Senior Engineering Manager, ML Foundations team (Berlin, Germany)

Senior Engineering Manager, ML Foundations team

Company Overview

Smartly is the AI-powered advertising technology company transforming ad experiences for brands and their consumers. Our comprehensive advertising platform seamlessly integrates the capabilities of media, creative, and intelligence to power more than 800 billion impressions and generate more than 300 billion creatives annually, delivering tangible business outcomes for brands and advertisers.

Job Summary

We are seeking a Sr. Engineering Manager to join our 200+ product development organization and lead our ML Foundations team. This team focuses on solving complex machine learning problems and developing proprietary models for a range of AdTech use cases across our product suite. As part of the AI Platform organization, you will lead a multidisciplinary team of Data Scientists, ML Engineers, and Software Engineers working to accelerate AI adoption and development across Smartly’s Media, Creative, and Intelligence suite.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the AI Foundations team, providing technical direction, strategic vision, and hands-on leadership.
• Drive the development of AdTech-specific ML models and foundational AI capabilities and explore novel approaches that can be applied across Smartly’s products.
• Optimize existing models for performance, efficiency, and scalability.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other teams to ensure AI-driven features deliver measurable business and customer impact.
• Ensure compliance with privacy, security, and ethical AI standards in ML applications.
• Foster a strong engineering culture focused on innovation, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Mentor team members through coaching, 1:1s, and career development plans.
• Remove obstacles to enable your team to thrive and deliver exceptional results.
• Partner with recruiting to help scale the team by actively sourcing and closing the best talent.
• Partner with other leaders in the AI Platform to shape Smartly’s long-term AI strategy and architecture.

Requirements / Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in building services and products.
• 5+ years of experience in applying machine learning to real-life problems.
• 3+ years of experience in leading teams.
• Competent with key technologies in ML; PyTorch, TensorFlow, Python, SQL.
• Able to mentor, coach, and develop data scientists and machine learning engineers.
• Proven experience in delivering scalable ML systems in production. You will need to be hands-on when coaching the team members to new technical and professional heights, which can involve code reviews, pair programming, etc.
• A pragmatic mindset.
• Curiosity and the drive to continuously learn through study and experimentation on the job.
• Ability to drive both technical excellence and cross-functional collaboration.
• Understanding of security and compliance requirements when working with personal data.
• M.Sc. or Ph.D. in a relevant field (Mathematics, CS, AI, Physics, …).
• Excellent communication skills, written and spoken English.
• Ability to work 3 days/week onsite at our Berlin office.

Location

Berlin, Germany

Employment Type

Full Time

Salary & Benefits

• Ownership Culture: Make a significant impact on our products with autonomy and ownership.
• Industry Collaboration: Collaborate with leading online marketers and platforms like Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, and Google.
• Professional Development: Access opportunities for growth through mentorship, training, and resources to enhance your skills.
• Wellbeing Focus: Prioritize your health with comprehensive healthcare packages and mental health services, plus a healthy work-life balance.
• Total Rewards: Everyone at Smartly is an owner with our equity options program and performance-based grants.
• Flexible hybrid work model, including the option to work abroad for up to 30 days.

Application Process

1. Meet your Recruiter: Get to know each other and learn about working at Smartly.

2. Meet the Team Manager: Gain deeper insights into your future team.

3. Meet the Team in Subject Matter Interviews: Engage in a case study and showcase your domain knowledge.

4. Meet the Leadership in a Final Meeting: A brief discussion with our Chief Technical Officer.