--- title: 'Head of ML at Mach9' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-ml-mach9-san-francisco-sd9s5068wer6' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-13' --- # Head of ML at Mach9 - **Company:** Mach9 - **Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Posted:** 2026-06-03 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/mach9/de1621e9-58e1-4d62-977d-71c9b855270f ## Job description ## The Role At Mach9, we're building AI to turn dense LiDAR and image data into design-grade CAD deliverables for civil engineering and surveying. We have one of the richest survey-grade datasets in the world. Our product, Digital Surveyor, automates work that takes surveyors and engineers weeks of manual effort. We're looking for a Head of Machine Learning to build and grow the organization that turns our data into the automated products of the future in surveying and design. This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll set the technical vision for our strategy, mentor and grow a team of ML engineers and researchers, and own the throughline from hard research problems to shipped product capabilities. This role is ideal for experienced engineers, team leads, and managers who want to push the frontier of 3D computer vision and perception. You’ll have the opportunity to solve problems that few other teams have the data or the talent to take on. We need you to bring a strong vision of what’s possible with our unique dataset, and then to build a team around you to accomplish that vision. ## Responsibilities - Define and drive a coherent vision for how Mach9 can leverage our data advantage to build the best automation products across surveying and design. - Translate your vision into a technical roadmap, execute strongly, and bring our products to the next level. You’ll need to identify which challenges are worth solving, and then which models are ready to ship. - Build and grow our ML team: hiring, onboarding, structuring the team as it scales, and shaping the split between research and engineering as our organization matures. - Mentor ML engineers and researchers, providing technical direction, career growth, and guidance to raise the level of the whole team. - Stay technically hands-on: review designs and code and weigh in on architecture and modeling decisions, so that you stay credible and connected to the team and problems. - Partner with product and engineering leadership to align Mach9’s investment into research with our product strategy and customer needs. ## Requirements - Experience leading and growing teams — hiring and mentoring ML engineers and researchers. - 5+ years of work experience in machine learning, with a track record of shipping ML models or systems to production. - Strong technical depth in machine learning and computer vision, and an ability to set technical direction and to earn the trust of a strong technical team. - Ability to develop technical roadmaps and execute on them. - Strong communication skills, with the ability to operate across research and engineering. - Proficient with Python and PyTorch. You must be comfortable engaging deeply with our technical work. Bonus qualifications - Background in machine learning for 3D perception — point cloud understanding, 3D detection/segmentation, geometric deep learning, or related areas. - Experience with CAD AI, design automation, or applying ML to generate structured/geometric output, rather than just classification or detection. - Experience scaling an ML organization through a growth phase — defining team structure and hiring strategy. - Background in domains that work with similar data to Mach9 — remote sensing, geomatics, autonomous driving, or robotics. - Experience leveraging large unstructured datasets, especially reality-capture datasets, to build data-driven products and flywheels. ## About Mach9 ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Mach9 builds AI-native CAD software that automatically transforms LiDAR point clouds into engineering-grade 3D maps, accelerating infrastructure design and surveying workflows. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage) - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA - **Founded**: 2021 - **Founders**: Alexander Baikovitz (CEO), Zachary Sussman (CTO), Haowen Shi, Michael M. – four researchers from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute. ## Core Business - **Primary industries**: Civil infrastructure, surveying & geospatial services, transportation, telecom, utilities, architecture/engineering/construction (AEC). - **Target customers**: B2B. Enterprise clients include top engineering firms (Langan, Olsson, Woolpert, HDR, Michael Baker International), major state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), and utility companies. - **Mission/purpose**: "Accelerate how teams model and understand the world" – providing the fastest, most accurate automated feature-extraction technology for infrastructure projects. ## Products & Services - **Digital Surveyor (DS2)**: AI-native, web-based CAD platform for automated feature extraction from LiDAR point clouds. Offers AI-assisted extraction (curbs, pavement edges, guardrails, utility poles), manual tools, and direct export to AutoCAD, MicroStation, and ESRI. Data-agnostic ingest pipeline supports scanners from RIEGL, Trimble, Leica, NavVis. Type: SaaS. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total Funding – **USD $14,425,000** (as of early 2026). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Y Combinator (Summer 2021 batch), Quiet Capital (led $12M Seed round, Nov 2024), Tiger Global Management (led $2.3M Seed round, Dec 2021), and top executives from Cruise, Autodesk, Adobe, and DoorDash as advisors/investors. - **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 30 employees (LinkedIn, Apr 2026) with +32.1% yearly growth; monthly job posting growth +66.7% year-over-year; trusted by leading engineering firms and state DOTs; launched Digital Surveyor 2 in March 2026; featured in Geo Week News and YC blog. ## Competitive Advantages - **AI-native CAD workflow**: Unlike traditional manual drafting, DS2's AI "drafts with you" – learning from user edits to improve suggestions in real time, cutting manual drafting time by up to 96×. - **Field-to-finish in one environment**: No need to switch between preprocessing, extraction, and CAD tools – all done in a single web-based platform. - **Strong research roots**: Built on decades of research from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, giving a deep technical moat in computer vision and geospatial ML. - **Designed for surveyors**: Intuitive UI that lets domain experts (not just CAD specialists) be productive on day one. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale GTM and engineering**: Active hiring across sales (Account Executive, Founding Marketer), engineering (ML Infrastructure Engineer, Perception Software Engineer, Head of Product Engineering), and operations (Solutions Consultant, QA Survey Technician). - **Expand into new verticals**: Targeting electric/telecom utilities, data centers, and broader infrastructure beyond transportation. - **Product evolution**: Continuously improving AI accuracy and automation, with a focus on trust and user control (as highlighted in the DS2 launch). ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Fast-paced, customer-obsessed, engineering-first environment. Values: "work fast, iterate with customer feedback, never compromise on excellence." - **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: HQ in San Francisco; some roles are "Remote / Remote (US)" per YC job listings. Likely hybrid with in-office presence for SF-based roles. - **Perks & Benefits**: Health, vision, dental insurance; paid parental leave; flexible time off; equity package for all full-time employees; company 401(k); relocation assistance; catered lunches & paid dinner; company & team events; dog-friendly office. - **Engineering culture**: Deep technical challenges at the intersection of AI, geospatial, computer graphics, and infrastructure. Opportunity to work on hard problems that "unlock billions in value for customers." ## Sources 1. [mach9.ai/careers](https://mach9.ai/careers) 2. [mach9.ai](https://www.mach9.ai/) 3. [mach9.ai/about](https://www.mach9.ai/about) 4. [ycombinator.com/companies/mach9](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/mach9) 5. [linkedin.com/company/mach9geo](https://www.linkedin.com/company/mach9geo) ## Other roles at Mach9 - [Software Engineer - Test Automation (SDET)](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-test-automation-sdet-mach9-san-francisco-dchqfg4k8ysa) — San Francisco, CA - [Head of Growth](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-growth-mach9-san-francisco-d8kxeytn9wx9) — San Francisco, CA - [Community Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/community-marketing-manager-mach9-san-francisco-8m9th9t0gj50) — San Francisco, CA - [People Operations Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/people-operations-lead-mach9-san-francisco-q2sfh0vq8by5) — San Francisco, CA - [Founding Recruiting Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-recruiting-lead-mach9-san-francisco-ggnv94m4sy46) — San Francisco, CA - [Solutions Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/solutions-engineer-mach9-san-francisco-ty6bfpe6811r) — San Francisco, CA - [ML Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-engineer-mach9-san-francisco-x1bf09p00g77) — San Francisco, CA - [Solutions Consultant](https://feeny.ai/job/solutions-consultant-mach9-remote-yp8s45p1npy2) - [QA Survey Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/qa-survey-technician-mach9-san-francisco-4qs77wfsg5pv) — San Francisco, CA - [Account Executive](https://feeny.ai/job/account-executive-mach9-san-francisco-ann2y5dm6p9v) — San Francisco, CA