Back to jobs
New

Senior ML Applications Engineer

Remote

About Phaidra

Phaidra is building the future of industrial automation.

The world today is filled with static, monolithic infrastructure. Factories, power plants, buildings, etc. operate the same they've operated for decades — because the controls programming is hard-coded. Thousands of lines of rules and heuristics that define how the machines interact with each other. The result of all this hard-coding is that facilities are frozen in time, unable to adapt to their environment while their performance slowly degrades.

Phaidra creates AI-powered control systems for the industrial sector, enabling industrial facilities to automatically learn and improve over time. Specifically:

  • We use reinforcement learning algorithms to provide this intelligence, converting raw sensor data into high-value actions and decisions.
  • We focus on industrial applications, which tend to be well-sensorized with measurable KPIs — perfect for reinforcement learning.
  • We enable domain experts (our users) to configure the AI control systems (i.e. agents) without writing code. They define what they want their AI agents to do, and we do it for them.

Our team has a track record of applying AI to some of the toughest problems. From achieving superhuman performance with DeepMind's AlphaGo, to reducing the energy required to cool Google's Data Centers by 40%, we deeply understand AI and how to apply it in production for massive impact.

Phaidra’s ability to achieve its mission is determined by our ability to work together — as defined by our core values: Transparency, Collaboration, Operational Excellence, Ownership, and Empathy. We seek individuals who embody these values, as they are instrumental in ensuring our team consistently delivers excellence and fosters an engaging and supportive culture

Phaidra is based in the USA but 100% remote; we do not have a physical office. We hire employees internationally with the help of our partner, OysterHR. Our team is currently located throughout the USA, Canada, UK, Norway, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Singapore, and India.

We are seeking a team member located within one of the following areas: United States or Singapore. 

  • In the United States, we accept applicants located in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington. 

What you’ll do

  • Wear different hats: Software Engineer, Controls Engineer, Data scientist, ML engineer, Solutions Engineer.
  • Deeply understand the capabilities and tools offered by Phaidra’s internal platform and how to utilize them to best serve our customers.
  • Work with all teams across Phaidra to build the right solutions for new customer applications.
  • Lead the onboarding and maintenance of agents that control the industrial facilities of our customers. By deeply understanding the behavior of these agents and the industrial facilities they control. You will continuously be looking for ways to improve performance, and guide groups within MLAE and across Phaidra to make that a reality.
  • Lead the development of tooling prototypes to make onboarding and maintaining agents simpler and more scalable, then coordinate MLAE with our engineering and product teams to productions impactful tools.
  • Maintain clear and concise documentation of your research, communications, and actions.
  • Participate in making decision for the medium-long term vision impacting MLAE and Phaidra.
  • You mentor peers and delegate tasks within the team, owning the project delivery.

What we’re looking for

  • 6+ years of progressive relevant work experience.
  • Previous experience in leading projects.
  • Previous experience as a Software Engineer, Data Scientist or Machine Learning Engineer in an industrial controls or process engineering environment.
  • Understanding of ML concepts and ability to reason about systems with non-deterministic components.
  • Understanding of industrial processing systems, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, etc.
  • Fluency in a high level programming language, preferably Python.
  • Natural curiosity; desire to learn, go deep and problem-solve in new domains.
  • Those excited to see the real world impact of their work; those who celebrate the success of their customers as their own.
  • Exceptional organizational and communications skills.
  • Alignment with Phaidra’s values: transparency, collaboration, operational excellence, ownership, empathy.

Bonus points

  • Knowledge of chiller plant fundamentals, configurations, and sequence of operations.
  • Previous experience on a customer adjacent role.
  • Understanding of industrial heating and cooling processes and their applications within manufacturing or data center environments.
  • Interest in computer science topics like logic programming or constrained optimization.

Onboarding

In your first 30 days…

  • You will be immersed in an onboarding program that introduces you to Phaidra, our product and our remote working norms. Your onboarding buddy will be there every step of the way.
  • You will read various parts of our handbook and familiarize yourself with the documentation culture at Phaidra.
  • You will set up your development environment and start working on an onboarding exercise that will introduce you to various parts of our code base.
  • You will learn about various team standards and development & release processes.
  • You will start to learn about our system architecture and infrastructure.
  • You will familiarize yourself with the tools used to manage customer onboarding and operations.

By your first 60 days…

  • You will have a solid understanding of what Phaidra does and how we do it.
  • You will have met with team members across Phaidra and started building relationships that will help you be successful at your job.
  • You will have assisted in the resolution of agent issues, improving the experience of our customers.
  • You will have learned how to use our case management, customer onboarding and operations tools.

By your first 90 days…

  • You will have been fully integrated in the team and with team members across the company.
  • You will have acquired a more in-depth understanding of our system architecture and infrastructure.
  • You will have become an expert with our tooling.
  • You will start to manage and own agent deployments for a customer, seeing it control large industrial facilities.
  • You will have identified process or tooling improvements and started bringing people together to work on solutions.
  • You will have started to contribute to knowledge sharing throughout Phaidra.
  • You will have delighted customers!

Salary

*Salary is location-dependent.

  • United States Residents:  $115,200 - $172,800/ year
  • Salary ranges for other countries will vary based on the market rate for the location.

This position will also include equity.

These are best faith estimates of the base salary range for this position. Multiple factors such as experience, education, level, and location are taken into account when determining compensation.

 

Benefits & Perks

  • Fast-paced and team-oriented environment where you will be instrumental in the direction of the company.
  • Phaidra is a 100% remote company with a digital nomad policy.
  • Competitive compensation & equity.
  • Outsized responsibilities & professional development.
  • Training is foundational; functional, customer immersion, and development training.
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance (exact benefits vary by region).
  • Unlimited paid time off, with a minimum of 20 days off per year requirement.
  • Paid parental leave (exact benefits vary by region).
  • Home office setup allowance, coworking space stipend, and company MacBook.

*Please note that Phaidra’s benefits and perks listed above do not apply to temporary employees such as interns.

On being Remote

We are thoughtful about remote collaboration. We look to the pioneers - like Gitlab - for inspiration and best practices to create a stellar remote work environment. We have a documentation-first culture and actively practice asynchronous communication in everything we do. Our team stays connected through tools like Slack and video chat. Most teams meet daily, and we have dedicated all-hands meetings weekly to build strong relationships. We hold virtual team building events once per quarter - and even hold virtual socials to watch rocket launches! We have had all-company summits in locations like Seattle, Athens, Goa, and Barcelona.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Phaidra is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Phaidra is governed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status. We welcome diversity and strive to maintain an inclusive environment for all employees. If you need assistance with completing the application process, please contact us at hiring@phaidra.ai.

E-Verify Notice

Phaidra participates in E-Verify, an employment authorization database provided through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA). As required by law, we will provide the SSA and, if necessary, the DHS, with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization for those residing in the United States.

Additional information about E-Verify can be found here.

#LI-Remote

WE DO NOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FROM RECRUITERS.

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

Select...
Select...
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 Phaidra’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.