Mitti by SafetyCulture is a global tech company, just not the kind you're picturing. Our almost 1,000-person team builds tools that make work better for the three billion frontline workers who keep the world moving. We've got big tech scale, without the sign-off layers or corporate theatre. This next chapter is about scaling smart, powered by AI, a clear vision and real ownership. Big tech impact, without the big tech ick.
🏢 About Mitti
Our mission is to help solve the challenges of an increasingly distributed workforce. As a Staff ML Engineer in the Data team, you’ll shape how we use our data to help customers find what matters and improve. You’ll help set the roadmap for search, build the embeddings and data foundations behind it, and put search on top. We’re at an early stage, with plenty of room to shape how it’s done. The team has the foundations in place and is ready for you to lead the next phase.
🎯 The Role
In this role, you can expect to:
Work out what to solve first, and shape the roadmap for how we apply and grow search across the platform
Build and improve the embeddings and datasets that power search, working with data engineers to deliver them at scale
Put semantic search on top of those embeddings, combining it with keyword search where it makes sense
Build a feedback loop that measures whether search is giving people the right answers, and use it to improve the embeddings and results
Make sure the right results reach the right person, respecting access controls and relevance to who is searching and what they do
Deliver customer-facing features end to end, from understanding the problem to shipping
Act as technical lead for ML in a small team, mentoring others and setting the standard for how we build
Build strong relationships across data and engineering teams, and influence how they work without relying on formal authority
Weigh effort against impact, including build vs buy decisions
Work with our current stack (Databricks, Kafka, Golang, PostgreSQL and OpenSearch on AWS), with room to choose what’s best as the problem becomes clearer
Work in a hybrid environment, including at our HQ in Surry Hills, Sydney
Demonstrate Mitti values (Think Customer, Open Honest Always, Better as a Team, Be Bold Bring Action)
✅ Key Responsibilities
Experience building embeddings and using them in production, including choosing between approaches and weighing cost, speed, accuracy and keeping data in house
Experience working with large, live datasets (hundreds of terabytes or billions of records), such as data lakes or formats like Parquet or Iceberg
A background in machine learning or data engineering, including moving from software engineering
Experience building systems that learn from feedback, and measuring whether results are good
Experience delivering data or ML products to customers end to end, not only internal stakeholders
Experience working technical leadership, guiding a team and influencing across teams
Strong relationship building and communication skills, including working across data and software engineering
Experience working with data engineers to build datasets at scale
⭐ Desirable Experience
Experience building a search engine, even as a proof of concept
Experience with OpenSearch, Elasticsearch or vector search tools
Experience with permission-aware search or personalised results
A backend language such as Golang or Node.js
🎁 Benefits
Equity with high growth potential, and a competitive salary Flexible working arrangements Access to professional and personal training and development opportunities Hackathons, Workshops, Lunch & Learns In-house Culinary Crew serving up daily breakfast, lunch and snacks Barista coffee machine, craft beer on tap, boutique wines and a range of non-alcoholic beverages Wellbeing initiatives such as EAP services and generous parental leave policy Quarterly celebrations and team events On-site gym, table tennis, board games, books library, and pet-friendly offices
