Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Firefly

Our Company
Changing the world through digital experiences is what Adobe’s all about. We give everyone—from emerging artists to global brands—everything they need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences! We’re passionate about empowering people to create beautiful and powerful images, videos, and apps, and transform how companies interact with customers across every screen. 
We’re on a mission to hire the very best and are committed to creating exceptional employee experiences where everyone is respected and has access to equal opportunity. We realize that new ideas can come from everywhere in the organization, and we know the next big idea could be yours!

Adobe Firefly’s Generative AI Services team is seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to serve as the technical lead for our GenAI Services area. In this high-impact role, you will lead a team of talented engineers in building scalable, high-performance generative AI systems—powering features across Adobe products like Firefly, Photoshop, Illustrator, Express, Stock, and Premiere. You will architect and develop efficient inference pipelines, optimize models for latency and through at inference, and build APIs and ecosystems that integrate both Adobe’s first-party and third-party generative models. As a hands-on technical leader, you will tackle Adobe’s most complex engineering challenges, set technical direction, and mentor a growing organization of ML engineers.Job Responsibilities

• Lead the development of core GenAI services and APIs that integrate a wide range of generative models into Adobe’s flagship products.
• Design and architect ML workflows for enterprise-scale model customization, serving, and ecosystem integration.
• Build and optimize GPU-accelerated pipelines for both (customized) model training and inference—prioritizing performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership, guiding engineers through architecture, design, implementation, and best practices.
• Research and evaluate emerging ML and MLOps technologies to enhance engineering velocity and system performance.
• Drive cross-functional alignment by partnering with Product Managers, TPMs, and other engineering leaders to define and deliver on the roadmap.
• Lead design reviews and set technical standards, ensuring high reliability and maintainability across systems.
• Foster a culture of innovation, technical excellence, and continuous improvement across the organization.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field—or equivalent industry experience.
• 8+ years of experience in machine learning, including production-scale deployments.
• 3+ years of experience leading large-scale, GPU-intensive GenAI systems (training, inference, and optimization).
• Deep experience with GenAI frameworks and tools such as PyTorch, CUDA, Triton, TensorRT, Nvidia Dynamo, and Python.
• Strong understanding of generative model architectures, including diffusion models, transformers, and GANs.
• Proven success in leading cross-functional teams through complex, high-stakes initiatives.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with a track record of driving alignment in matrixed organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with model serving, orchestration, and GPU resource management in large-scale environments.
• Hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, distributed systems, and MLOps platforms.

#FireflyGenAI

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several  U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $193,900 -- $362,400 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.

At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans.  Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).

In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.

State-Specific Notices:

California:

Fair Chance Ordinances

Adobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and “fair chance” ordinances.

Colorado:

Application Window Notice

If this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.

Massachusetts:

Massachusetts Legal Notice

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

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