Staff Engineer - Machine Learning

We are seeking a Machine Learning Staff Engineer to lead the development of core backend services powering our Agentic AI Platform. In this role, you will be the primary technical driver for building reasoning-driven agents, multi-agent orchestration, and outcome-based workflows. You will collaborate with the Principal AI Architect to bridge the gap between high-level design and scalable implementation. You will own the development of high-performance APIs and orchestration runtimes, integrating frameworks like LangChain, LangGraph, and LangSmith. This role is highly hands-on and requires a technical leader who can navigate a fast-paced environment while maintaining high engineering standards. Key Responsibilities Platform Backend Development • Lead Implementation: Act as the lead engineer for agent runtime orchestration services, focusing on reasoning, planning, and tool invocation • API & SDK Design: Own the development of robust APIs and SDKs that enable internal and external teams to build and deploy agent workflows • State & Memory Management: Build and optimize stateful dialog management and memory services for multi-turn, context-aware agents • Agent Communication: Implement multi-agent communication (A2A) protocols and shared context systems System Architecture & Execution • Microservices Leadership: Execute the transition to cloud-native, event-driven backend services using microservices or service mesh architectures • Workflow Design: Build and manage task scheduling and long-running operations using tools like Temporal or Airflow • Performance Optimization: Optimize LLM orchestration for performance and cost through caching, batching, and token monitoring Integrations & Data Services • Data Pipeline Ownership: Implement and maintain RAG pipelines and integrations with vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, Weaviate, FAISS) • Telemetry Integration: Ensure all backend services support LangSmith-based evaluation and comprehensive observability Security & Reliability • Tenant Isolation: Implement RBAC, API authentication, and multi-tenant isolation logic • Engineering Excellence: Set the standard for automated testing (unit, integration, load) and implement OpenTelemetry for full system visibility • Mentorship: Provide technical guidance and code reviews for more junior backend engineers on the team Required Qualifications: • 6+ years of backend engineering experience • 1-2+ years of hands-on experience in AI/ML platform development • Expert Proficiency: Strong programming skills in Java and Python • Framework Expertise: Hands-on experience with LangChain, LangGraph, or LangSmith • Distributed Systems: Deep understanding of event-driven architectures, microservices, and Kubernetes • Cloud & Data: Solid experience with AWS, Terraform, and a mix of relational (PostgreSQL) and Vector databases • Orchestration: Practical experience with workflow engines like Temporal or Airflow and messaging systems like Kafka Preferred Qualifications: • Experience with AI-driven planning systems or dialog state tracking • Background in enterprise security (RBAC, SSO, OAuth2) • Experience working in a high-growth SaaS or startup environment • Active contributions to open-source backend or AI frameworks Please note this is a hybrid role with onsite expectations of 3x/week (Tues - Thurs) from our San Mateo, CA headquarters.  The annual base salary range for this position is  $211,000 - $261,000.  This role is also eligible for a target bonus.  Compensation is based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to location, experience, job-related skills, and level.  Freshworks offers multiple options for dental, medical, vision, disability, and life insurance. Equity + ESPP, flexible PTO, flexible spending, commuter b