Modal

Forward Deployed Engineer - ML

Modal1 months ago
Location

New York

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 180,000 – 250,000

Level

Senior

Role

ML Engineer

Posted

Feb 23, 2026

Full TimeSenior

The role

Summary

Modal is seeking a Forward Deployed ML Engineer to work directly with cutting-edge AI companies, optimizing production AI workloads and helping customers achieve breakthrough performance on complex machine learning infrastructure challenges. The ideal candidate will combine deep technical expertise in ML engineering with exceptional customer-facing communication skills.

What you'll do

Customer Engagement: Work hands-on with leading AI companies like Suno, Lovable, Cognition, and Meta to architect and optimize production AI workloads on Modal's infrastructure
Technical Demonstrations: Conduct technical demos, experiments, and proof-of-concepts to showcase Modal's performance advantages and technical capabilities
Open Source Contribution: Contribute to open-source projects and publish technical content demonstrating Modal's capabilities across the AI stack
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with Modal's product and sales teams, providing engineering insights and product stakeholder perspectives
Technical Leadership Relationships: Build trusted relationships with technical leaders such as CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and ML leads at frontier AI companies

What we look for

Technical

ML Engineering ExperienceMinimum 2+ years of professional ML engineering experience with hands-on work in inference optimization, model training, GPU programming, or ML infrastructure
ML Toolchain ExpertiseDeep familiarity with serving (e.g., vLLM, SGLang) and training (e.g., slime, verl, TRL) toolchains, with expertise in at least one domain

Education

Advanced Technical DegreeBachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, or related technical field preferred

Experience

AI InfrastructureProven track record of working with complex ML infrastructure and deployment scenarios
Customer Facing ExperienceDemonstrated ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Skills

Required skills

Machine LearningStrong understanding of ML model training, inference, and optimization techniques
GPU ProgrammingExperience with GPU-accelerated computing and optimization
Technical CommunicationAbility to articulate complex technical architectures and tradeoffs clearly

Nice to have

Open Source ContributionsActive contributions to ML or systems performance open-source projects
Research BackgroundPublished work or academic research in machine learning or related fields

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 180,000 – 250,000 (annual)

Benefits

Startup Equity

Opportunity to receive equity in a high-growth AI infrastructure company valued at $1.1B

Professional Growth

Work with world-class engineers, computational scientists, and former founders at the forefront of AI technology

Cutting-Edge Technology

Exposure to advanced AI infrastructure and opportunity to work with leading AI companies

Interview process

  1. 1
    Initial Screening — Technical resume review and initial recruiter conversation
  2. 2
    Technical Phone Screen — Detailed discussion of ML engineering experience and technical capabilities
  3. 3
    Technical Interview — In-depth technical interview focusing on ML infrastructure, system design, and problem-solving skills
  4. 4
    Customer Engagement Assessment — Scenario-based interview to evaluate customer interaction and communication skills
  5. 5
    Final Leadership Interview — Discussion with senior technical leadership to assess cultural fit and strategic alignment
Apply for this position

You'll be redirected to the company's application page

Modal

Modal

View all jobs

Modal is a cloud computing platform that enables developers to build, deploy, and scale applications without managing underlying infrastructure. The company provides serverless computing solutions that allow developers to run code on demand, handle background jobs, and deploy machine learning models with minimal operational overhead. Modal serves software developers and organizations looking to streamline their application development and deployment processes in the cloud.

San Francisco, USAFounded 2021modal.com

Tech Stack

Languages
Python
Frameworks
PyTorchTensorFlow
Databases
No-SQL Databases
Tools
vLLMSGLang
Other
GPU Computing
Apply Now

On this page