[Remote] Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Cresta is a company focused on transforming customer experiences through AI technology. The Staff Machine Learning Engineer will lead high-impact AI initiatives, focusing on building next-generation agentic AI systems and improving the reliability and performance of LLM-powered agents.ResponsibilitiesDefine and lead the technical vision for Cresta’s next-generation Agentic AI systems, including Agentic Assist and enterprise AI AgentsArchitect scalable, production-grade LLM systems that integrate reasoning, retrieval, planning, tool use, and real-time decision-making into cohesive, intelligent workflowsDesign and evolve multi-agent orchestration frameworks that combine RAG, structured knowledge, domain-adapted models, and automated actionsEstablish best practices for building robust, reliable, and cost-efficient LLM-powered systems in high-scale production environmentsOwn evaluation strategy for complex, non-deterministic AI systems, including offline benchmarking, online experimentation, LLM-as-a-judge methodologies, and systematic failure analysisProactively identify and mitigate agent failure modes such as hallucinations, tool misuse, retrieval errors, prompt brittleness, context drift, and multi-step reasoning breakdownsDefine measurable quality standards (accuracy, faithfulness, task completion, latency, cost efficiency, robustness) and drive continuous system improvementInfluence cross-team architecture decisions across ML, backend, and product engineering to ensure seamless integration of AI capabilitiesMentor senior engineers, raise the technical bar, and contribute to long-term AI strategy and roadmap planningTranslate cutting-edge research advances into practical, high-impact production systemsSkillsBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field; Master's or Ph.D. strongly preferred7+ years of experience building and deploying machine learning systems in production, including deep hands-on experience with LLMs at scaleDemonstrated leadership in architecting complex AI systems, particularly agentic or multi-step LLM workflowsDeep expertise in transformer-based models, embeddings, retrieval systems, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelinesExperience designing evaluation frameworks for LLM systems beyond single-turn prompts, including robustness testing and production monitoringStrong systems thinking: ability to design for scalability, latency constraints, cost efficiency, security, and long-term maintainabilityExtensive experience with modern ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face) and distributed/cloud-based infrastructureProven ability to influence technical direction across teams as a senior individual contributorA strong bias toward action — able to prototype rapidly while maintaining production rigorBenefitsComprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with plans to fit you and your familyFlexible PTO to take the time you need, when you need itPaid parental leave for all new parents welcoming a new childRetirement savings plan to help you plan for the futureRemote work setup budget to help you create a productive home officeMonthly wellness and communication stipend to keep you connected and balancedIn-office meal program and commuter benefits provided for onsite employeesEquityCompany OverviewCresta uses artificial intelligence to assist sales and service agents in the quality of customer service. It was founded in 2017, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA, with a workforce of 201-500 employees. Its website is https://www.cresta.com.Company H1B SponsorshipCresta has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 2 in 2026, 9 in 2025, 6 in 2024, 2 in 2023, 10 in 2022, 4 in 2021, 3 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.