Software Engineering Manager, AI/ML

Google•Kirkland, WA

8h•$207,000 - $300,000

About The Position

The Software Engineering Manager, AI/ML leads engineers working on large-scale distributed machine learning systems, performance optimization, and open-source generative AI models. The role provides technical leadership and people management, including coaching engineers, managing project goals, contributing to product strategy, and supporting team development. The position is on the JAX Models and Performance team, which supports and optimizes performance for key model architectures used by Google Cloud customers’ generative AI workloads. The team is part of the ML Training team in the AI Engine organization in Core ML. The manager partners with technical leads, product management, and cross-functional teams to set and deliver the roadmap for JAX-based LLM and diffusion frameworks, while guiding performance improvements and support for new accelerator architectures. The role also collaborates with DeepMind, Core ML, and the open-source community to deliver reusable software and MLPerf submissions, balancing innovation with reliability and sustainable engineering practices. The broader role involves managing engineers across multiple teams and locations, overseeing large-scale projects and deployment across international sites, and managing a large product budget. Individual pay is determined by job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. The listed U.S. salary range is $207,000–$300,000, with a 20% bonus target, equity, and benefits.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
8 years of experience in software development.
5 years of experience with one or more of the following: speech/audio, reinforcement learning, ML infrastructure, or specialization in another ML field.
5 years of experience leading ML design and optimizing end-to-end machine learning, including model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, and fine-tuning.
3 years of experience in a technical leadership role.
2 years of experience in a people management or team leadership role.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
3 years of experience working in a complex, matrixed organization involving cross-functional or cross-business projects.

Responsibilities

Provide coaching, mentorship, and career growth for engineers working across large-scale distributed ML systems, performance optimization, and open-source generative AI models.
Partner with Tech Leads, product management, and cross-functional teams to define and execute the roadmap for scalable JAX-based LLM (MaxText) and Diffusion (MaxDiffusion) frameworks.
Guide the team in implementing core performance optimizations, including quantization, sparsity, and custom kernels, and supporting new accelerator architectures (TPUs and GPUs) on GCP AI Hypercomputer.
Collaborate with DeepMind, Core ML, and the open-source community to deliver high-quality, reusable software artifacts and benchmark-setting MLPerf submissions.
Balance rapid model innovation with sustainable engineering practices, operational reliability, and a high-trust team environment.
Manage engineers across multiple teams and locations, oversee deployment of large-scale projects across international sites, and manage a large product budget.