Lead Machine Learning Engineer - Merchandising AI (ML Ops)

About the role

The pay range is $132,000.00 - $238,000.00

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family.

Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation.

About you

• 4-year degree in Quantitative disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or equivalent experience
• MS in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Physics or equivalent work or industry experience in applied machine learning
• 5 plus years of experience in end-to-end machine learning application development, including data pipelining, model optimization, deployment and API design
• Extensive experience with applied machine learning frameworks and the ability to developing highly distributed machine learning systems at scale
• Highly proficient in Python programming
• Strong understanding of CI/CD practices for machine learning systems and ML Ops principles
• Extensive experience with Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and/or the broader cloud-based ML ecosystem
• Demonstrated knowledge of various testing frameworks and containerization like Docker and Kubernetes
• Lead the development of agentic AI solutions that connect data, tools, APIs and business rules into end-to-end decisioning workflows
• Demonstrated experience in REST API design and development
• Extensive understanding of Big Data technologies including Hadoop, Spark and Kafka
• Proven ability to collaborate with data scientists, software engineers and product managers to deliver scalable machine learning solutions
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to tell data-driven stories through visualizations and narratives
• Ability to mentor engineers and help establish engineering standards, architecture patterns, and best practices for AI/ML and cloud-native development.
• Self-driven, results-oriented and able to meet tight deadlines
• Motivated team player who thrives in a collaborative global environment

Additional information

This position may be considered for a Remote or Hybrid (known internally at Target as "Flex for Your Day") work arrangement based on Target's needs. A Remote work arrangement means the team member works full-time from home or an alternate location that's not a Target location, does not have a desk at a Target location and may travel to HQ up to 4 times a year.

A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member's core role may be performed either remote or onsite at a Target location depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.

Benefits Eligibility

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Application deadline is: 10/29/2026