Team Lead – ML Engineering

About Carvana

“We believe CVNA is in the early stages of becoming the next U.S. retail category killer.” 

– Stephens Investment Bank, Analyst Report, Sept. 2024

Building leading-edge technology has been at the core of Carvana’s strategy since our founding, driving us to become the 3rd fastest company in history to organically reach the Fortune 500 following only Amazon and Google. Today, we remain founder-lead and as ambitious as ever. In 2024, we have not only emerged as the fastest growing automotive retailer, but also the most profitable thanks to our deep vertical integration across retail, lending, vehicle transportation, wholesale auctions, and more. 

If you want to grow not just as an Engineer but as a leader and business-builder, Carvana is the place for you. Our technology teams build: 

• End-to-end ecommerce for both selling and buying cars, including everything you see on Carvana.com and in our mobile apps.
• AI-driven customer support across chat, email, SMS, and voice, as well as a proprietary CRM platform to ensure the most efficient and highest quality customer experience.
• 360° vehicle photography and interactive merchandising using cutting edge computer vision and AI techniques.
• The most sophisticated and self-service automotive lending platform in the world.
• Systems and tools behind a nationwide logistics network that has delivered and picked up over 3 million cars via our fully owned and operated fleet of automotive haulers, efficiently managing distribution of our massive inventory to 85% of US driveways.
• Enterprise grade systems for operating the largest vehicle reconditioning facilities in the US, with workflow and automation to guide the work for everything mechanical, electrical, and cosmetic needed to bring each car to our high standards.
• Early adoption and customization of AI tools for optimizing our Developer efficiency and experience.

And much, much more…

Please note that this job is an on-site position. You will be working from one of our offices in Tempe, Playa Vista, or Oakland. We look forward to discussing which location suits you best during the recruitment process.

About the team and position…

The NGCP team is a passionate and collaborative group of experts in Product, Design, Data Science, and Engineering who are redefining customer experience at Carvana. At the heart of our work is a cutting-edge communication platform that empowers car buyers and sellers to enjoy an effortless car shopping experience every day. We build our systems from the ground up with a relentless focus on the end-consumer, and we’re looking for someone who shares our vision to join our team.

As the Team Lead of the NGC Machine Learning Team, you will not only shape the future of our LLM-based omnichannel bot system – Sebastian – but also take an active, hands-on role in coding, architectural decision-making, and mentoring. We are seeking a leader with a strong full stack background who has managed engineering teams, and who thrives on rolling up their sleeves alongside their team. You’ll also contribute to our overarching data and AI strategy, enhancing a suite of ML-driven services that support our customers and advocates. Collaborating closely with our Product, Data Science, and Software Engineering teams, you’ll help transform every stage of the purchase process—from search right through to vehicle delivery.

As an engineering leader, you will support engineers building out this platform while we continue to add more capabilities and features. Our services are built on different technology frameworks, including Python, .NET Core, Scala, and React.

What you’ll be doing

As a Team Lead in Engineering, you’ll work hand in hand with Product Managers and fellow engineers to define the vision, direction, and objectives for your team’s projects—with a special emphasis on leveraging AI tools to solve challenges across the board. In this role, you’ll be expected to:

• Engage in every phase of the software development life cycle—from understanding requirements and crafting solution designs to planning, developing, testing, and deploying—all while integrating cutting-edge AI technologies that streamline processes and bolster innovation.
• Serve as a “player-coach” by actively engaging in code reviews, debugging, and contributing code on both the client and server sides.
• Swiftly adapt and respond to rapidly changing business needs by harnessing analytics and decision-making tools, ensuring your team remains agile and ahead of the curve.
• Discover new opportunities to scale our business, enhance our culture, and improve the quality of our tools, code, and processes.
• Contribute directly to the development of groundbreaking applications, where integrating AI solutions will be key to solving complex problems and achieving business milestones.
• Recognize that your team’s talent is your greatest asset, and invest in their growth by introducing AI-enhanced training and development tools that support personal and professional success.
• Consistently seek opportunities to guide, nurture, and empower your team members, ensuring they achieve their personal objectives while delivering sustainable and significant value to the business.

This role is perfect for someone ready to push the boundaries of traditional engineering, who is inspired by what solutions are now possible by blending traditional and modern ML & AI technologies.

What you should have

• A comprehensive understanding of software craftsmanship ideals - clean code principles, unit testing fundamentals, design pattern selection and application, and architectural pattern selection
• Experience working with training and deploying machine learning models to production systems
• Experience building with LLMs and Agentic frameworks
• Experience with event-driven architectures
• Experience writing unit tests, load tests, performance tests, and/or integration tests
• Experience debugging and troubleshooting web services, API, and libraries
• An understanding and experience in application security from the web service and web application perspective
• A good understanding of design patterns and N-Tier architecture
• Experience using any cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP, RedHat, etc.)
• Experience in container-oriented architecture using Docker and/or Kubernetes
• BS degree in Computer Science, similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience

What we’ll offer in return

• Full-Time Salary Position with a competitive salary.
• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits.
• 401K with company match.
• A multitude of perks including student loan payments, discounts on vehicles, benefits for your pets, and much more.
• A great wellness program to keep you healthy and happy both physically and mentally.
• Access to opportunities to expand your skill set and share your knowledge with others across the organization.
• A company culture of promotions from within, with a start-up atmosphere allowing for varied and rapid career development.

Legal Stuff...

Hiring is contingent on passing a complete background check. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Carvana is an equal employment opportunity employer. All applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law. Carvana also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories.

Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.