Principal Machine Learning Engineer
The Role:
We are seeking a Principal AI Engineer to lead the design and advancement of our AI platform. You will play a key role in shaping the infrastructure that powers large-scale training and cloud inference. This includes accelerating training throughput, scaling multi-modal models, and enabling the next generation of AI-driven driving systems. We're tackling challenges across distributed training, training efficiency, DDP/FSDP, data processing pipelines, and Pytorch model optimization. This is a highly impactful position where your technical leadership will define how we scale AI to achieve autonomy.
What You'll Do:
- Architect, build, and optimize core AI/ML platform infrastructure to support massive-scale model training.
- Collaborate with data scientists, ML engineers, and software developers to enable seamless workflows from research to production.
- Drive efficiency in large-scale distributed training and data processing pipelines.
- Establish best practices for reliability, scalability, and performance across the AI/ML platform.
- Provide technical leadership and mentorship, guiding teams on platform design, architecture decisions, and emerging technologies.
- Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to align platform capabilities with business needs and strategic AI initiatives.
Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications):
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, related field, or equivalent experience.
- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
- 4+ years of specialized experience in AI/ML domain (e.g., enabling distributed training for large-scale models).
- Strong programming skills in Python, with proficiency in frameworks such as PyTorch (preferred) or TensorFlow.
- Experience with distributed systems, GPU computing, and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
- Comfortable operating in highly ambiguous and dynamic environments.
- Willingness to travel to Sunnyvale, CA as needed.
What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):
- Proven track record of self-motivation, execution, and delivering impact.
- Deep expertise with PyTorch 2.x+ and distributed training frameworks.
- Strong skills in profiling, analysis, debugging, and optimizing training performance (e.g., avoiding memory fragmentation, operation fusion).
- Proficiency in C++ for performance-critical components.
- Experience leading cross-functional projects and aligning diverse stakeholders on priorities.
Compensation:
The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of New York, Colorado, California, or Washington.
- The salary range for this role is $197,600 to $374,200. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.
- Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.
- Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.
This role is based remotely but if you live within a 50-mile radius of Atlanta, Austin, Detroit, Warren, Milford or Mountain View, you are expected to report to that location three times a week, at minimum.
This role is based remotely but if you live within a 50-mile radius of [Atlanta, Austin, Detroit, Warren, Milford or Mountain View], you are expected to report to that location three times a week, at minimum.
General Motors is an American multinational automotive company that designs, builds, and sells cars, trucks, crossovers, and automobile parts, along with providing related services such as vehicle financing and insurance.
March 3, 2026
5-7 business days
After submission
- •Role explicitly centers on building and optimizing an AI/ML platform (distributed training, inference, data pipelines), showing strong workflow integration.
- •Clear, specific tool proficiency requested (PyTorch, DDP/FSDP, GPU/cloud, Python/C++) demonstrating applied AI/tool usage.
- •Position includes strategic responsibilities—aligning platform capabilities with business needs and leading cross-functional initiatives.
This Principal Machine Learning Engineer role at General Motors scores well across foundational needs: explicit, competitive compensation and a robust benefits package (physiological), and strong organizational stability (safety). The job clearly offers high-impact technical ownership, leadership, and challenging work consistent with esteem and some self-actualization signals. Gaps exist around culture/team details, concrete professional development pathways, and an ambiguous hybrid/on-site policy that could materially affect daily life. Candidates should clarify team structure, onsite expectations, success metrics, and development support before proceeding.
- •Hybrid/on-site policy is ambiguous and potentially burdensome: posting says role is remote but requires reporting to one of several offices three times a week if within 50 miles — it is unclear which office applies to this hire (posting lists Sunnyvale as location but also includes Mountain View, Atlanta, Austin, Detroit, Warren, Milford). This ambiguity can materially affect commute/time expectations.
- •Language about operating in a "highly ambiguous and dynamic" environment, combined with travel and broad cross-functional responsibilities, suggests potential unpredictability in workload and scope; work‑life boundaries are not described.
- •No explicit, concrete information on team size, direct reporting line, or formal career progression / development pathways despite seniority — makes it hard to assess growth/leadership scope.
- •Compensation is explicit and competitive: salary range $197,600–$374,200 plus bonus potential.
- •Strong benefits package called out (medical, dental, vision, retirement plan, tuition assistance, paid vacation, etc.).
- •Role is senior/Principal level with clear leadership, technical ownership, and high-impact charter (scaling large‑scale training and AI platform).
- •Can you describe the immediate team and reporting structure for this role (team size, direct reports, who this role reports to, and cross-functional partners)?
- •The posting lists multiple office locations and a hybrid policy (remote-based but 3x/week onsite if within 50 miles). Which office footprint applies to this hire (Sunnyvale vs. Mountain View vs. other locations), and what flexibility/exceptions exist for the on-site expectation?
- •What are the measurable success criteria for the first 6–12 months (key projects, performance metrics, and expected deliverables) and how will performance be evaluated?
Location
Salary Range
$198k - $374k
Employment Type
Full-time
Experience Level
Senior
Posted
December 3, 2025 (1 week ago)
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