Organization: Etsy
Location: Brooklyn, New York. Open to remote work within the United States
Employment Type: Full-time
Work Mode: Remote, Flex, or Office-based
Salary Range: $252,000 to $328,000
Role Summary
Etsy is seeking a Senior Engineering Manager to lead its Models team within the Machine Learning Enablement Initiative. This leadership role focuses on building and scaling the next generation of Etsy’s model platform, which supports search, advertising, recommendations, and other machine-learning-driven experiences used by nearly 100 million buyers and over 5 million sellers worldwide.
The position reports to the Director of Engineering for ML Enablement and plays a central role in advancing Etsy’s mission of Keeping Commerce Human through thoughtful, scalable technology.
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About Etsy
Etsy is a global marketplace dedicated to unique and creative goods. The company designs and evolves tools and technologies that empower entrepreneurs while connecting them with a worldwide audience. Employees across Etsy and Depop collaborate on meaningful, large-scale challenges while contributing to a values-driven, inclusive workplace.
Team and Platform Context
The Machine Learning Enablement Initiative develops and maintains a complete ecosystem of machine learning systems. This includes feature and embeddings stores, model training, serving, orchestration, and testing infrastructure.
Within this ecosystem, the Models team owns the model catalog, APIs, and serving infrastructure that supports millions of inferences per second. The team is currently evolving from an operations-focused group into a more application-layer driven platform team.
A significant initiative underway is Etsy’s migration from TensorFlow to PyTorch, using an in-house architecture built on KServe, NVIDIA Triton, Apache Arrow, and Ray. This transition also addresses long-standing needs around automation, integration, and standardization across the ML platform.
Key Responsibilities and Focus Areas
Machine Learning Platform Leadership
The role leads efforts to design, train, serve, and scale machine learning models that support diverse use cases across Etsy’s product ecosystem.
Product and Stakeholder Collaboration
The Senior Engineering Manager works closely with internal customer teams to understand emerging use cases. These insights are translated into precise technical requirements and platform improvements.
Engineering Strategy and Execution
Responsibilities include defining system design approaches, advising on machine learning trade-offs, and addressing platform stability, performance, and cost challenges through both short-term fixes and long-term solutions.
Team Management and Development
The role manages a team of four individual contributors. This includes maintaining a product roadmap, leading agile processes, planning workstreams, and occasionally guiding cross-functional tiger teams.
Career Growth and Coaching
A strong emphasis is placed on mentoring engineers at different career stages, supporting their growth within a collaborative, blameless engineering culture.
Platform Ownership and Communication
The position owns customer-facing assets, including documentation, code samples, dashboards, metrics, user interfaces, and launch communications, to ensure clarity and usability across teams.
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Required Candidate Background
The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with people leadership experience. They remain hands-on with complex systems while also building strong partnerships across engineering, product, and data teams.
A passion for creating maintainable, extensible, and developer-friendly platforms is essential. Strong communication skills and a coaching mindset are equally important.
Experience and Qualifications
- At least 4 years of experience leading machine learning systems at scale, including 2 years in an engineering manager role
- A minimum of 5 years of experience solving complex backend engineering problems
- Proven ability to manage and develop high-performing engineering teams
- Strong background in machine learning model development and serving at scale
- Experience with cloud platforms and infrastructure, such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Kubernetes, is preferred.
Work Environment and Flexibility
This is a full-time role based in Brooklyn, New York, or remote within the United States. Etsy offers flexible work modes, including remote, flex, and office-based options, allowing teams to choose what works best for them.
Application Process
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit a resume via the official careers portal. A cover letter is optional and can be used to share personal motivations and background. Etsy values individuality and encourages applicants to present their authentic selves throughout the process.
Commitment to Inclusion
Etsy is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. The company provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees, regardless of background or identity. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process. Visa sponsorship may be supported for select roles and skill sets, subject to limitations.
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Additional Notes
Job responsibilities may evolve in line with business needs and applicable local laws. Etsy’s engineering culture prioritizes learning, transparency, and continuous improvement, offering an environment where leaders and engineers grow together.