Back to jobs
tags.new

Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Technical Lead

Boston, MA

Paperless Parts is a SaaS startup helping manufacturers quote faster and win more work. From rockets to medical devices, we power the parts that move the world forward.
 
This position requires activities that are subject to US Export Control Laws and require US Citizenship or Green Card Holder.

About the Role 

Step into the role of Technical Lead for our newly formed engineering pod, building the core manufacturing intelligence engine powering the future of Paperless Parts. In this high-leverage role, you will act as the bridge between the art of the possible and high-velocity engineering execution. You will translate cutting-edge models and algorithms into production-grade training pipelines and inference services.

As the technical anchor of a lean, ambitious team, you will drive R&D execution across our entire machine learning lifecycle—from data labeling strategies to low-latency model inference. You will ensure that our approach to computer vision, document intelligence, and predictive modeling is both mathematically rigorous and operationally sound.

Who You Are

  • Rigorous yet Pragmatic: You possess a deep theoretical grounding in machine learning and artificial intelligence fundamentals, but you are driven by shipping code that solves real-world, industrial problems. You don’t just apply models; you understand the underlying mathematics, optimization functions, and architectural trade-offs.
  • Mentor & Force Multiplier: You are passionate about teaching and elevating early-career technical talent. You enjoy breaking down complex concepts and foster a culture of engineering discipline and curiosity.
  • AI Strategist: You understand the trade-offs inherent in technology decisions and think strategically about when to use frontier models, when to train our own, and when to use deterministic solutions.
  • Collaborative Partner: You seamlessly collaborate with researchers, other engineering teams, and business stakeholders, helping ensure we build the right technology, deploy it scalably, and bring it to market.

Why You'll Love Working Here

  • R&D Ownership: You will lead the technical execution of a new, highly visible engineering pod tasked with solving some of the toughest geometric and document-processing challenges in tech.
  • Complex Data & Unique Problems: Our engineering team deals with rich data, including 2D drawings and 3D CAD models. Your work will change what’s possible in manufacturing.
  • A Culture of Rigor and Velocity: We value intentionality, persistence, and deep technical discipline. You will have the freedom to meld academic-level inquiry with the agility of a fast-scaling startup.
  • High-Impact Mission: Our platform powers manufacturing for critical industries like aerospace, defense, and medical devices. The models your team deploys directly impact the physical creation of products that move the world forward.

What You'll Do

  • Drive R&D Execution: Own planning and execution of the AI/ML pod’s backlog. Partner closely with the Chief Scientist and other engineering pods to ensure the research pipeline aligns smoothly with border product timelines.
  • Prototype and Transition: Lead the hands-on prototyping of novel solutions and transition of successful proofs-of-concept into production-ready services. Guide the strategic migration of workloads, identifying opportunities to shift repetitive tasks from expensive frontier models to fine-tuned, open-source architectures.
  • Operationalize ML Infrastructure: Develop scalable, repeatable approaches to labeling data, training models, and deploying services that support our products with AI capabilities.
  • Design Rigorous Benchmarks: Define and track metrics that evaluate the effectiveness and costs of our AI-powered solutions, enabling key technology decisions to be data-driven.
  • Mentor the Pod: Act as the technical anchor and primary mentor for early-career ML engineers. Cultivate an engineering culture of deep theoretical and practical rigor through hands-on pairing and comprehensive design and code reviews.

What You'll Bring

  • 8+ years of experience in relevant R&D roles with a strong background in SaaS products at scale (start-up to scale-up transition experience preferred).
  • Advanced Academic Foundation: a technical degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or closely related field, with a strong understanding of the mathematics behind modern AI/ML techniques is essential. An advanced degree and track record of peer-reviewed publications is a strong plus when paired with proven software experience in industry.
  • AI/ML Fundamentals: A robust understanding of core machine learning and deep learning theory, including neural networks, statistical modeling and inference, and metric learning.
  • MLOps: Experience working with cloud-native patterns for ML pipelines, including platforms like AWS SageMaker.
  • Communication Mastery: Exceptional ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and influence decisions without relying on authority. This may include technical talks and publications.

Why Join Us?

  • Impactful Work: Your contributions will power industries critical to our society and economy, making a real difference.
  • Continuous Learning: We invest in our people and offer opportunities to learn, grow, and advance their careers.
  • Supportive Culture: Our team is our greatest asset, and we foster an environment where everyone can thrive.

If you’re a forward-thinking engineer eager to make a significant impact while working with a talented, driven team, we’d love to hear from you!

Salary range:  $195,000 - $263,000


The job posting range is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the range may be modified in the future. An employee’s pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, performance, sales or revenue-based metrics, and business or organizational needs.

Paperless Parts Life

Culture: At Paperless Parts, we value intentionality, persistence and relationships. We live and breathe these values every day. As a fast-growing company, we’re continually improving what we’ve built while still building from the ground up. 

Boston Office: Our office is full of energy; people regularly collaborate to solve complex problems. We recognize that people work well in different environments and have intentionally designed our office to provide collaborative spaces and quiet focus areas. Our height-adjustable desks are set up with additional monitors, and employees are provided with the latest Apple technology to support productivity. 

Our headquarters is located in downtown Boston, MA and easily accessible to most transit routes (Red/Blue/Orange/Green Line/South Station/North Station).

Encinitas Office: Our California office is our newest office which seats our West Coast sales team. The office has an open floor plan with several conference rooms to encourage collaboration with your colleagues in California and TV's to connect with those sitting in Boston or remotely. The office is walking distance from Downtown Encinitas, the Coaster train stop, and tons of activities on the 101.

Benefits: We value you and your family. With this in mind, full-time employees are provided:

  • 100% coverage of health, dental, and vision for you and your dependent

  • Competitive compensation philosophy

  • Unlimited PTO

  • 13+ paid holidays

  • Company-sponsored wellness stipend

  • Pre-tax Commuter and FSA/Dependent Care FSA

  • 401(k) plan

  • Employee recognition program

Responsible for adherence to all security and privacy requirements, rules and regulations and implement as required.

Paperless Parts is committed to cultivating an equitable, inclusive, and supportive environment for all employees. We believe this environment creates a safe space for employees to share their experiences, brainstorm ideas, and grow their careers. Paperless Parts is an Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Paperless Parts? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Have you worked at a startup company before? *
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Paperless Parts’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.