Lead Engineer

The Atlantic is seeking an experienced technologist with a focus on the deployment of machine learning solutions across our product, editorial, and business operations. As a Lead Engineer at The Atlantic, you will be responsible for building and implementing the technical infrastructure that powers our AI initiatives. While formally aligned with our Engineering team, you will work closely with the Director of Applied AI to execute on a strategic roadmap of AI deployments that enhance The Atlantic's mission.

Applied AI at The Atlantic

The Applied AI initiative at The Atlantic works to develop and deploy machine learning solutions that enhance The Atlantic's product, editorial, subscription, advertising and data operations. We believe in responsible AI deployment that adheres to our journalistic standards and values while delivering innovative capabilities to our audience and internal stakeholders.

Our current initiatives span from agentic content recommendation systems to AI-assisted editorial tools to subscription optimization engines. We are building a foundation for machine learning operations that will allow The Atlantic to responsibly leverage AI capabilities while maintaining our commitment to quality journalism.

As we expand our AI capabilities, we need a seasoned engineer who can bridge the gap between machine learning models and production systems, ensuring that our AI initiatives are deployed efficiently, securely, and at scale.

This role is ideally suited for someone who thrives at the intersection of machine learning and production engineering, with a passion for building robust systems that deliver AI capabilities to users. While the focus is primarily on deployment rather than ML research, a foundational understanding of machine learning concepts will help you effectively translate models into production.

As a technical organization, we use a wide range of technologies-including AWS, Google BigQuery, Python and Terraform - and we are actively evaluating new technologies to improve our workflow and products. As a team, we value curiosity and willingness to learn.

In this role you will:

• Design and implement infrastructure for deploying machine learning models into production environments.
• Design and implement robust "last mile" deployment solutions for generative AI features, ensuring seamless integration into existing user experiences and editorial workflows.
• Architect agentic systems that can perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with users while maintaining appropriate guardrails and human oversight.
• Build web-based interfaces and APIs for our machine learning solutions.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines for machine learning deployments using GitHub Actions, Terraform, and Kubernetes.
• Work with the Director of Applied AI to turn research prototypes into scalable, production-ready systems.
• Enhance our content management systems with AI capabilities to improve editorial workflows.
• Architect and implement solutions for real-time inference and batch processing.
• Create monitoring systems to track model performance in production.
• Establish best practices for ML deployment, versioning, and operations.
• Regularly contribute high-quality, well-tested code across our machine learning infrastructure.

As an Engineer you are...

• An infrastructure expert: You have deep experience with cloud infrastructure, particularly AWS services related to machine learning deployment such as Lambda, SageMaker, ECS, or similar technologies. You are comfortable with infrastructure as code using Terraform and CI/CD pipelines.
• A skilled web developer: You can build robust web interfaces and APIs that make ML models accessible to users. You are proficient with modern web frameworks and technologies.
• A deployment specialist: You understand the unique challenges of deploying machine learning models to production and can architect solutions that address monitoring, scaling, and versioning.
• A strong communicator: You can distill complex technical ideas for a diverse set of stakeholders from developers to editors, product managers, and executives. You can write clear and concise documentation.
• A critical thinker: You don't need to be told how to get from point A to point B; given high-level requirements, you can articulate the solution yourself. You relish an opportunity to architect new systems, services or platforms from the ground up.
• A seasoned technologist: You have worked in software engineering for at least six years with significant experience in deploying and scaling machine learning systems. You have worked with Python and AWS at scale and understand how to orchestrate complex systems.
• A dedicated learner: You keep up-to-date on emerging best practices in MLOps, cloud infrastructure, and software engineering. You are constantly evaluating new tools and approaches that might improve our machine learning workflow.
• Growth-minded: Although you have a suite of proven tools you can always fall back on, you remain open to new approaches and can judge when such approaches are ready for prime time.
• Broadly Skilled: You have experience building sophisticated systems in a variety of languages. You are familiar with the major cloud providers and have extensive experience with at least one. You have worked with a variety of datastores and have in-depth knowledge of at least one database technology.
• Team-first: You have creative ideas about how to foster positive working relationships. You care deeply about the people you work with and are excited to contribute to others' success.

Salary minimum: $145,000 Salary maximum: $160,000

This is a Guild position.

About The Atlantic:

The Atlantic has, for more than 160 years, advanced ideas that matter and sparked global conversation on the most important issues of our time. We aim to bring clarity and original thinking to questions of consequence, on topics ranging from politics, the economy, and global affairs to technology, science, and culture. As the third-longest-running magazine in America, we find ourselves at a remarkable moment: one of both continuation and transformation, of upholding our legacy while continuously reinventing ourselves for the future.

The Atlantic Monthly Group LLC ("The Atlantic") is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Atlantic is committed to diversity and encourages members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, LGBTQ people, people of color, and people with disabilities. We do not discriminate against our applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.

Job offers to work at The Atlantic are contingent upon the candidate's successful completion of reference checks and compliance with The Atlantic's COVID-19 vaccination policy. The Atlantic requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including subsequent boosters, and submit proof of vaccination status. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.