Senior Engineering Manager, Machine Learning

Senior Engineering Manager, Machine Learning & Discovery+Site Monetization United States and CanadaBabylist is the leading registry, e-commerce, and content platform for growing families. More than 9 million people shop with Babylist every year, making it the go-to destination for seamless purchasing, trusted guidance, and expert product recommendations for new parents and the people who love them. What began as a universal registry has grown into a full ecosystem for new parents, including the Babylist Shop, Babylist Health, and a flagship showroom in Los Angeles. Hundreds of brands in baby and beyond partner with Babylist to engage meaningfully with families during one of life's most important transitions. With over $1 billion in annual GMV, and more than $500 million in 2024 revenue, Babylist is reshaping the $320 billion baby product industry. We're helping parents feel confident, connected, and cared for at every step. As we build the generational brand in baby, our mission remains simple: to connect growing families with everything they need to thrive.Babylist is remote-first with team members across the U.S. and Canada who move fast, think smart, and use AI as part of how they work every day not as an experiment, as an expectation. We come together twice a year to build the relationships behind the work, and we hire people who are genuinely excited about what's possible and prove it through how they show up.Babylist is in the middle of a fundamental shift in how software gets made, and we are not tiptoeing into it. We are rebuilding our engineering culture around a simple belief: AI changes everything. How teams are structured, how decisions get made, how fast ideas become working software. Our engineers own problems end to end, working directly with product, design, and business partners with short feedback loops and real stakeholder access. We ship, learn, and iterate fast. When something is not working, we throw it out and start over project failure and personal failure are not the same thing here. AI tools are as natural to our workflow as an IDE or version control. We are not exploring this, we are living it. Our engineers use AI to explore tradeoffs, pressure-test designs, and move from problem to solution in hours instead of days. They generate code with AI so they can stay focused on the decisions that actually require human judgment not the routine ones. More velocity means more time for craft: better test coverage, stronger architecture, and deeper customer understanding. We hold ourselves to a higher quality bar because of AI, not in spite of it. We are building this playbook in real time, and we are looking for people who want to build it with us. If you have already changed how you work because of AI or you are ready to and you care more about shipping something great than following a prescribed process, we should talk.Our Tech StackReact, Native iOS and AndroidRuby on RailsAWS, TerraformMySQLSidekiqRedisShopifyAs Babylist's Senior Engineering Manager, Machine Learning & Discovery+Site Monetization, you'll lead the team driving the next era of our machine learning and personalization efforts across the product. This is a hands-on leadership role for a manager who remains technically fluent while scaling people, systems, and impact. You'll manage and grow a high-performing ML-focused pod spanning product recommendations, search, PLPs, and site monetization, with a clear mandate: maximize revenue and user value across surface areas through personalization.You'll guide the team on technical direction behind our homepage feed, "add next" experience, and other core personalization surfaces, while building the foundations for long-term ML excellence at Babylist.Who You Are3+ years of experience as a front-line manager delivering production-grade software or ML systems5+ years of experience as an individual contributor in ML or Data Science, plus proven experience leading teams that build end-to-end machine learning systems, ideally in personalization, recommendations, or consumer-facing ML productsDeep familiarity with the Python ML ecosystem (e.g., pandas, sklearn, xgboost, PyTorch) and comfortable reviewing designs, unblocking technical challenges, and setting high technical standardsExperience supervising ML Engineers and/or Data Scientists; bonus points for experience managing Software EngineersStrong understanding of the full ML lifecycle, including data pipelines, workflow orchestration (e.g., Airflow), deployment, monitoring, and iteration in productionProduct-minded: passionate about technology, but primarily motivated by solving real user problems and driving business impactExperience working with large-scale, real-time or near-real-time data systemsComfortable owning and evolving the ML tech stack end-to-end, from data and modeling through production systemsBackground in consumer-facing products; experience in e-commerce, marketplaces, or complex user journeys is strongly preferredYou're genuinely excited about what AI can do not just as a concept, but as something you want to get your hands on. At Babylist, every team uses AI daily, and we're looking for people who lean in.How You Will Make An ImpactBuild and lead the ML & personalization function: Hire, mentor, and support a multidisciplinary team (Machine Learning Engineers, Software Engineers, Product Manager, and occasional Designer), shaping the roadmap, standards, and culture for ML at BabylistOwn high-impact ML initiatives: Deliver personalization systems that improve discovery, engagement, and monetization across key surfaces, directly impacting business outcomesSet technical and algorithmic direction: Define modeling approaches, data strategy, and system architecture in partnership with senior technical leaders, balancing experimentation with scalable executionBe hands-on when needed: Review ML/DS designs and code, build proof-of-concept models, and conduct your own data science research to de-risk ideas and accelerate progressDevelop talent: Coach engineers on technical growth, career progression, and performance, combining strong technical standards with empowermentDrive cross-functional alignment: Partner closely with Product, Design, Analytics Engineering, and Data to translate ambiguous business problems into clear technical directionUnderstand the full funnel: Develop a deep understanding of Babylist's user journeys, user feedback loops, and financial models and how ML systems influence them end-to-endAbout CompensationWe use a market-based approach to compensation. The starting salary range for this role is:USD - $250,000 to $308,000 CAD - $230,000 to $288,000Your starting salary will be based on your location, experience, and qualifications, with increases over time tied to performance, role growth, and internal pay equity.Why You Will Love Working At BabylistOur CultureWe work with focus and intention, then step away to rechargeWe believe in exceptional management and invest in tools and opportunities to connect with colleaguesWe build products that positively impact millions of people's livesAI tools are as natural to how we work as your IDE or version control we're not exploring this, we're living it.Growth & DevelopmentCompetitive pay and meaningful opportunities for career advancementWe believe technology and data can solve hard problemsWe're committed to career progression and performance-based advancementCompensation & BenefitsCompetitive salary with equity and bonus opportunitiesCompany-paid medical, dental, and vision insuranceRetirement savings plan with company matching and flexible spending accountsGenerous paid parental leave and PTORemote work stipend to set up your officePerks for physical, mental, and emotional health, parenting, childcare, and financial planning