Role Description We are seeking a Staff Applied Backend / ML Engineer to lead the design and implementation of production-grade, AI-driven systems that power intelligent products at scale. This is a deeply hands-on senior technical role responsible for: - Architecting distributed backend systems - Designing and deploying machine learning pipelines - Translating ambiguous business problems into robust, measurable solutions - Shipping hardened production systems — not just prototypes You will design high-performance APIs and data workflows, productionize ML models (training, evaluation, inference, monitoring), and ensure reliability, security, and scalability across cloud environments. This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives at the intersection of systems architecture, applied ML, and product impact, and can move from whiteboard design to production deployment without handoffs. What You Will Do - Backend & Distributed Systems - Architect and implement scalable backend services (REST / gRPC, async systems, event-driven pipelines) - Design data-intensive workflows and ETL / ELT systems - Build high-throughput, low-latency APIs - Own service reliability, observability, and performance tuning - Define API contracts and integration patterns across services - Applied Machine Learning - Design ML pipelines end-to-end (data ingestion → feature engineering → training → evaluation → deployment) - Productionize models (batch and real-time inference) - Build embedding pipelines, ranking systems, and classification / extraction models - Implement experimentation frameworks and offline/online evaluation loops - Establish model monitoring (drift detection, performance tracking, alerts) - Cloud & Infrastructure - Deploy services across cloud environments (GCP, Azure, AWS) - Design CI/CD pipelines for ML and backend systems - Implement infrastructure-as-code practices - Ensure system security, compliance, and scalability - Technical Leadership - Set engineering standards and architectural direction - Mentor engineers across backend and ML domains - Collaborate with product, data, and leadership teams - Break down ambiguous problems into measurable execution plans - Drive long-term AI and platform strategy Qualifications - 6+ years of backend engineering experience - 2+ years of applied ML in production environments - Strong Python or Java expertise - Experience designing distributed systems at scale - Hands-on experience deploying ML models in production - Experience with SQL + NoSQL databases - Familiarity with event-driven architectures (Kafka, Pub/Sub, streaming systems) Requirements - Feature engineering and data preprocessing - Embeddings, ranking, or similarity systems - Model evaluation frameworks - Model serving (batch and real-time) - Experimentation / A/B testing systems - Production monitoring and observability - Cloud-native architecture (GCP / Azure / AWS) - Containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes) - CI/CD pipelines - API performance optimization - Security best practices for distributed systems Nice to Have - Experience with large language models (LLMs) in production - Experience building data platforms or workflow orchestration systems - Experience with vector databases - Experience in B2B, industrial, or commerce platforms - Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Helm) What Success Looks Like Within 6 months, you will have: - Designed and shipped a production ML-backed service - Established reliability and observability standards - Improved performance and cost-efficiency of core systems - Mentored engineers and elevated technical quality across the team

• Researching the applicability of cutting-edge AI technology in our features • You will work across multiple technologies around a core including: Python, AWS (EKS, S3, RDS, Terraform, etc.), AI/ML/Data Science libraries (Google ADK, pandas, faiss, etc.) • Developing reusable AI evaluation frameworks • Designing agentic AI systems • Delivering AI powered features • Creating performance- and cost-optimised services • Helping to build AWS platform infrastructure with Terraform, such as RDS instances or EKS clusters • Mentoring less senior developers on coding best practices (TDD with pytest, Pythonic code, etc.) • Writing and reviewing portions of detailed specifications for the development of moderately complex system components • Participating in development processes, and code reviews • Operating in a Scrum based development environment while collaborating with stakeholders • All other duties as assigned

• Define and drive the long term technical vision for Shopping ML across search, discovery, recommendations, and personalization. • Lead development of AI systems that fundamentally improve how customers discover products and shop on Instacart. • Architect large scale ML systems combining LLM reasoning, retrieval, ranking, recommendation models, and personalization. • Build and operate production ML systems powering real time shopping experiences across millions of users and products. • Identify foundational ML capabilities that unlock new customer experiences and accelerate experimentation across the organization. • Partner with senior leaders across product, engineering, and data science to shape technical strategy and roadmap. • Influence company wide ML architecture and contribute to major technical initiatives across Instacart. • Mentor senior/staff engineers through design reviews, architecture guidance, and hands-on collaboration.

About our Team LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,800 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. Our company has been a long-time leader in deploying AI and advanced technologies to the legal market to improve productivity and transform the overall business and practice of law, deploying ethical and powerful generative AI solutions with a flexible, multi-model approach that prioritizes using the best model from today’s top model creators for each individual legal use case. About the Role The Lead for our Software Engineering team serves as a subject matter expert for a specific team of Software Engineers working toward our new Lexis + AI initiative. You will be instrumental in driving the design, development, and operationalization of scalable, robust solutions working closely with data scientists and engineers to deliver high-impact features for our customers. This is a hands-on leadership role that also requires technical mentoring, architectural thinking, and team guidance across the full application lifecycle. The position has direct reports. Requirements: - Experience working with a modern Python codebase. - Experience with AWS or similar cloud providers, including knowledge of IaC solutions. - Understanding Software Engineering techniques and processes. - Strong interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills applicable to a wide audience. - Experience with GenAI and agentic AI. - Experience with Azure Pipelines & Terraform is desirable, but not essential. Responsibilities: - Researching the applicability of cutting-edge AI technology in our features. - You will work across multiple technologies around a core including: Python, AWS (EKS, S3, RDS, Terraform, etc.), AI/ML/Data Science libraries (Google ADK, pandas, faiss, etc.) - Developing reusable AI evaluation frameworks. - Designing agentic AI systems. - Delivering AI powered features. - Creating performance- and cost-optimised services. - Helping to build AWS platform infrastructure with Terraform, such as RDS instances or EKS clusters. - Mentoring less senior developers on coding best practices (TDD with pytest, Pythonic code, etc.) - Writing and reviewing portions of detailed specifications for the development of moderately complex system components. - Participating in development processes, and code reviews. - Operating in a Scrum based development environment while collaborating with stakeholders. - All other duties as assigned Work in a way that works for you We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organization. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals. Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive. Working for you We know that your wellbeing and happiness are key to a long and successful career. These are some of the benefits we are delighted to offer: - Health Benefits: Comprehensive, multi-carrier program for medical, dental and vision benefits - Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with match and an Employee Share Purchase Plan - Wellbeing: Wellness platform with incentives, Headspace app subscription, Employee Assistance and Time-off Programs - Short-and-Long Term Disability, Life and Accidental Death Insurance, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity - Family Benefits, including bonding and family care leaves, adoption and surrogacy benefits - Health Savings, Health Care, Dependent Care and Commuter Spending Accounts - Up to two days of paid leave each to participate in Employee Resource Groups and to volunteer with your charity of choice About the Business LexisNexis Legal & Professional® provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. U.S. National Base Pay Range: $115,400 - $192,300. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations to better reflect local market rates. If performed in Illinois, the base pay range is $121,200 - $201,900.If performed in Chicago, IL, the base pay range is $126,900 - $211,500.If performed in New Jersey, the base pay range is $130,284 - $208,116. This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus. We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits. Click here to access benefits specific to your location. We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or please contact 1-855-833-5120. Criminals may pose as recruiters asking for money or personal information. We never request money or banking details from job applicants. Learn more about spotting and avoiding scams here. Please read our Candidate Privacy Policy. We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. USA Job Seekers: EEO Know Your Rights.