Director, Machine Learning, See & Spray

We’re Blue River, a team of innovators driven to create intelligent machinery that solves monumental problems for our customers. We empower our customers – farmers, construction crews, and foresters - to implement safer and more sustainable solutions, driving increased profitability with less reliance on scarce labor. We believe that focusing on the small stuff – pixel-by-pixel and task-by-task - leads to big gains. With our partners at John Deere, we have the ability to bring innovative computer vision, machine learning, robotics, and product management solutions to scale production, maximizing their potential impact.

Our people are at the heart of what we do. Through cross-discipline collaboration, this mission-driven and daring team is eager to define the new frontier of mobile robotics. We are always asking hard questions, rapidly iterating, and getting our boots in the field and on-site to figure it out. We won’t give up until we’ve made a tangible and positive impact on the planet. 

Blue River Technology is based in Santa Clara, CA. 

Summary

The See and Spray team at Blue River Technology is changing farming forever with productivity and sustainability improvements that employ machine learning and artificial intelligence. We are seeking a Director of Machine Learning to lead a high-performance organization dedicated to both the commercialization of agricultural robotics and machine learning. In its first year of production, See & Spray was used over 1 million acres, saving farmers 67% of herbicide — and we’re just getting started! This role will play a crucial role in scaling this technology, ensuring we are able to rapidly expand our technology across regions, crops, and new applications.

Job Responsibilities

The main job responsibilities are noted below. 

• Technical Leadership
  • Set an ambitious vision & goals for ML development as we look to rapidly scale our technology.
  • Motivate and mentor ML engineers and managers to push the bounds of the possible and achieve the above vision & goals.
  • Remain abreast of the latest advances in ML & AI technology, experimenting with new solutions when appropriate.
  • Lead process maturation of a scaling org while maintaining agility in development and experimentation.
  • Own and optimize the budget for ML expenses (labeling, training, etc).
• Collaboration & Communication
• Partner with program, product, and partner engineering teams to ensure successful delivery of complex robotic products.
• Translate highly technical information so non-technical audiences can understand risks, dependencies, and general roadmaps.
• Present & evangelize technical roadmaps among senior leaders at Blue River & Deere.
• People & Culture
• Create a work environment that fosters transparency, high performance, innovation, and diversity.
• Develop and grow the careers of managers, technical leads, and engineers.
• Advocate for team needs; develop staffing & succession plans, manage performance, and identify skill gaps.
• Visit customers in the field often, understanding customer experience, and system performance in the field.

Required Experience and Skills

• 10+ years of proven engineering leadership experience with 5+ years leading an engineering organization in Data Science and CVML.
• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant engineering field (Electrical, mechanical, or computer science) is required; an advanced master's degree is preferred.
• Proven leadership in developing and executing strategic visions for ML teams aligned with company goals.
• Effective relationship builder and highly approachable technical leader.
• Bold thinker and confident decision maker, especially in uncertainty; values curiosity, creativity, and risk-taking.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a distributed team environment.
• Track record of delivering commercially successful products to customers.
• Outstanding recruiter and team builder; hire/grow/retain top talent.
• Experience working on complex, real-time robotics systems.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic, agile environment and the ability to roll up your sleeves and lead by example when needed.

At Blue River, we’re passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity.  While we have more work to do to advance diversity and inclusion, we’re investing in our programs, including recruiting, mentorship, career development, and learning & development to ensure they support our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals. We support each employee in living a full life, enabling a thriving career, and accomplishing a meaningful, challenging mission while collaborating with incredible people. We are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align completely with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation. 

The US annual base salary range for this position is $204,000 - $362,000, along with eligibility for Blue River’s bonus and benefit programs.

Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process. During the recruitment process, we may identify an alternative role or level to which you are more suited. If your ideal role at Blue River differs from the advertised position, we will provide an updated pay range as soon as possible during the hiring process.