Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer, Search and Recommendation

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s human and AI-powered work marketplace that connects businesses with highly skilled, AI-enabled independent talent from across the globe. From entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 enterprises, companies rely on Upwork’s trusted platform and its mindful AI companion, Uma, to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With on-demand access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, Upwork enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and build agile teams for the age of AI and beyond.

Upwork’s platform has facilitated more than $25 billion in economic opportunity for talent around the world. Learn more at Upwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.

Are you passionate about using machine learning to drive meaningful change? As a Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer at Upwork, you will leverage advanced machine learning techniques to deliver cutting-edge solutions that directly impact our global platform and user experience. You’ll work with large-scale data to solve complex problems, from improving search relevance to personalizing recommendations, and create a powerful, seamless experience for our users. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the innovation at the world’s largest work marketplace, where your work will enable our community of freelancers and clients to connect and collaborate in impactful ways.

• Design, implement, and deploy machine learning models to improve the efficiency and accuracy of Upwork’s platform features, such as search relevance, recommendations and personalization.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, data engineering, and design, to develop, iterate on, and deliver ML-driven solutions that align with business goals.
• Lead experimentation and optimization of models in production, continuously improving model performance and ensuring scalability across large user bases.
• Build and maintain scalable ML pipelines for training, inference, and real-time batch processing using cloud-native platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Use advanced data analysis techniques to extract actionable insights, providing leadership on data-driven decisions that enhance user engagement and satisfaction.
• Mentor junior ML engineers, fostering a collaborative team culture focused on continuous learning, innovation, and excellence.

• Extensive experience in machine learning, including deep learning, NLP, or other advanced ML techniques, with a track record of successfully deploying models at scale for low latency applications and measurable impact
• Experienced  with operationalizing, monitoring, and scaling machine learning models and pipelines in cloud ecosystems
• Strong Foundational ML Knowledge and solid understanding of information retrieval, NLP, and user behavior modeling
• Strong proficiency in Python, SQL, and ML/AI frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow 
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to work effectively on complex challenges in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to translate technical details for a variety of stakeholders.
• A growth mindset and commitment to staying current on trends and advancements in machine learning and data science.

Come change how the world works.