Senior Machine Learning Engineer
About The Position
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a global leader at the intersection of technology and conservation. We steward over a petabyte of biodiversity data, including more than a billion bird observations and 100 million wildlife media assets, and transform it into impactful products leveraging machine learning and expert birder communities. Our work fuels widely used platforms including eBird, Merlin Bird ID—tools that connect millions of people to birds while supporting critical research and conservation action worldwide. Through partnerships with hundreds of organizations in nearly every country, our technology helps drive real-world conservation outcomes at a global scale. We’re in a period of rapid growth, tackling ambitious challenges to expand and scale our data-driven tools for an increasingly diverse and international community. It’s an exciting moment to join a team that’s pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in conservation technology—and making a measurable difference for birds and biodiversity around the world. This role combines engineering leadership with hands-on development of machine learning–driven systems powering Merlin Bird ID, used by millions worldwide to identify birds from images, audio, and video. You will lead the architecture and development of distributed systems that manage and serve massive datasets—including over 100 million media assets in the Macaulay Library—and support the full lifecycle of machine learning models, from training pipelines to production deployment. This includes integrating models into web and mobile applications in both online and offline contexts. Working across teams of engineers, bird experts, and conservation scientists, you will design interoperable systems, APIs, and data pipelines, and serve as a key technical liaison across Macaulay Library, Merlin, and eBird. You will oversee multiple concurrent projects, set technical direction, and ensure best practices in scalability, performance, and reliability. The role includes mentoring engineers while contributing across the stack, including backend services, web applications, and machine learning infrastructure. You will also help advance cloud-based architecture and systems designed for high availability and global scale. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who thrives in complex systems, enjoys leading teams, and is motivated to build impactful, globally scaled software for conservation. While position responsibilities vary, all people leaders are expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by being trustworthy; respecting all individuals; being flexible; supporting work/life integration as well as healthy boundaries; inviting new ideas, alternatives, and perspectives; speaking up and taking action if others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and recognizing the contributions of others. The work location is Ithaca, New York with the possibility of a hybrid work schedule that would be determined by the supervisor. The university reserves the right to modify, suspend, revoke or terminate the hybrid work arrangement at any time. While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science and 5+ years relevant experience, or equivalent combination.
- Experienced in machine learning and software development in research and production environments.
- Extensive Python experience, including knowledge of numpy, pandas, Tensorflow and/or Pytorch.
- Extensive experience working with large numerical and audiovisual datasets in Python.
- Extensive Linux command line experience; comfortable with SSH, SCP, RSYNC, GNU Parallel.
- Experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure.
- Experience with databases, both SQL and Non-SQL.
- Experience building frontend user interfaces with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS and integrating with APIs and web services.
- Demonstrated experience in managing complex information technology projects, including needs assessment, team organization, definition of standards and workflows, task planning and tracking, establishment of realistic goals, and delivery of products on time and within budget.
- Experience defining project requirements, including hardware and software.
- Experience using software development, deployment and project management tools.
- Compliant with all Cornell University and job-related training requirements.
- Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Ability to clearly communicate complex technical issues to leadership team, and to participate effectively as needed in management meetings at all levels.
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
- Ability to build working relationships to solve problems and achieve common goals.
- Proven experience connecting inclusion, belonging and wellbeing practices to business goals.
- Demonstrated skill in understanding cultural differences.
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree preferred with focus in machine learning and computer vision
- Prior use and thorough understanding of Merlin, eBird, or other Cornell Lab tools and resources.
- Understanding of and interest in conservation, birds, bird monitoring protocols, and related vocabulary.
- Experience publishing and presenting research results at leading computer science conferences.
- Experience working on projects at the intersection of machine learning and biodiversity.
Responsibilities
- Lead the architecture and development of distributed systems that manage and serve massive datasets.
- Support the full lifecycle of machine learning models, from training pipelines to production deployment.
- Integrate models into web and mobile applications in both online and offline contexts.
- Design interoperable systems, APIs, and data pipelines.
- Serve as a key technical liaison across Macaulay Library, Merlin, and eBird.
- Oversee multiple concurrent projects, set technical direction, and ensure best practices in scalability, performance, and reliability.
- Mentor engineers while contributing across the stack, including backend services, web applications, and machine learning infrastructure.
- Advance cloud-based architecture and systems designed for high availability and global scale.
- Foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment.
- Communicate across differences; be cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; show respect, compassion, and empathy; engage and support others regardless of background or perspective; speak up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and support work/life integration of oneself and others.
Benefits
- Comprehensive health care options
- Generous retirement contributions
- Access to wellness programs
- Employee discounts with local and national retail brands
- Health and personal leave
- Three weeks of vacation
- 13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1.
- Two additional floating holidays
- Tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program
- Tuition aid for external education
- Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
