Senior Manager, Machine Learning Engineering

Instacart

5d • $230,000 - $290,500 • Remote

About The Position

Instacart is hiring a Senior Engineering Manager for its Advertiser Optimization team. The role leads engineers and applied research scientists who build systems to optimize advertising performance through bidding, pacing, and targeting. These systems use Instacart’s data and market position to create value for advertising partners, improve the consumer experience, and contribute to company revenue.

The role works with cross-functional teams to develop algorithms and machine learning models that improve advertising effectiveness across Instacart’s platform. The team focuses on optimization solutions that help advertising partners achieve results while providing customers with relevant and engaging advertising experiences.

The Senior Engineering Manager will guide and develop team members, set technical direction for auto-bidding, budget pacing, and user targeting, and oversee project delivery. They will partner with data science, infrastructure, product management, and other technical teams to align engineering work with company goals and market needs, while improving delivery velocity, quality, and operational stability.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Operations Research, Applied Mathematics, Control Systems, Computational Economics, or a related quantitative field.
• 7+ years of experience in software development.
• 2+ years of experience in software engineering management.
• Experience with digital advertising platforms, real-time bidding, budget pacing, and user targeting solutions.
• Proven track record of technical leadership in developing software products.
• Evidence of implementing innovative technical solutions that drove business success.
• Familiarity with data science, optimization, and machine learning techniques.

Nice To Haves

• PhD in Computer Science, Operations Research, Applied Mathematics, Control Systems, Computational Economics, or a related quantitative field.
• 4+ years of experience in software engineering management.
• Experience building machine learning models and solutions.

Responsibilities

• Guide and mentor team members, create career development plans, and support their professional growth.
• Promote innovation, continuous improvement, engineering excellence, and an inclusive, collaborative team environment.
• Assess team performance and provide constructive feedback.
• Build strategic partnerships with data science, infrastructure, and other technical teams to integrate software engineering and machine learning solutions.
• Shape the long-term technical vision for auto-bidding, budget pacing, and user targeting in support of business goals.
• Identify and integrate emerging technologies to improve product features.
• Manage technical aspects of key projects and proactively address risks.
• Establish team processes that improve delivery velocity, quality, and operational stability while minimizing incidents.
• Translate complex algorithms into impactful solutions.
• Prioritize the product backlog and manage development timelines.
• Collaborate with product managers to align engineering efforts with market needs.
• Lead a team of engineers and applied research scientists building systems that optimize advertising performance.

Benefits

• New hire equity grant and annual refresh grants.
• Market-competitive compensation and benefits; specific benefits are referenced through a linked benefits page but not detailed in the posting.

What This Job Offers

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