---
title: 'Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Xero'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-machine-learning-engineer-xero-ontario-1gbmfz62vsqp'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Xero

- **Company:** [Xero](https://feeny.ai/companies/xero)
- **Location:** Ontario, Canada
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-09-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/xero/ce864d81-9870-412d-85da-c71538790961

## Job description

## The role

You will lead the design and implementation of large-scale, production-grade distributed systems that power AI features for millions of daily users. You'll own the architecture decisions that keep our systems flexible, cost-effective, and robust, direct strategy for distributed systems, and manage technical debt across the AI Products estate. Beyond architecture, your impact lies in lifting the technical capability of the entire AI Products team. You will champion engineering excellence, mentor junior engineers, and collaborate across Xero to enhance data usability - applying modern AI research, including Large Language Models, only once it can be engineered into reliable, production-grade systems.

The team You will join the AI Products group, a diverse team of scientists, engineers, product managers, and analysts within our broader Data & Science division. As a Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, you'll partner closely with Applied Scientists to build the interfaces and harnesses that safely and reliably transition models from research into production. Together, this collaborative team reduces toil and delivers beautiful, data-driven insights for small businesses

The team is currently working on

- Designing and building highly scalable, distributed production infrastructure to support generative AI features
- Harnessing tools like Python, SQL, and distributed processing engines such as Spark or Dask to handle web-scale data workload.
- Deploying to production environments running on AWS and Kubernetes Integrating modern Large Language Model technologies into product features once they're production-ready

Where and how you can work Xero offers a flexible hybrid working model designed to blend the collaboration of office life with the autonomy of remote work in Toronto, You will have access to our modern office spaces, with expectations around office days and collaborative 'boost days' aligned to help your team connect and ship great code effectively.

Here are some of the things we are looking for

- 5+ years building and operating production Python (or equivalent language) services at scale - this is a software engineering role first; strong system design and coding proficiency are non-negotiable
- A track record of owning services or pipelines in production, including operational/on-call responsibility, incident response, and managing technical debt over time
- Deep understanding of distributed processing principles (Spark, Dask, or similar) alongside strong SQL capabilities
- Demonstrated experience integrating ML models or LLM-based features into production systems - you don't need a research background, but you should be comfortable working alongside Applied Scientists to productionize their work
- Familiarity with ML tooling such as MLFlow, TensorFlow, or PyTorch, and data orchestration tools like Airflow or Prefect, is valued but production engineering depth matters more than research exposure
- Nice to have: prior experience applying or fine-tuning LLMs in a product context, though this is not a substitute for the core software engineering bar above

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - ensuring your value is recognized through a holistic lens that includes base salary, performance incentives, and world-class benefits. The expected base salary range for this role is $185,000 - $225,000 CAD. Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role. In addition to base pay, Xero’s roles are eligible for the following forms of variable compensation:

- Variable Pay: Permanent employees are eligible to participate in our annual bonus and equity (RSU) programs. You may also be eligible for performance-based cash or equity (RSUs) incentives depending on your role level, and company performance.
- Comprehensive Benefits: World-class health, wellness, and retirement programs. [Xero Perks](https://careers.xero.com/inside-xero/benefits-wellbeing/) including Wellbeing days, generous leave, and dedicated professional development budgets.

This is a posting for an existing vacancy. Xero uses AI to help screen applications based on job-related qualifications. These tools assist our recruiters but do not make automated hiring decisions. A human recruiter reviews all candidates before any hiring action is taken

## About Xero

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Xero provides cloud-based accounting and financial management software for small businesses, serving over 4.9 million customers worldwide.
- **Entity Type**: Public (ASX: XRO, S&P/ASX 200 component)
- **Headquarters**: Wellington, New Zealand
- **Founded**: July 6, 2006
- **Founders**: Rod Drury, Hamish Edwards

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Cloud accounting software (SaaS)
- **Target customers**: Small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers (B2B)
- **Mission**: To make life better for small businesses globally by automating routine tasks and delivering actionable insights.

## Products & Services
- **Xero Accounting Software**: Cloud-based platform for invoicing, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, payroll, and financial reporting. Sold by subscription (Starter, Standard, Premium tiers).
- **JAX – AI Finance Partner**: An AI-powered assistant integrated into Xero that automates routine tasks and provides insights to help businesses grow.
- **Xero Ecosystem**: Over 1,000 third-party app integrations via the Xero App Store, covering payments, inventory, CRM, and more.
- **Xero for Nonprofits**: Discounted subscriptions (25% off) for eligible nonprofit and community organisations.
- **Xero for Purpose**: Social impact initiatives including financial literacy programmes (Unlock Your Numbers), sustainability tools (Sumday carbon app), and the Xero Beautiful Business Fund (NZ$750,000+ in funding annually).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed in provided sources (publicly traded with market cap available on ASX; latest data not included in search results).
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue NZ$2.103 billion (FY2025); Net income NZ$227.8 million (FY2025).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Board Chair David Thodey; CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy. In June 2025, Xero announced an agreement to acquire Melio, a New York-based payments provider, for $2.5 billion.
- **Growth Signals**: Achieved Rule of 40 outcomes of 41.0% (May 2024) and 43.9% (Nov 2024). Customer base grew to 4.9 million. Headcount of 4,610 employees (2025). Expanding globally with offices in New Zealand, Australia, UK, US, Canada, South Africa, and Singapore.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Market leader** in cloud accounting across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.
- **AI-first approach** with JAX, embedded directly into the core product to reduce manual work.
- **Extensive integration ecosystem** (1,000+ apps) creating high switching costs for customers.
- **Strong brand trust** built over 19 years with a focus on small business success.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI and automation**: Deepening AI capabilities (JAX) to deliver predictive insights and automate finance workflows.
- **Payments expansion**: Acquisition of Melio to strengthen payments capabilities for small businesses.
- **Sustainability**: Reducing carbon emissions (72% reduction in scope 1 & 2), offering free carbon accounting tools, and supporting small business sustainability.
- **Social impact**: Scaling programmes like the Beautiful Business Fund and financial literacy initiatives.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values-driven, human-centric organisation with a focus on making a tangible impact on small businesses globally.
- **Flexibility**: Emphasises a flexible environment and time for what matters most (remote/hybrid policy not explicitly stated but implied).
- **Perks & benefits**:
  - One paid day off per year for volunteering (Community Connect programme).
  - Free access to Sumday carbon accounting app for employees.
  - Financial literacy resources and mentorship programmes.
- **Engineering & innovation**: Dedicated Engineering and Data & AI teams (open roles visible on careers page). Global collaboration across 7+ countries.
- **Diversity & inclusion**: Indigenous inclusion initiatives (te ao Māori in NZ, Reconciliation Action Plan in Australia), support for Indigenous communities.
- **Sustainability focus**: Employees can contribute to environmental goals through company-wide initiatives.

## Sources
1. [Wikipedia – Xero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xero)
2. [Xero About Page](https://www.xero.com/au/about/)
3. [Xero Careers – Inside Xero](https://careers.xero.com/inside-xero/)
4. [Xero Careers – Teams](https://careers.xero.com/)
5. [Xero Homepage](https://www.xero.com/)

## Other roles at Xero

- [Small Business Onboarding Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/small-business-onboarding-specialist-xero-cape-town-ckyegg0g1wfz) — Cape Town, South Africa
- [Sales Development Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/sales-development-specialist-xero-melbourne-shak0pynckqn) — Melbourne, Australia
- [Customer Growth Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-growth-specialist-xero-melbourne-nttx72xfyyvx) — Melbourne, Australia
- [Account Executive](https://feeny.ai/job/account-executive-xero-auckland-24xhvx12wnte) — Auckland, New Zealand
- [SEM Senior Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/sem-senior-manager-xero-brisbane-gj9tkq583dnm) — Brisbane, Australia
- [SEM Senior Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/sem-senior-manager-xero-sydney-wjxe3syb7874) — Sydney, Australia
- [SEM Senior Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/sem-senior-manager-xero-melbourne-38tzvghsmasf) — Melbourne, Australia
- [SEM Senior Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/sem-senior-manager-xero-auckland-94sjyamt3khc) — Auckland, New Zealand
- [Senior Engineer - Database](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-engineer-database-xero-auckland-9rfj2zffbkcs) — Auckland, New Zealand
- [Senior Product Manager - Payments & APIs](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-manager-payments-apis-xero-vancouver-8ars13emnqra) — Vancouver, Canada