---
title: 'Principal Software Engineer, Machine Learning at Attentive'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-software-engineer-machine-learning-attentive-san-francisco-7hwvj56hrps4'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-18'
---

# Principal Software Engineer, Machine Learning at Attentive

- **Company:** Attentive
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-09-17
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-18
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/attentive/jobs/4408455009

## Job description

Attentive® is the AI marketing platform for 1:1 personalization redefining the way brands and people connect. We’re the only marketing platform that combines powerful technology with human expertise to build authentic customer relationships. By unifying SMS, RCS, email, and push notifications, our AI-powered personalization engine delivers bespoke experiences that drive performance, revenue, and loyalty through real-time behavioral insights.

Recognized as the #1 provider in SMS Marketing by G2, Attentive partners with more than 8,000 customers across 70+ industries. Leading global brands like Crate and Barrel, Urban Outfitters, and Carter’s work with us to enable billions of interactions that power tens of billions in revenue for our customers.

With a distributed global workforce and employee hubs in New York City, San Francisco, London, and Sydney, Attentive’s team has been consistently recognized for its performance and culture. We’re proud to be included in [Deloitte’s Fast 500](https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-zone3/us/en/docs/services/deloitte-private/2025/us-2024-technology-fast-500-rankings.pdf) (four years running!), [LinkedIn’s Top Startups](https://www.attentive.com/blog/attentive-ranked-8-on-linkedins-2020-top-startups-list-in-the-united-states), [Forbes’ Cloud 100](https://www.forbes.com/lists/cloud100/) (five years running!), [Inc.’s Best Workplaces](https://www.inc.com/best-workplaces/2025), and the [Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index](https://www.hrc.org/resources/corporate-equality-index)!

Our Machine Learning Engineering team powers personalized experiences for hundreds of millions of customers across thousands of brands. As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, you will play a critical role in building, scaling, and operating production-grade ML systems that drive real-time personalization across the Attentive platform.

You will operate with a high degree of ownership, partner closely with Product and Engineering, and help raise the technical bar across our ML systems in a fast-paced, high-impact environment.

## What You’ll Accomplish

- You have a proven track record of building systems that maintain a high bar of quality
- You deeply loathe regressions and take proactive steps to protect against them through a variety of testing techniques
- You are a collaborator, technical leader, and a great communicator
- You are constantly improving the quality of the project you are working on, both via direct contributions as well as long-term advocacy for larger-scale changes
- You are enthusiastic about the high impact, fast-paced work environment of an late-stage startup
- 10+ years experience is ideal

## Your Expertise

- You have worked professionally building systems for 10+ years with experience on a single system long enough to see the consequences of your decisions
- Experience with TensorFlow/Pytorch, xgboost, pandas, matplotlib, SQL, Spark or similar tools
- You have proficiency or experience with Python
- You have extensive experience using machine learning and data analysis, or similar, to build scalable systems and data-driven products, working with cross-functional teams
- You have a proven track record of building scalable, efficient, automated processes for large-scale data analyses, model development, model validation, and model implementation from modern research
- You have led cross-functional machine learning projects across teams

## What We Use

- Our infrastructure runs primarily in Kubernetes hosted in AWS’s EKS
- Infrastructure tooling includes Istio, Datadog, Terraform, CloudFlare, and Helm
- Our backend is Java / Spring Boot microservices, built with Gradle, coupled with things like DynamoDB, Kinesis, AirFlow, Postgres, Planetscale, and Redis, hosted via AWS
- Our frontend is built with React and TypeScript, and uses best practices like GraphQL, Storybook, Radix UI, Vite, esbuild, and Playwright
- Our automation is driven by custom and open source machine learning models, lots of data and built with Python, Metaflow, HuggingFace 🤗, PyTorch, TensorFlow, and Pandas

You'll get competitive[perks and benefits](https://www.attentive.com/benefits), from health & wellness to equity, to help you bring your best self to work.

For US based applicants:

- The US base salary range for this full-time position is $350,000 - $430,000 annually + equity + benefits
- Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location

## #LI-EZ-1

By applying for this position, your data will be processed as per [Attentive's Privacy Policy](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RViE_YUnu0ipiJQ9xDpC-iSJ9sYJBbX8/view?usp=sharing). Attentive Company Values

Default to Action - Move swiftly and with purpose

Be One Unstoppable Team - Rally as each other’s champions

Champion the Customer - Our success is defined by our customers' success

Act Like an Owner - Take responsibility for Attentive’s success

Learn more about [AWAKE](https://www.attentive.com/awake), Attentive’s collective of employee resource groups.

If you do not meet all the requirements listed here, we still encourage you to apply! No job description is perfect, and we may also have another opportunity that closely matches your skills and experience.

At Attentive, we know that our Company's strength lies in the diversity of our employees. Attentive is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities for all employees, applicants and covered individuals regardless of protected characteristics. We prioritize and maintain a fair, inclusive and equitable workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Attentive is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need any assistance or reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.

## About Attentive

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Attentive helps brands create more personal customer experiences through an AI-powered SMS, email, RCS, and push marketing platform.
- **Entity Type**: Private (late-stage venture-backed)
- **Headquarters**: New York, NY, USA (with offices in San Francisco, London, and Sydney)
- **Founded**: 2016 (founded as Franklin Mobile)
- **Founders**: Not publicly listed in provided materials

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Marketing technology (SMS, email, push, RCS)
- **Target customers**: B2B – e-commerce brands ranging from startups to global enterprises
- **Mission/purpose**: “Marketing made personal” – create timely, relevant, and real connections between brands and customers across channels

## Products & Services
- **SMS Marketing**: AI-driven text message campaigns with personalization and compliance built in.
- **Email Marketing**: Integrated email campaigns powered by customer signals and a single customer ID.
- **Push Notifications**: Timely, targeted push messages to re-engage users.
- **RCS (Rich Communication Services)**: Next-generation messaging with rich media and interactivity.
- **AI Journeys & AI Pro**: Agentic AI tools that turn customer signals into automated, multi-channel journeys.
- **Single Customer ID**: Unifies customer data across channels for consistent, personalized messaging.
- **Omnichannel Platform**: Plan, send, and measure across SMS, email, push, and RCS in one place.
- **100+ Integrations**: Connects with major e-commerce and CRM platforms.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (achieved unicorn status in 2021)
- **Key Metric**: Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) surpassed **$500M** in 2024
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not specified in provided materials (known investors from external reports include Sequoia Capital and IVP)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 1,000+ employees worldwide
  - Offices in 4 cities (NYC, San Francisco, London, Sydney)
  - Named to **2025 Forbes Cloud 100**
  - Recognized as **America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024**
  - Achieved **HRC Corporate Equality Index 2026**
  - **Best generative AI platform** award

## Competitive Advantages
- **AI-powered personalization**: Real-time signal processing for individualized messaging.
- **Single Customer ID**: Unified view of each customer across channels.
- **Built-in compliance**: Tools designed to protect against risk (e.g., TCPA, GDPR).
- **100+ integrations**: Seamless connection with existing tech stacks.
- **Hands-on support**: Dedicated team to help launch, optimize, and grow.
- **Global reach**: Active in 20+ countries.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expanding AI capabilities**: Continued investment in AI Journeys, AI Pro, and agentic AI.
- **Omnichannel depth**: RCS and push as new channels alongside core SMS/email.
- **International growth**: Offices in London and Sydney to serve global brands.
- **Product innovation**: Turning customer signals into smarter, automated marketing decisions.

## Why Work Here
- **Hybrid work model**: Offices in NYC, San Francisco, London, and Sydney; some teams (especially Engineering and Product) work best with more in-person time.
- **Culture & belonging**: Employee Resource Groups (e.g., AWAKE) foster connection and inclusion.
- **Recognition**: Great Place to Work (2025), Forbes Cloud 100, Campaign’s UK Best Places to Work.
- **Benefits**: Medical/dental/vision insurance, generous PTO, parental leave, company equity, remote work & wellness benefits.
- **Engineering impact**: “Build the systems and tools that power billions of messages every month” – solving meaningful technical challenges at scale.
- **Core values**: Innovation, collaboration, personalization, and inclusion.

## Sources
1. [attentive.com/about](https://www.attentive.com/about)
2. [attentive.com/careers](https://www.attentive.com/careers)
3. [attentive.com](https://www.attentive.com/)
4. [linkedin.com/company/attentivehq](https://www.linkedin.com/company/attentivehq)
5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/attentive](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/attentive)

## Other roles at Attentive

- [Principal Software Engineer, Machine Learning](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-software-engineer-machine-learning-attentive-new-york-awz11a1w8f06) — New York, NY
- [Principal Solutions Consultant](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-solutions-consultant-attentive-united-states-dbs7re6r4f9b) — United States
- [Director, Customer Support](https://feeny.ai/job/director-customer-support-attentive-united-states-zvw1zdynce1a) — United States
- [Senior Corporate Security Operations Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-corporate-security-operations-engineer-attentive-united-states-txe6bmt55gsx) — United States
- [Senior Product Manager, Data Platform Extensibility](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-manager-data-platform-extensibility-attentive-united-states-jss6m0qbthza) — United States
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