Machine Learning Engineer, Instacart
Online grocery marketplace & grocery tech platform
Open for applications
Online grocery marketplace & grocery tech platform
1001+ employees
Open for applications
1001+ employees
Company mission
To create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and have more time to enjoy it together.
Role
Who you are
- We're looking for mid level machine learning engineers who have a strong foundational understanding of ML concepts to join our team
- As Instacart grows and takes on more challenging ambitions, we look to engineers to raise the level of execution overall with both depth of knowledge and broad influence
- In addition, they are strong communicators, and effective cross-functional operators
- Have a graduate degree (masters or PhD) in artificial intelligence, machine learning or equivalent self study and experience
- Have strong programming skills in Python and fluency in data manipulation (SQL, Spark, Pandas) and machine learning (scikit-learn, XGBoost, Keras/Tensorflow) tools
- Have strong analytical skills and problem-solving ability
- Are a strong communicator who can collaborate with diverse stakeholders across all levels
Desirable
- Have 1-2 years of industry experience using machine learning to solve real-world problems with large datasets
- Strong expertise in one or more of the areas:
- Search relevance, recommendations, knowledge graph, catalog, or ads targeting
- Combining machine learning and operations research to solve optimal routing, inventory management or marketing mix optimization
- Fraud Detection, Anomaly Detection and Time-series Forecasting
What the job involves
- We work on a range of interesting and challenging problems, from ensuring deliveries are efficient and on-time to helping customers decide what to buy
- This is an individual contributor role with significant impact within the machine learning and product teams
- You will collaborate with Staff Machine Learning Engineers and Product Managers to influence features and projects
- Design, develop, test, and deploy machine learning models to solve customer problems and drive business forward
- Stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and advancements in ML
- Assist in designing ML services capable of large-scale model development
Otta's take
Xav Kearney
CTO of Otta
Instacart is an online grocery marketplace that operates a pick-up and delivery system in the US and Canada. Unlike standard grocery shopping, Instacart sends a “personal shopper” to your local store to buy your products, who then delivers them straight to your door on the same day via their own car. The company also supplies the Instacart Platform, with services for stores encompassing eCommerce, fulfilment, in-store, ads, and insights.
The increased modernization of society has meant more than ever that consumers are looking to buy their groceries online, making space for apps like Instacart to become daily life staples for years to come. Although the company must compete with other grocery store delivery services, such as Walmart’s own, it has expanded to cover large percentages of US and Canadian households, and is now aligned with over 900 retail banners across more than 75,000 locations.
Instacart's software offerings signify the company's focus on tech, designed to move it away from its dependence on the gig economy. To this end, the company has acquired FoodStorm, an order management system that powers end-to-end order-ahead and catering, integrating its technology into its enterprise suite. Despite an IPO in September 2023, market downturns have necessitated a 7% workforce cut in 2024, focused on middle management and creating a flatter organisational structure. With a new streamlined workforce, here's to hoping Instacart can maintain its momentum.
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 14 rounds)
Nov 2021
$232m
LATE VC
Mar 2021
$265m
LATE VC
Total funding: $2.9bn
Company benefits
- Wellness Tailored to You: Medical, dental, vision, retirement, life & disability coverage right alongside physical & mental wellness programs, memberships and stipends to keep you and your family feeling your best.
- Family Building Benefits: No matter where you are in your family journey, we support you. Our plans cover modern family planning for all. We offer leave for all parents, flexible working schedules and an active Parents@ community.
- Work From Home Stipend: We help outfit your WFH setup and offer reimbursements so you can be your most productive while at home.
- Flexible Time Off: We all recharge differently. Take the time you need with our flexible time off policy and company-wide Self-Checkouts where we encourage everyone to sign off.
- Learning & Development: Whether you're just starting your career or leading teams, we provide customized L&D programs to help you grow and an annual allowance to pursue your development.
- Future Planning: We have you covered as you plan for your future. 401(k) matching in the US and RRSP in Canada, student loan assistance through Peanut Butter, free Rocket Lawyer membership, SoFi & First Republic financial planning and more.
- Four Year Fill-Up: We encourage our tenured employees to take longer breaks and truly unplug by doing something they love – typically four consecutive weeks around the four year mark.
- Community Connection: Support the communities you care about with volunteer weeks and get involved with our social impact program, Instacart Serves.
- Instacart Express Membership: We help keep your fridge stocked. Unlock grocery discounts with our Instacart Beta app while testing our latest features.
Company values
- Go far together
- Roll up your sleeves
- Grow the pie
- Put it all on the table
- Serve generously
Company HQ
The East Cut, San Francisco, CA
Founders
Apoorva Mehta
(Co-Founder & Chairman)Studied Electrical Engineering at University of Waterloo. Worked in Fulfillment Optimisation SDE at Amazon.com before going on to co-found Instacart.
Brandon Leonardo
(Co-Founder)Interned at Cisco Systems as an IT Engineer. Later became a Senior Web Developer at Webs and then a Venture Hacker at Angel List.
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