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SignalFire

Principal AI/ML Engineer - VC Backed Startups

SignalFire, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199

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Join SignalFire’s Talent Network for Principal AI/ML Engineer Roles at VC-Backed Startups

At

SignalFire , we partner with

top early-stage startups

that are shaping the future of technology. Our

portfolio

spans 200+ innovative companies across AI, cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, developer tools, and enterprise SaaS. We’re looking to connect with exceptional

Principal AI/ML Engineers

who are excited about

driving AI strategy, advancing machine learning research, and scaling AI-powered systems

at high-growth startups. By joining SignalFire’s Talent Network, your profile will be shared with our portfolio companies, giving you visibility into

exclusive early-stage opportunities

that may not be publicly listed. This is not an application for a specific job. Instead, this is a way to get on the radar of VC-backed startups that are actively hiring AI/ML talent. If you have any questions, please direct inquiries to talentnetwork@signalfire.com. Who Should Join?

We’re looking for AI/ML experts who are:

Is your CV ready If so, and you are confident this is the role for you, make sure to apply asap. Passionate about

developing and deploying cutting-edge machine learning and deep learning models Experienced in

architecting scalable AI systems and leading technical teams Excited to

push the boundaries of AI research and apply it to real-world business challenges Typical Roles & Responsibilities

Architect, develop, and optimize

machine learning and deep learning models

for production systems

Research and apply

state-of-the-art AI methodologies , including LLMs, transformers, and reinforcement learning

Lead AI strategy,

identifying opportunities for innovation and model optimization

Develop

scalable training and inference pipelines

for AI-powered applications

Work closely with

engineering, data, and product teams

to integrate AI/ML into business solutions

Optimize

ML models for efficiency, accuracy, and scalability

in real-world deployments

Ensure

robust MLOps practices , including model monitoring, retraining, and deployment automation

Collaborate on

AI/ML research publications, patents, and open-source contributions

Common Qualifications

While each startup has its own hiring criteria, many

Principal AI/ML Engineer

roles in our network look for: 8+ years of experience

in AI/ML, deep learning, or applied AI

Expertise in

Python and ML frameworks

(TensorFlow, PyTorch, JAX, Hugging Face Transformers)

Strong background in

computer vision, NLP, generative AI, or reinforcement learning

Experience developing

scalable AI pipelines, data processing workflows, and distributed training systems

Familiarity with

big data tools

(Apache Spark, Kafka, Hadoop) and

MLOps platforms

(MLflow, TFX, SageMaker)

Deep understanding of

LLMs, transformer architectures, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines

Experience with

model quantization, fine-tuning, and optimization for performance

Strong knowledge of

cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes)

A track record of

technical leadership, mentoring, and driving AI innovation

Technologies You Might Work With:

Languages & Frameworks:

Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, JAX, Hugging Face Transformers

MLOps & Data Pipelines:

MLflow, Kubeflow, TFX, Apache Spark, Airflow, Ray

Cloud & Deployment:

AWS SageMaker, GCP Vertex AI, Azure ML, Kubernetes, Docker

Big Data & Storage:

Apache Kafka, Hadoop, BigQuery, Snowflake, Redis, NoSQL databases

Model Optimization:

ONNX, TensorRT, pruning, quantization, distillation

What Happens Next?

Submit your application to join SignalFire’s Talent Ecosystem.

We review applications on an ongoing basis to identify strong candidates.

If there’s a match, a SignalFire talent partner or a leader from one of our startups may reach out directly.

No match yet? We’ll keep your profile on file for future AI/ML roles in our portfolio.

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