Data/ML Engineer
Princeton University2 days ago
Princeton, NJ, USAMid Level / Senior
Base Salary
$120k - $135k/yr
Responsibilities
- Align data engineering and machine learning initiatives with Accelerator goals and prioritize high-impact development projects.
- Design, build, operate, and optimize large-scale data pipelines across the Accelerator’s medallion architecture.
- Own transformation layers, data quality validation, versioned schema contracts, data releases, and researcher-facing change documentation.
- Develop and operate ML and NLP enrichment pipelines for language identification, translation, topic classification, and content classification.
- Own the lifecycle of enrichment models, including selection, evaluation, batch inference, cost efficiency, reprocessing, and versioning.
- Create ML-ready feature layers and data products, and apply statistical analysis and modeling to characterize datasets and support research design.
- Evaluate large language model workflows and emerging AI methods for scientifically valid downstream research use.
- Contribute to cost attribution, cluster policies, budget controls, storage lifecycle management, workspace provisioning, Unity Catalog governance, and multi-tenant isolation.
- Collaborate with researchers and external partners to define data products, sampling frames, enrichment requirements, and scientific solutions.
- Provide technical support and maintain documentation for research users while contributing to collaborative software and data engineering practices.
Requirements
- At least 3 years of relevant experience as a data engineer, machine learning engineer, or data scientist, including qualifying graduate research or internship experience.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field.
- Record of building production systems that operate reliably at scale.
- Strong proficiency in Python and SQL.
- Hands-on experience with distributed data processing such as Apache Spark on large data volumes.
- Experience building, evaluating, and operating machine learning or NLP pipelines, including batch inference.
- Working knowledge of cloud data platforms.
- Experience working in a remote, agile environment and strong communication and collaboration skills.
- Preferred experience with Azure, Databricks, and Unity Catalog.
- Preferred experience with Terraform, containers, CI/CD tooling, large-scale social media or web behavior research, text-as-data research, and large language model annotation evaluation.
- Publications in reputable scientific journals or conferences are desirable.
Benefits
- Six-month term role with potential for extension.
- Remote work within the United States may be considered for candidates with the appropriate background and experience.
- Benefits eligible; Princeton University offers a comprehensive benefits program to eligible employees.
- Standard weekly hours are 36.25; the position is not eligible for overtime.
- The role has a 180-day probationary period.
Tech Stack
Categories
Data EngineeringML Engineering
About Princeton University
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university that provides undergraduate and graduate education and supports research across science, engineering, humanities, and social sciences. Its operations are funded by tuition, sponsored research, and a large endowment, and it engages industry through technology transfer, licensing, and corporate partnerships. Founded in 1746 and headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, it maintains extensive campus IT and research infrastructure to support teaching, discovery, and administration.