Staff Software Engineer, Thumbtack
Machine Learning Infrastructure
$202.3-308k
Salary dependent on location
Local services marketplace app
Open for applications
Local services marketplace app
1001+ employees
Open for applications
$202.3-308k
Salary dependent on location
1001+ employees
Company mission
Thumbtack's mission is to help homeowners care for their homes, all the way from minor retouching to fundamental remodelling projects.
Role
Who you are
- 8+ years of engineering experience with significant focus on distributed systems
- 4+ years of hands-on experience building ML infrastructure or ML platforms at scale
- Deep expertise in at least one major programming language; proficiency in our core stack (Go, Python) preferred
- Proven track record of technical leadership on complex, cross-functional projects
- Strong architectural skills with experience designing scalable, reliable distributed systems
- Deep understanding of ML workflows, common frameworks, and operational challenges
- Experience mentoring teams and driving engineering excellence
- Track record of making strategic technical decisions with organization-wide impact
Desirable
- Experience building AI platforms that support hundreds of models in production
- Deep expertise with modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) and MLOps tools
- Experience implementing generative AI capabilities at enterprise scale
- Track record of building high-performing technical teams
- Expertise with cloud-native architectures and major cloud providers (AWS, GCP)
- Experience driving technical strategy at fast-growing technology companies
What the job involves
- As a Principal ML Infrastructure Engineer, you'll drive the technical vision and strategic direction of Thumbtack's machine learning platform
- You'll architect solutions that democratize ML capabilities across the organization while establishing best practices and technical standards
- Working closely with senior leadership, you'll shape our technical roadmap for generative AI adoption, feature platform evolution, and ML operational excellence
- Define and drive the technical vision and architecture for Thumbtack's next-generation ML infrastructure
- Lead cross-functional initiatives spanning engineering, data science, and product teams to build scalable, enterprise-grade ML systems
- Architect and oversee implementation of critical ML infrastructure components including model serving systems and RAG systems that can scale
- Establish technical standards and best practices for ML engineering across the organization
- Mentor and provide technical leadership to engineering teams on ML infrastructure best practices
- Partner with senior leadership to align ML infrastructure capabilities with business objectives
Our take
ThumbTack is a local services marketplace app that pairs customers with skilled professionals. Instead of simply searching for a professional, users provide ThumbTack with details of the job they need completing and the professionals then pitch their services to the potential customer using credits. ThumbTack makes its money by charging the professional for these credits.
It positions itself as something a little different in a saturated local services space that is dominated by companies like Angie’s List, TaskRabbit, Yelp, eBay, and Amazon. It also focuses on a broad range of professionals, from traditional home services like electricians and painters to photographers, personal trainers, and birthday party magicians.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a boost in business for ThumbTack as more people stayed at home and made changes to their properties, increasing the demand for home professionals. In fact, after 2019, the company doubled in value to $3.2 billion with its 2021 raise. Now its updated app has 30 new features, and the company is partnering with the likes of trade-powering platform and Unicorn ServiceTitan, indicating Thumbtack's sustained sway in the market.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Few candidates hear
back within 2 weeks
-5% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 9 rounds)
Jun 2021
$275m
LATE VC
Jul 2019
$150m
SERIES F
Total funding: $699.4m
Company benefits
- Parental leave
- Health insurance
- Community matters | Sure, our ways of connecting have changed. But we haven’t missed a beat, from virtual concerts to “TTversary” celebrations to weekly catch-ups
- Always be improving | We bring out the best in our colleagues — and our product — by pushing each beyond what we believe we’re capable of. We give honest feedback, even when it’s hard
- Wellness is a way of life | We promote balance with generous PTO and company-wide holidays — and find our centers every Wellness Wednesday with yoga featuring a Thumbtack pro
- A worthy mission | In a world where tech is often seen as eroding good jobs, we’re helping small business owners thrive. Our product makes entrepreneurship accessible to everyone
- Driven by our values | Our values are the compass by which we make all our decisions. Each one matters: Lead with why, Make it count, Own it, Choose teamwork, and Say what you mean
- Plus, amazing benefits | All the benefits you’d expect, plus a few more: generous parental and fertility benefits, $1800 for Thumbtack services per year and a $1200 remote work stipend
- Virtual-first working model coupled with quarterly in-person events and Camp Thumbtack
- 20+ company-wide holidays including two week-long shutdowns
- Libraries (collaborative workspaces) in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Toronto, and Manila
- Cell phone and WiFi reimbursements
- Subscriptions and Employee Assistance Program for mental health and well-being
Company values
- Purpose - lead with why
- Impact - make it count
- Responsibility - own it
- Collaboration - choose teamwork
- Communication - say what you mean
Company HQ
SoMa, San Francisco, CA
Articles
Leadership
Marco Zappacosta
(CEO)Having studied at Columbia University, Marco co-founded Thumbtack in August 2008. He has served as CEO since January 2009.
Jonathan Swanson
(Chairman)Jonathan started his career creating financial market reports for the White House before co-founding Thumbtack in 2008. Currently Founder at Powerset and Athena.
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