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Engineering Manager - Models Team

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Replicate makes it easy for software engineers to run and customize machine learning models in the cloud. With a library of thousands of open-source models, you can get started with one line of code—or fine-tune and deploy your own models when you need something custom. We handle the infrastructure, so you can focus on building. Our team comes from places like Docker, GitHub, and NVIDIA, and we’re obsessed with making AI as intuitive as deploying a web app. We build in public, ship fast, and care about getting the details right.

The models team at Replicate keeps our public model library stocked with all the latest generative AI models. We make sure the most popular models are fast, reliable, and easy to use. We also add features to models — things people ask for and things they didn’t know they needed.

We’re looking for an engineering manager to help guide this team of 6–8 engineers working where open-source AI meets high-performance computing. You’ll grow and support the team, shape technical strategy, and stay hands-on with the work. The team focuses on three things:

Turn research into APIs. We make it easy and fast to package models with cog and run them on Replicate.
Make models faster. CUDA, quantization, parallelism — we use whatever works to make models faster and cheaper to run.
Build new model features. This is the creative part. This could mean making video models trainable, adding capabilities like inpainting, outpainting, or ControlNet-style conditioning to the latest model drops, or inventing novel ways to use models that capture attention and unlock new value.

We’re deeply committed to open source. We don’t just build for Replicate — we share what we build with the community. That might mean contributing upstream, open sourcing internal tools, or writing about what we’ve learned.

About you

You’re excited about models, model performance, and AI infrastructure. You’ve led engineering teams, but you still like writing code. You’re comfortable guiding a group of strong engineers, setting technical direction, and solving hard problems alongside them. You care about open source and like collaborating with the AI community.

What you’ll be doing

Leading and growing a team focused on packaging, optimizing, and improving generative models.
Building tools and workflows to help model creators ship their work on Replicate.
Pushing model performance further — CUDA, quantization, and other optimizations.
Experimenting with creative ideas to make models more useful and powerful.
Helping set the direction for short-term projects and long-term bets.
Encouraging open-source contributions and contributing yourself.

You should apply if...

You’re obsessed with optimizations, performance, and measurements.
You’ve worked with open-source model ecosystems and want to make them better.
You’ve led teams before but still enjoy doing technical work.
You’re familiar with model inference performance and how to optimize it.
You want to make generative AI tools more accessible to developers and creators.
You’re active in the generative AI or open-source infrastructure community.

This is a chance to work on some of the most interesting problems in AI infrastructure while contributing to and collaborating with the open-source communities that make it all possible.

This role can be remote anywhere in the US (or other countries that align with US time zones) or in-person. If you're local to the Bay Area, we would like you to work out of our San Francisco office at least 3 days a week.

Average salary estimate

$150000 / YEARLY (est.)

min

max

$120000K

$180000K

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What You Should Know About Engineering Manager - Models Team, Replicate

If you're a tech enthusiast with a passion for AI, Replicate has an exciting opportunity for you! We're on the lookout for an Engineering Manager for our Models Team, a pivotal role in our mission to simplify how software engineers run and customize machine learning models in the cloud. At Replicate, we pride ourselves on our library of open-source models that allows you to get started with just a line of code or refine your own models for customization. The Models Team is essential in ensuring our public library is up-to-date with the latest generative AI models, ensuring speed and reliability while continuously adding new features driven by user feedback. In this role, you’ll lead a diverse team of 6-8 engineers, helping turn complex research into actionable APIs and optimizing models for performance using techniques like CUDA and quantization. You'll not only guide the team technically but also stay hands-on with coding, reflecting your commitment to building alongside strong engineers. Collaboration with the AI community is at the heart of what we do, and you'll have the chance to contribute to open-source projects and share your learnings with others. Whether you choose to work remotely or from our vibrant San Francisco office, you’ll be part of an incredible team of innovators, inspired by previous work experiences from top companies like Docker, GitHub, and NVIDIA. Let’s make AI as intuitive as deploying a web app together!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Engineering Manager - Models Team Role at Replicate

What are the main responsibilities of the Engineering Manager - Models Team at Replicate?

As the Engineering Manager for the Models Team at Replicate, you'll lead and grow a team tasked with optimizing and improving generative models. You'll be involved in packaging models, setting technical direction, and solving complex problems in AI performance. The role entails building tools to enhance workflow for model creators on Replicate, pushing the boundaries of model performance, and encouraging contributions to the open-source community.