Backflip AI
Principal AI Engineer / ML Engineer
Backflip AI, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
About Backflip Backflip (backflip.ai) is a generative AI startup revolutionizing how engineers and designers create for the physical world. Founded by the team behind Markforged, we\'re building AI-first tools that make 3D CAD as intuitive and fast as sketching on paper.
Qualifications, skills, and all relevant experience needed for this role can be found in the full description below. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz and NEA, we\'ve raised a $30M Series A and built a deeply technical, mission-driven team. Our goal: empower one engineer to work at the speed of a hundred. The Role We\’re hiring a
Principal AI/ML Engineer —a top-tier
individual contributor
who sets the technical bar,
shapes our AI direction , and
tech-leads critical projects
without direct reports. You\’ll architect, prototype, and productionize multimodal generative systems that power our CAD engine. What You’ll Do
Co-define the technical strategy for generative modeling with the Head of AI; influence roadmap through hands-on prototypes and data-driven recommendations. Architect end-to-end systems across LLMs, diffusion, and retrieval; design interfaces between perception, reasoning, and CAD-specific geometry modules. Tech-lead projects: drive design reviews, create implementation plans, de-risk research, and ensure high-quality, shippable outcomes. Own the model lifecycle: dataset curation, training/eval, optimization, low-latency inference, monitoring, and continuous improvement. Raise the bar: establish coding standards, reproducible experimentation, benchmarking, and model/infra observability. Mentor and unblock engineers and researchers (guidance, pairing, design reviews) while remaining an IC with no direct reports. Collaborate with product/design to translate ambiguous user needs into concrete AI capabilities; instrument and iterate quickly. What We\’re Looking For
3-7+ years in deep learning / generative AI with a record of shipping complex systems. Expert in multimodal and generative models (transformers, diffusion, autoregressive); strong Python + PyTorch. Evidence of technical leadership as an IC: you\’ve set standards, led cross-functional efforts, and made architectural decisions that lasted. Fluency from research to production: data strategy, training, tooling, serving, and performance engineering. Bonus Experience with
CAD , 3D geometry, graphics, differentiable programming, or AI for the physical world. Why Backflip In-person in SF with a tight-knit, world-class team building the future of 3D design. Flexible PTO and competitive compensation. Seniority level
Mid-Senior level Employment type
Full-time Job function
Engineering and Information Technology Industries
Software Development
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Qualifications, skills, and all relevant experience needed for this role can be found in the full description below. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz and NEA, we\'ve raised a $30M Series A and built a deeply technical, mission-driven team. Our goal: empower one engineer to work at the speed of a hundred. The Role We\’re hiring a
Principal AI/ML Engineer —a top-tier
individual contributor
who sets the technical bar,
shapes our AI direction , and
tech-leads critical projects
without direct reports. You\’ll architect, prototype, and productionize multimodal generative systems that power our CAD engine. What You’ll Do
Co-define the technical strategy for generative modeling with the Head of AI; influence roadmap through hands-on prototypes and data-driven recommendations. Architect end-to-end systems across LLMs, diffusion, and retrieval; design interfaces between perception, reasoning, and CAD-specific geometry modules. Tech-lead projects: drive design reviews, create implementation plans, de-risk research, and ensure high-quality, shippable outcomes. Own the model lifecycle: dataset curation, training/eval, optimization, low-latency inference, monitoring, and continuous improvement. Raise the bar: establish coding standards, reproducible experimentation, benchmarking, and model/infra observability. Mentor and unblock engineers and researchers (guidance, pairing, design reviews) while remaining an IC with no direct reports. Collaborate with product/design to translate ambiguous user needs into concrete AI capabilities; instrument and iterate quickly. What We\’re Looking For
3-7+ years in deep learning / generative AI with a record of shipping complex systems. Expert in multimodal and generative models (transformers, diffusion, autoregressive); strong Python + PyTorch. Evidence of technical leadership as an IC: you\’ve set standards, led cross-functional efforts, and made architectural decisions that lasted. Fluency from research to production: data strategy, training, tooling, serving, and performance engineering. Bonus Experience with
CAD , 3D geometry, graphics, differentiable programming, or AI for the physical world. Why Backflip In-person in SF with a tight-knit, world-class team building the future of 3D design. Flexible PTO and competitive compensation. Seniority level
Mid-Senior level Employment type
Full-time Job function
Engineering and Information Technology Industries
Software Development
#J-18808-Ljbffr