Software Engineer, Machine Learning Infrastructure

A home is the biggest investment most people make, and yet, it doesn’t come with a manual. That’s why we’re building the only app homeowners need to effortlessly manage their homes — knowing what to do, when to do it, and who to hire. With Thumbtack, millions of people care for what matters most, and pros earn billions of dollars through our platform.

And as one of the fastest-growing companies in a $600B+ industry — we must be doing something right.

We are driven by a common goal and the deep satisfaction that comes from knowing our work supports local economies, helps small businesses grow, and brings homeowners peace of mind. We’re seeking people who continually put our purpose first: advocating for pros and customers, embracing change, and choosing teamwork every day.

At Thumbtack, we're creating a new era of home care. If making an impact and the chance to do good inspires you, join us. Imagine what we’ll build together.

• Available nationwide in every U.S. county
• Over 85 million projects started on Thumbtack
• More than 11 million 5-star reviews and counting
• Pros earn billions on our platform
• 1000+ employees
• $3.2 billion valuation (June, 2021)

At Thumbtack, we’re solving complex technical challenges across search, ranking, recommendations, pricing optimization, and spam detection. Our ML Infrastructure team leads the architectural vision and implementation of enterprise-wide machine learning capabilities, enabling teams to effectively experiment with and deploy ML models ’re building next-generation infrastructure that powers Thumbtack’s AI-first future. For insights into our engineering challenges, visit our engineering blog.

As a Staff ML Infrastructure Engineer, you’ll drive the technical vision and strategic direction of Thumbtack’s machine learning platform. You’ll architect solutions that democratize ML capabilities across the organization while establishing best practices and technical standards. Working closely with senior leadership, you’ll shape our technical roadmap for generative AI adoption, feature platform evolution, and ML operational excellence.

• Define and drive the technical vision and architecture for Thumbtack’s next-generation ML infrastructure
• Lead cross-functional initiatives spanning engineering, data science, and product teams to build scalable, enterprise-grade ML systems
• Architect and oversee implementation of critical ML infrastructure components including model serving systems and RAG systems that can scale.
• Establish technical standards and best practices for ML engineering across the organization
• Mentor and provide technical leadership to engineering teams on ML infrastructure best practices
• Partner with senior leadership to align ML infrastructure capabilities with business objectives

If you don’t think you meet all of the criteria below but still are interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box, and we’re looking for someone excited to join the team.

• 8+ years of engineering experience with significant focus on distributed systems
• 4+ years of hands‑on experience building ML infrastructure or ML platforms at scale
• Deep expertise in at least one major programming language; proficiency in our core stack (Go, Python) preferred
• Proven track record of technical leadership on complex, cross‑functional projects
• Strong architectural skills with experience designing scalable, reliable distributed systems
• Deep understanding of ML workflows, common frameworks, and operational challenges
• Experience mentoring teams and driving engineering excellence
• Track record of making strategic technical decisions with organization‑wide impact

• Experience building AI platforms that support hundreds of models in production
• Deep expertise with modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, Tensor Flow) and MLOps tools
• Experience implementing generative AI capabilities at enterprise scale
• Track record of building high‑performing technical teams
• Expertise with cloud‑native architectures and major cloud providers (AWS, GCP)
• Experience driving technical strategy at fast‑growing…