Head of Machine Learning - Aquaeye

BLANKSLATE Partners • Vancouver, BC

5d • CA$120,000 - CA$180,000

About The Position

AquaEye is a fast-growing company transforming the global water rescue industry by developing rapid-deployment, intelligent sonar solutions. Our flagship product, AquaEye, is a handheld sonar device with built-in AI detection to help first responders locate drowning victims faster and more effectively. As we continue to expand our global reach and develop new product lines, we are seeking a driven, hands-on Head of Machine Learning to own and advance innovation in our product’s algorithms.
This role is central to AquaEye’s core technology and strategic vision. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading ML strategy, overseeing end-to-end development, and solving some of our most challenging embedded ML problems.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a related field
• 5-10 years of experience in machine learning, AI, and software development
• AWS
• Claude
• Writing in C - because its embedded
• Python
• Scripting
• Converts algorithms to code and develops solutions that leverage machine learning concepts like decision trees, logistic regression, or Bayesian analysis to interpret large and complex data sets.
• Proven track record of leading machine learning teams and delivering quality products
• Experience with embedded ML on hardware / IoT devices
• Experience translating real-world applications and customer needs into machine learning solutions
• Strong proficiency in Python, with experience using PyTorch and Scikit-learn
• End-to-end machine learning project experience, including data pipelines, data cleaning, preprocessing, model design, training, validation, and deployment
• Experience with project management tools, including JIRA
• Experience working with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure
• Strong technical communication, documentation, and organizational skills

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with sonar systems and sonar data
• Familiarity with signal processing
• Familiarity with computer vision such as object detection and Fourier transforms
• Experience with IP strategy in AI innovation
• Comfort in open water settings year-round (with appropriate PPE)

Responsibilities

• Define and execute our machine learning strategy aligned with evolving product and business objectives.
• Lead the design and evolution of signal processing and machine learning architectures for production systems.
• Establish technical standards, best practices, and development processes for ML systems.
• Evaluate emerging machine learning technologies and identify opportunities to enhance product capabilities and competitive advantage.
• Provide technical leadership on architecture decisions, model selection, and system performance optimization.
• Oversee the development, validation, deployment, and lifecycle management of machine learning models.
• Oversee the design, optimization, and scalability of our signal processing pipelines.
• Define model performance metrics and continuously drive improvements through rigorous evaluation and experimentation.
• Ensure robustness, maintainability, and scalability of production ML infrastructure, data pipelines, and supporting databases.
• Oversee ML Ops practices, including model versioning, reproducibility, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
• Establish standards for dataset acquisition, quality, governance, and lifecycle management.
• Lead planning and execution of field data collection initiatives to ensure datasets meet product development and validation objectives.
• Continually innovate on existing methodologies for data labeling, preprocessing, quality assurance, and representativeness across operational scenarios.
• Oversee continuous expansion and refinement of training datasets to improve model accuracy and generalization.
• Work alongside Product Management, Engineering, and executive leadership to define the AI roadmap and prioritize development initiatives.
• Translate customer needs and operational challenges into innovative machine learning solutions and product capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership during customer demonstrations, field trials, and critical deployments.
• Serve as the organization's subject matter expert for machine learning technologies, advising stakeholders on technical direction and product strategy.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to develop a high performing machine learning team within the product development group.
• Establish project priorities, resource allocation, and development plans to ensure successful delivery of strategic objectives.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Drive project execution through effective planning, risk management, and use of project management tools such as Jira.
• Build organizational capability by defining engineering processes, conducting technical reviews, and promoting knowledge sharing across teams.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based incentives.
• Employee ownership opportunities.
• Health, dental, and vision coverage.
• 4 weeks paid vacation plus company closure between Dec 24 – Jan 1.
• Flexible and dynamic work environment.
• Opportunity to directly impact the design and development of end product
• Opportunity to work on a variety of tasks and be a part of the creation process of new products

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior