Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Instacart
Caper
$169-226k
Salary dependent on location
Online grocery marketplace & grocery tech platform
Posted today
Online grocery marketplace & grocery tech platform
1001+ employees
Posted today
$169-226k
Salary dependent on location
1001+ employees
Company mission
To create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and have more time to enjoy it together.
Role
Who you are
- Master’s or Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or related fields
- Strong problem-solving, analytical, and experimental skills
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with a track record of productive cross-functional collaboration
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, C++, or Java/Kotlin
- Strong experience with data science tools (e.g., SQL, Pandas) and machine learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn)
- Hands-on experience with embedded AI devices, notably the Nvidia Jetson platform
Desirable
- 3+ years of experience developing and deploying machine learning models and implementing sensor fusion in production environments
- Experience working with large language models (LLMs) or vision-language models (VLMs)
- Familiarity with A/B testing methodologies and experimentation in industrial environments
- Exposure to hardware product development, onboard edge computing, and signal processing challenges
- Strong track record of translating research into production while maintaining an iterative and fast-paced workflow
- Proactive self-starter with the ability to independently identify problems and drive solutions
What the job involves
- As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Caper (an Instacart company), you will contribute to redefining the in-store shopping experience by leveraging cutting-edge technology and AI-driven insights
- You'll work at the core of our smart cart experience, designing and fine-tuning scalable models that seamlessly integrate sensor data to deliver effortless and intuitive experiences for our customers
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams, including computer vision, hardware, and front-end engineers, you’ll tackle complex challenges like object tracking and recognition while helping us perfect and evolve our sensor ecosystem
- Build and improve core weight sensing models to enhance shopping cart accuracy and usability
- Develop robust sensor fusion models by integrating multiple sensor inputs
- Improve signal quality and ensure consistency across sensor data streams
- Design and execute experiments to generate actionable sensor data
- Deploy machine learning models on edge devices, such as the Nvidia Jetson platform
- Create infrastructure to collect, process, and store sensor data efficiently
- The AI and Computer Vision (CV) team at Caper plays an integral role in advancing Instacart’s mission to provide retailers with seamless, AI-enriched shopping solutions. Our diverse team, spread across multiple time zones, collaborates effectively on a wide variety of exciting projects that power our smart carts
- From exploring novel machine learning techniques to refining edge computing solutions, our goal is to revolutionize the retail experience for merchants and their customers alike
Our take
Instacart is an online grocery marketplace that operates a pick-up and delivery system in the US and Canada. Unlike standard grocery shopping, Instacart sends a “personal shopper” to your local store to buy your products, who then delivers them straight to your door on the same day via their own car. The company also supplies the Instacart Platform, with services for stores encompassing eCommerce, fulfilment, in-store, ads, and insights.
The increased modernization of society has meant more than ever that consumers are looking to buy their groceries online, making space for apps like Instacart to become daily life staples for years to come. Although the company must compete with other grocery store delivery services, such as Walmart’s own, it has expanded to cover large percentages of US and Canadian households, and is now aligned with over 900 retail banners across more than 75,000 locations.
Instacart's software offerings signify the company's focus on tech, designed to move it away from its dependence on the gig economy. To this end, the company has acquired FoodStorm, an order management system that powers end-to-end order-ahead and catering, integrating its technology into its enterprise suite. Despite an IPO in September 2023, market downturns have necessitated a 7% workforce cut in 2024, focused on middle management and creating a flatter organisational structure. With a new streamlined workforce, here's to hoping Instacart can maintain its momentum.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
7% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 14 rounds)
Nov 2021
$232m
LATE VC
Mar 2021
$265m
LATE VC
Total funding: $2.9bn
Company benefits
- Wellness Tailored to You: Medical, dental, vision, retirement, life & disability coverage right alongside physical & mental wellness programs, memberships and stipends to keep you and your family feeling your best.
- Family Building Benefits: No matter where you are in your family journey, we support you. Our plans cover modern family planning for all. We offer leave for all parents, flexible working schedules and an active Parents@ community.
- Work From Home Stipend: We help outfit your WFH setup and offer reimbursements so you can be your most productive while at home.
- Flexible Time Off: We all recharge differently. Take the time you need with our flexible time off policy and company-wide Self-Checkouts where we encourage everyone to sign off.
- Learning & Development: Whether you're just starting your career or leading teams, we provide customized L&D programs to help you grow and an annual allowance to pursue your development.
- Future Planning: We have you covered as you plan for your future. 401(k) matching in the US and RRSP in Canada, student loan assistance through Peanut Butter, free Rocket Lawyer membership, SoFi & First Republic financial planning and more.
- Four Year Fill-Up: We encourage our tenured employees to take longer breaks and truly unplug by doing something they love – typically four consecutive weeks around the four year mark.
- Community Connection: Support the communities you care about with volunteer weeks and get involved with our social impact program, Instacart Serves.
- Instacart Express Membership: We help keep your fridge stocked. Unlock grocery discounts with our Instacart Beta app while testing our latest features.
Company HQ
The East Cut, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Apoorva Mehta
(Co-Founder & Chairman)Studied Electrical Engineering at University of Waterloo. Worked in Fulfillment Optimisation SDE at Amazon.com before going on to co-found Instacart.
Brandon Leonardo
(Co-Founder)Interned at Cisco Systems as an IT Engineer. Later became a Senior Web Developer at Webs and then a Venture Hacker at Angel List.
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