Principal Machine Learning Scientist

About Grainger
Grainger is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Our purpose, "We Keep the World Working®," is achieved by serving over 4.5 million customers with a wide range of products that keep their operations running and their people safe. We also provide services and solutions to save customers time and money. Join us to be a part of a welcoming workplace that values individuality and innovation.

About Grainger

Grainger is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Our purpose, "We Keep the World Working®," is achieved by serving over 4.5 million customers with a wide range of products that keep their operations running and their people safe. We also provide services and solutions to save customers time and money. Join us to be a part of a welcoming workplace that values individuality and innovation.

Position Details
Position: Senior Research Engineer
Location: Downtown Chicago or Lake Forest, Illinois
Reporting to: Sr. Manager, Applied Machine Learning

Pay
Salaried position paying between $139,740 -$ 214,710 with a 15% annual bonus. Compensation is determined by experience, qualifications, geographical area, and team equity.

Responsibilities
- Analyze and build statistical models (Python, SQL) for solving specific business problems like anomaly detection, behavioral clustering, classification, and demand forecasting.
- Develop customer-facing analytical and ML endpoints & APIs that combine business logic, models, and data.
- Contribute to the design and development of Insight generation methods using Order History, Product Utilization, Customer Industry Classification, and Search History data.
- Collaborate with researchers, software developers, and business leaders to define product requirements and provide analytical support.
- Implement ML models at scale to address customer use-cases.
- Visualize concepts and generate data product visual representations.
- Mentor junior scientists and engineers.
- Play a lead role in setting engineering standards.

Qualifications
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in fields such as Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, or Economics. PhD preferred.
- 6+ years of experience with SQL and Python.
- Proficiency in wrapping models in C/Python code and deploying them as REST APIs.
- 10+ years of relevant experience in data extraction, analysis, and communication.
- 5+ years of building models using statistical methods and optimizing inference speeds.
- 3+ years of experience deploying models in the cloud (Docker & Kubernetes).
- Experience with automating data augmentation using Airflow and Bash Scripting.
- 5+ years of technical team leadership experience.
- 5+ years of experience in Computer Vision or Natural Language Processing.

Rewards and Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance coverage starting from day one.
- Paid time off (PTO) days and 6 company holidays per year.
- 6% 401(k) company contribution each pay period.
- Education assistance, including financial counseling and tuition reimbursement.
- Employee discounts, parental leave, and more.

DEI Statement
We are committed to equal employment opportunity, inclusivity, and accessibility. Our workplace values diversity and provides reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Please let us know if you need assistance during the application process.