Senior Machine Learning Engineering Manager

Spotify
London, United Kingdom
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

Geared toward experienced ML engineering leaders comfortable with cross-functional team strategy and hands-on technical contributions.

Best fit for

  • Experienced ML engineering leaders with a strong strategic mindset and hands-on technical skills
    — “you're comfortable getting hands-on when it matters”
  • Candidates with a track record of managing senior teams and delivering complex initiatives
    — “you have a track record of managing engineering teams while delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives”
  • Individuals with expertise in NLP, audio/music content understanding, and recommender systems
    — “experience across NLP, audio / music content understanding and recommender systems”

Things to consider

  • The role requires in-person meetings despite remote flexibility
    — “There will be some in person meetings”
  • Candidates must be willing to work in either London or Stockholm
    — “This role is based in London or Stockholm”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience in shaping long-term technical strategies for ML teams
    — “you'll shape where the group goes next”
  • Showcase your ability to align with product, design, and research leaders
    — “Partner with product, design, research and other engineering leaders across Spotify”
  • Emphasize your hands-on contributions and technical leadership in ML projects
    — “Lead technical strategy, reviewing designs, guiding modelling and retrieval choices”
  • Demonstrate how you've helped ML teams achieve productivity gains through AI tools
    — “Define and champion a practical point of view on how ML engineers use AI tools”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • led a team of 10+ machine learning engineers
  • delivered high-priority company initiatives
  • shaped technical and team strategy
Typical background
deep machine learning expertiseexperience managing engineering teams

Skills & requirements

Required

Machine-learningTeam-managementTechnical-strategyCross-functional-collaboration

Preferred

NLPAudio-understandingRecommender-systems

Stack & domain

Machine LearningNLPAudio / Music Content UnderstandingRecommender SystemsLeadershipCoachingCommunicationStrategic ThinkingTechnologyDesign

About the role

Original posting from Spotify via Lever

We design Spotify's consumer experience—end to end, moment to moment, across every screen, platform, and partner integration. Our mission is to make listening feel effortless, personal, and joyful for billions of users around the world. That means turning complexity into clarity across hundreds of touchpoints—from our mobile and desktop apps to the smart speakers, TVs, cars, and integrations where Spotify shows up every day. If it touches a consumer, we shape it. We bring deep insight into human behavior, design, and technology to craft experiences that feel intuitive, expressive, and unmistakably Spotify.

You'll lead a senior-heavy group of 10–12 machine learning engineers, including Staff engineers, who team up dynamically to solve high-priority business problems while staying deep in content understanding (audio, video and text). This is a player-coach role with a strong strategic remit: you'll shape where the group goes next, grow our audio understanding expertise over the long term, and help the team scale through thoughtful, practical use of AI in everyday engineering work.

What You'll Do:

  • Lead, coach and grow a group of 10+ senior and Staff machine learning engineers who team up dynamically around business problems while staying deep in their domain.
  • Set technical and team strategy for multiple content understanding problems and turn it into clear, achievable plans.
  • Own delivery of high-priority company initiatives, from shaping the problem through to measurable impact for listeners.
  • Stay close to the technology as a player-coach. Lead technical strategy, reviewing designs, guiding modelling and retrieval choices, and contributing hands-on where it helps the team most.
  • Define and champion a practical point of view on how ML engineers use AI tools in their day-to-day work, and help the team realise real productivity gains.
  • Partner with product, design, research and other engineering leaders across Spotify to align priorities and share context.

Who You Are:

  • You have deep machine learning expertise and Staff-level technical judgement, and you're comfortable getting hands-on when it matters.
  • You bring experience across NLP, audio / music content understanding and recommender systems.
  • You have a track record of managing engineering teams while delivering complex, cross-functional initiatives.
  • You enjoy coaching senior and Staff engineers, and you help experienced people grow their impact.
  • You have a clear, informed point of view on using AI to improve how ML engineers work, and you can inspire a team to adopt it.
  • You think strategically, communicate clearly, and can balance long-term bets with near-term delivery.

Where You'll Be:

  • This role is based in London or Stockholm.
  • We offer the flexibility to work where you work best! There will be some in person meeetings, but still allows for flexibility to work from home.

Source: Spotify careers (Lever)

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