Sr Lead Machine Learning Engineer

Position Overview

• Location Type: Remote
• Employment Type: Full-time
• Salary: Not Specified

Upwork is the world’s largest work marketplace, connecting businesses with highly skilled professionals worldwide. From entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 enterprises, companies trust Upwork’s platform to access expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive meaningful business outcomes. Upwork’s AI-powered platform has facilitated over $20 billion in economic opportunity for professionals worldwide. With professionals spanning 10,000+ skills, including AI and machine learning, software development, sales and marketing, customer support, finance and accounting, and more, Upwork empowers businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and build agile teams.

This role offers the opportunity to contribute directly to the future of work by developing and scaling impactful machine learning models that power the experiences of millions of users.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy production-grade ML models that drive core user-facing features including recommendations, search, personalization, and trust & safety.
• Lead complex cross-functional initiatives by aligning stakeholders, translating strategy into execution, and delivering measurable business impact.
• Optimize model performance and infrastructure, championing operational excellence and responsiveness at scale across Upwork’s ecosystem.
• Guide the team in setting and upholding best practices for experimentation, data quality, and model evaluation to support continuous learning and delivery.
• Use advanced analytics to surface insights and influence decision-making at the team and leadership level.
• Mentor and support team members, cultivating a collaborative, curious, and inclusive engineering culture.
• Bring fresh ideas and frameworks to solve technical challenges, championing innovation and creative problem-solving across projects.

Requirements

• Extensive experience developing and deploying ML models at scale, including deep learning, NLP, or recommender systems in real-world applications.
• Fluency in Python and ML libraries such as TensorFlow or PyTorch, and strong proficiency with data tools like SQL, Spark, and Pandas.
• Proven ability to lead high-impact projects from ideation through deployment, working effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain technical decisions and data insights to stakeholders at all levels.
• A growth-oriented mindset with a passion for innovation, learning, and advancing the state of applied machine learning.

Application Instructions

• Please submit your resume and cover letter through Upwork's application portal.

Company Information

• Company: Upwork
• Industry: Online Marketplace, Technology
• Website: https://www.upwork.com/