Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer

Senior Lead Machine Learning Engineer – LLM Focus Location: Toronto Salary: $150,000 – $180,000 base 20% Bonus Company Overview: Join a fast-growing, innovative organization at the forefront of artificial intelligence, committed to pushing boundaries in generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). We're solving cutting-edge problems with scalable machine learning and deploying solutions across industries, from finance to healthcare to enterprise automation. Role Overview: We are seeking a Machine Learning Engineering Manager with deep expertise in LLMs and production-grade ML systems. This is a hands-on leadership role where you'll oversee a team of up to 10 Machine Learning Engineers , while also contributing technically to high-impact AI solutions. You’ll shape the roadmap for LLM initiatives, drive team performance, ensure technical excellence, and align engineering efforts with business objectives. This role combines engineering leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic execution in a fast-paced environment. Key Responsibilities: Lead and manage a team of up to 10 Machine Learning Engineers , providing mentorship, performance reviews, and career development guidance. Define and drive the engineering roadmap for LLM-based solutions and scalable ML systems. Collaborate with research, product, and data teams to align technical execution with strategic business needs. Guide development of ML/LLM solutions for tasks like summarization, classification, Q&A, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Oversee implementation and optimization of transformer models (e.g., GPT, LLaMA, Claude, Mistral). Ensure best practices in model training, fine-tuning, evaluation, and deployment. Build robust ML pipelines with MLFlow, Airflow, or Kubeflow. Manage production deployments using Docker, Kubernetes, and serving frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow Serving, TorchServe, FastAPI). Lead efforts in CI/CD, monitoring, versioning, and model drift mitigation. Promote a high-performing, collaborative team culture and drive continuous learning and innovation. Required Qualifications: MSc or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Engineering, or a related STEM discipline. 2 years of experience managing and mentoring ML Engineers or cross-functional ML teams . Proven expertise in LLMs and transformer-based architectures (e.g., GPT, BERT, RoBERTa, T5). Strong production experience with ML/AI model development, deployment, and lifecycle management. Advanced Python skills and familiarity with libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face Transformers. Proficiency with cloud platforms (AWS preferred), Kubernetes, and distributed systems (e.g., Spark, Kafka). Solid understanding of DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines for machine learning. Exceptional communication and leadership skills; able to bridge technical and business discussions effectively. Preferred Experience: Experience building and scaling retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines. Familiarity with vector databases (e.g., FAISS, Pinecone, Weaviate) and frameworks like LangChain or LlamaIndex. Knowledge of RLHF, prompt engineering, and generative model evaluation. Experience in regulated or high-security environments is a strong plus. Compensation and Benefits: Base Salary: $150,000 – $180,000 20% Annual Bonus Flexible hybrid work setup Comprehensive benefits package (health, dental, vision) Annual learning & development budget, including AI/ML conference attendance How to Apply: To express your interest in this opportunity, please submit your CV via the "Apply" link on this page. We look forward to connecting with you!