Zendesk is hiring a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to serve as a technical and strategic member within the team. You will drive the development and deployment of advanced data science and machine learning solutions, particularly those harnessing LLMs and deep learning, ensuring business value is embedded in every technical decision.
What You'll Do
- Drive the design, development, and deployment of advanced ML and AI solutions, with an emphasis on large language models (LLMs), deep learning architectures, and sophisticated statistical modeling.
- Build scalable, robust data science systems—from data ingestion and curation to model deployment and monitoring—meeting enterprise-grade performance, reliability, and compliance standards.
- Act as a subject matter expert, collaborating with data scientists, ML engineers, analysts, and business stakeholders to understand needs and deliver practical solutions with measurable business impact.
- Effectively articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical partners, bridging gaps between technical teams and business operations.
- Drive adoption of best practices in MLOps, including CI/CD pipelines, containerization, orchestration, observability, and reproducibility.
- Oversee and enhance the integrity, security, and compliance of all data science workflows and contracts.
- Stay abreast of the latest industry advancements in ML, LLMs, deep learning, and cloud data engineering.
- Foster technical excellence and ensure alignment with business objectives.
What We're Looking For
- 3+ years of experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- BA/BS in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related discipline.
- Deep expertise in statistical modeling, machine learning, and deep learning, including practical experience with LLMs and transformers.
- Strong programming skills (Python preferred; Java, Scala, or similar also valued).
- Proven ability to build and optimize scalable data science solutions end-to-end, from data pipelines (dbt, Astronomer, Snowflake, AWS) to deployment and monitoring (Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD).
- Experience handling and analyzing large datasets, with a preference for experience in cloud data warehouses like Snowflake.
- Demonstrated success in translating business needs into analytical solutions and driving quantifiable impact.
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills and a track record of building trusted business partnerships.
- Exceptional ability to simplify and communicate complex data science concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experience working cross-functionally with engineers, analysts, and product leaders.
- Steadfast commitment to continuous learning, collaboration, and fostering an inclusive, innovative team environment.
Nice to Have
- An advanced degree is highly preferred.
Technical Stack
- Languages: Python, Java, Scala
- Data Tools: dbt, Astronomer, Snowflake
- Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS, Docker, Kubernetes
- ML Focus: LLMs, Transformers
Team & Environment
You will be part of the Enterprise Machine Learning team, collaborating with data scientists, ML engineers, analysts, and business stakeholders.
Work Mode
This role follows a hybrid work model.
Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
