Principal Machine Learning Engineer

Job Description

This role is based remotely but if you live within a 50-mile radius of [Austin, Detroit, Warren, Milford or Mountain View], you are expected to report to that location three times a week, at minimum. 

The Role:

We are seeking a Principal AI Engineer to lead the design and advancement of our AI platform. You will play a key role in shaping the infrastructure that powers large-scale training and cloud inference. This includes accelerating training throughput, scaling multi-modal models, and enabling the next generation of AI-driven driving systems. We're tackling challenges across distributed training, training efficiency, DDP/FSDP, data processing pipelines, and Pytorch model optimization. This is a highly impactful position where your technical leadership will define how we scale AI to achieve autonomy.

What You’ll Do:

• Architect, build, and optimize core AI/ML platform infrastructure to support massive-scale model training.

• Collaborate with data scientists, ML engineers, and software developers to enable seamless workflows from research to production.

• Drive efficiency in large-scale distributed training and data processing pipelines.

• Establish best practices for reliability, scalability, and performance across the AI/ML platform.

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship, guiding teams on platform design, architecture decisions, and emerging technologies.

• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to align platform capabilities with business needs and strategic AI initiatives.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications):

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, related field, or equivalent experience.

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.

• 4+ years of specialized experience in AI/ML domain (e.g., enabling distributed training for large-scale models).

• Strong programming skills in Python, with proficiency in frameworks such as PyTorch (preferred) or TensorFlow.

• Experience with distributed systems, GPU computing, and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

• Comfortable operating in highly ambiguous and dynamic environments.

• Willingness to travel to Sunnyvale, CA as needed.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):

• Proven track record of self-motivation, execution, and delivering impact.

• Deep expertise with PyTorch 2.x+ and distributed training frameworks.

• Strong skills in profiling, analysis, debugging, and optimizing training performance (e.g., avoiding memory fragmentation, operation fusion).

• Proficiency in C++ for performance-critical components.

• Experience leading cross-functional projects and aligning diverse stakeholders on priorities.

Compensation: The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of New York, Colorado, California, or Washington.  

• The salary range for this role is $296,300 to $453,200. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position. 

• Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.

• Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more. 

Benefits: 

• Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more. 
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Benefits Overview

From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws. 

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.

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