Role overview
****Join SignalFire’s Talent Network for Principal AI/ML Engineer Roles at VC-Backed Startups****
At
**SignalFire**
, we partner with
**top early-stage startups**
that are shaping the future of technology. Our portfolio spans 200+ innovative companies across AI, cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, developer tools, and enterprise SaaS.
We’re looking to connect with exceptional Principal AI/ML Engineers who are excited about driving AI strategy, advancing machine learning research, and scaling AI-powered systems at high-growth startups. By joining SignalFire’s Talent Network, your profile will be shared with our portfolio companies, giving you visibility into exclusive early-stage opportunities that may not be publicly listed.
💡 This is not an application for a specific job. Instead, this is a way to get on the radar of VC-backed startups that are actively hiring AI/ML talent. If you have any questions, please direct inquiries to talentnetwork@signalfire.com.
**Who Should Join?**
We’re looking for AI/ML experts who are:
✔ Passionate about
**developing and deploying cutting-edge machine learning and deep learning models**
✔ Experienced in
**architecting scalable AI systems and leading technical teams**
✔ Excited to
**push the boundaries of AI research and apply it to real-world business challenges**
**Typical Roles & Responsibilities**
* Architect, develop, and optimize machine learning and deep learning models for production systems
* Research and apply state-of-the-art AI methodologies, including LLMs, transformers, and reinforcement learning
* Lead AI strategy, identifying opportunities for innovation and model optimization
* Develop scalable training and inference pipelines for AI-powered applications
* Work closely with engineering, data, and product teams to integrate AI/ML into business solutions
* Optimize ML models for efficiency, accuracy, and scalability in real-world deployments
* Ensure robust MLOps practices, including model monitoring, retraining, and deployment automation
* Collaborate on AI/ML research publications, patents, and open-source contributions
**Common Qualifications**
While each startup has its own hiring criteria, many
**Principal AI/ML Engineer**
roles in our network look for:
* 8+ years of experience in AI/ML, deep learning, or applied AI
* Expertise in Python and ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, JAX, Hugging Face Transformers)
* Strong background in computer vision, NLP, generative AI, or reinforcement learning
* Experience developing scalable AI pipelines, data processing workflows, and distributed training systems
* Familiarity with big data tools (Apache Spark, Kafka, Hadoop) and MLOps platforms (MLflow, TFX, SageMaker)
* Deep understanding of LLMs, transformer architectures, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines
* Experience with model quantization, fine-tuning, and optimization for performance
* Strong knowledge of cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes)
* A track record of technical leadership, mentoring, and driving AI innovation
💡
**Technologies You Might Work With:**
* Languages & Frameworks: Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, JAX, Hugging Face Transformers
* MLOps & Data Pipelines: MLflow, Kubeflow, TFX, Apache Spark, Airflow, Ray
* Cloud & Deployment: AWS SageMaker, GCP Vertex AI, Azure ML, Kubernetes, Docker
* Big Data & Storage: Apache Kafka, Hadoop, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redis, NoSQL databases
* Model Optimization: ONNX, TensorRT, pruning, quantization, distillation
**What Happens Next?**
* Submit your application to join SignalFire’s Talent Ecosystem.
* We review applications on an ongoing basis to identify strong candidates.
* If there’s a match, a SignalFire talent partner or a leader from one of our startups may reach out directly.
* No match yet? We’ll keep your profile on file for future AI/ML roles in our portfolio.
Compensation Range: $170K - $270K