203,000-225,000 per year

Benefits

Flexible work location policy allowing choice between home, office, or remote settings
Regular in-person team events for community building
Competitive compensation package at top of market range
Opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI technologies and research

Key Responsibilities

Lead development of advanced AI and machine learning solutions including LLM implementations and neural networks for marketplace optimization
Architect and implement transformer-based deep learning systems with focus on multimodal AI applications
Drive innovation in AI infrastructure through research and implementation of latest ML advancements
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate business requirements into AI solutions
Pioneer foundation model applications with focus on prompt engineering and fine-tuning methodologies

Requirements

Education

Graduate degree (masters or PhD) in artificial intelligence, machine learning or equivalent self study and experience

Experience

7+ years of industry experience

Required Skills

Strong programming skills in Python Fluency in SQL and Pandas Experience with scikit-learn, XGBoost, Keras/Tensorflow Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities Strong communication skills Experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX Expertise in LLM architectures Knowledge of transformer models and attention mechanisms Experience with PEFT, LoRA, and RLHF
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Sauge AI Market Intelligence

Industry Trends

The explosive growth in LLM applications is driving unprecedented demand for ML engineers with foundation model expertise. Companies are rapidly transitioning from traditional ML to neural architectures, making this skillset particularly valuable. The intersection of e-commerce and AI is experiencing rapid evolution, with companies investing heavily in personalization and search relevance technologies. There's a significant shift towards multimodal AI systems that can handle text, image, and structured data simultaneously, particularly in retail applications.

Salary Evaluation

The offered salary range of CAD 203,000-225,000 is competitive for the Toronto market and aligns with the senior level and specialized AI expertise required. This positions the role in the top 25% of ML engineering salaries in Canada.

Role Significance

Based on the scope and company structure, this role likely operates within a team of 5-8 ML engineers, collaborating with a broader engineering organization of 50+ members.
This is a high-impact senior role focused on core business functions, likely reporting to a Principal Engineer or Engineering Director, with significant autonomy in technical decisions.

Key Projects

Development and deployment of large-scale search and recommendation systems Implementation of custom LLM applications for e-commerce optimization Architecture design for multi-modal AI systems integrating text and image processing Development of advanced personalization engines using transformer-based architectures

Success Factors

Deep expertise in modern AI architectures and practical implementation experience Ability to balance theoretical ML knowledge with practical engineering constraints Strong collaboration skills for working across technical and business teams Track record of delivering measurable business impact through AI solutions

Market Demand

Extremely high demand, particularly given the specialized focus on LLMs and transformer architectures. The combination of e-commerce domain knowledge and advanced AI expertise makes this role particularly scarce in the current market.

Important Skills

Critical Skills

Deep learning framework expertise (particularly PyTorch and TensorFlow) is essential for implementing and optimizing large-scale models LLM fine-tuning and prompt engineering experience is crucial for developing custom AI solutions Production ML system design skills are vital for ensuring scalable and efficient implementations

Beneficial Skills

Experience with vector databases and efficient similarity search Knowledge of reinforcement learning, particularly RLHF Familiarity with MLOps and model monitoring systems Understanding of e-commerce recommendation systems

Unique Aspects

Rare opportunity to work on cutting-edge LLM applications in a production e-commerce environment
Strong research focus with regular academic publications
Direct impact on core business metrics through AI innovation
Exposure to complex four-sided marketplace optimization challenges

Career Growth

Typical progression to next level within 2-3 years, with potential for faster advancement based on impact and innovation contributions.

Potential Next Roles

Principal Machine Learning Engineer Technical Lead - AI/ML Director of Machine Learning AI Architecture Lead

Company Overview

Instacart

Instacart is a leading technology company in the grocery delivery space, with a sophisticated four-sided marketplace connecting customers, shoppers, retailers, and advertisers.

Market leader in grocery delivery technology with significant growth and innovation in AI applications, particularly in search and discovery.
Strong presence in North American market with significant technical operations in Toronto, positioning this role at the heart of their AI innovation efforts.
Engineering-driven culture with strong emphasis on innovation and research, including regular publications in top ML venues.
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  • Salary estimates and market demand analysis
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  • Critical success factors and key skills
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