Staff ML Architect / Lead consultant

Ontrac Solutions • Chicago, IL

2d

About The Position

We are seeking a Staff-Level ML Architect to lead an urgent staff augmentation engagement dedicated to the Bumble 1.0 platform. This is a highly technical, dual-purpose role: you will serve as the 'hands-on-keyboard' technical anchor leading a pod of three ML Engineers, while simultaneously acting as the strategic bridge to senior leadership. You will architect advanced AI systems, establish rigid MLOps standards, and shield your team from organizational friction.

Requirements

• Demonstrated history of technical leadership, with a profile comparable to top-tier senior leads, capable of driving both strategy and low-level code execution.
• Deep expertise in building and deploying LLMs, Agentic workflows, and utilizing the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in production.
• Extensive architectural knowledge of the GCP ecosystem, Vertex AI, and modern MLOps pipelines (Spark, Airflow).
• High proficiency in real-time inference optimization (Triton) and Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform).
• Exceptional communication skills with a proven ability to translate complex technical constraints to non-technical leadership, while shielding engineering teams from scope creep.

Responsibilities

• Hands-on Leadership: Operate continuously 'hands-on-keyboard' while managing and guiding a team of three ML engineers. Ensure the team strictly adheres to established, highly reliable MLOps deployment patterns and coding standards.
• Advanced AI Development: Architect, build, and deploy production-grade AI Agents utilizing raw and fine-tuned foundational LLMs. Leverage sub-agents, tool-calling, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations to solve complex product challenges.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as the primary strategic liaison by partnering with Product, Engineering, and Data leadership to influence AI/ML strategy at senior levels.
• Program Management Buffer: Serve as the protective project and program management 'buffer' for the technical team, handling stakeholder alignment and roadmapping so the engineering pod can focus entirely on execution.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed