
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
FreshBooks · Kitchener, ON
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- CA$160,000 / year
- Kitchener, ON
Job highlights
- Own full ML lifecycle from concept to production.
- Develop and deploy ML models for product features.
- Collaborate with engineering and product teams.
- Optimize ML systems for performance and reliability.
- Mentor teammates and refine ML processes.
About the role
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at FreshBooks, you will own the full machine learning lifecycle, from early experimentation and prototyping to deployment and monitoring in production. You will work on moderately complex problems, refine ML processes, and support teammates through mentorship and collaboration. You will help deliver ML-powered features while optimizing systems for reliability, performance, and rapid experimentation. This role is primarily focused on machine learning, with supporting software engineering skills to enable production deployment. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys taking ideas from concept to customer impact.
NOTE: This role can be worked remotely from the above location.
What You’ll Do
- Design, prototype, and validate machine learning models for product features and internal tools
- Own the ML lifecycle from experimentation through production deployment and monitoring
- Partner with Data Engineering and Product Engineering to integrate models into batch and online systems
- Build and maintain shared feature pipelines, including documentation and versioning
- Write production-ready code with testing, observability, and monitoring
- Design experiments (A/B test, pre/post analysis) and interpret results to guide product and business decisions
- Improve ML reliability through retraining workflows, drift detection, and root cause analysis
- Design and build end-to-end pipelines for classification, ranking, embeddings, or generation tasks
What You’ll Bring
- 5+ years of experience in data science, applied ML, or ML engineering roles
- Strong foundation in supervised and unsupervised learning, statistical modeling, and experimentation techniques
- Experience developing and shipping ML models in production (batch or real-time)
- Strong Python and SQL skills with experience working with structured and unstructured data
- Hands-on experience building and deploying ML or LLM-based systems (e.g. retrieval-augmented generation, embeddings, prompt tuning)
- Familiarity with cloud infrastructure and ML tools, ideally on Google Cloud Platform (e.g. Vertex AI, BigQuery, Cloud Composer, Kubernetes)
- Experience working with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker), and job orchestration tools (Airflow, dbt, etc.)
- Strong communication skills and ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
You’ll Stand Out If You Have
- Experience working with agentic models
- Familiarity with LLM orchestration frameworks (e.g., ADK, LangChain, Semantic Kernel, Haystack)
- A background in software engineering (e.g., system design, APIs, or distributed systems)
Compensation
At FreshBooks, we approach each individual's compensation with a promise of fair market value and internal equity commensurate with experience and specific skill set.
The total compensation for this role ranges from CA$128,000 - CA$160,000 per year, which may include participation in our incentive programs. Additionally, this position offers an equity grant and immediate enrollment in FreshBooks' comprehensive benefits program, detailed below.
NOTE: This posting is reflective of an existing vacancy at FreshBooks.
Perks And Benefits
We understand that you'll weigh many factors when deciding if FreshBooks is the right next step in your career. Here are some of our offerings for our employees (we call ourselves ✨ FreshBookers✨) to support their growth:
- Comprehensive health and wellness benefits. Generous time off including a flexible vacation plan, a retirement savings program or pension plan matched to your local office, stock options for every full-time employee, parental leave and new parent support, annual healthy living credit, comprehensive medical and dental benefits, fertility and gender-affirming benefits dependent on your region, and more.
- Perks that matter. Including a Peer Recognition Program, an Employee Assistance Program, headphone credit, meaningful in-person gatherings to bring onsite and remote employees together, and more perks matched to your local cluster.
- Working environments to help you thrive. Beautiful office spaces welcome you in Toronto, Amsterdam, and San Luis Potosi. If you don't have access to a FreshBooks office, you receive a home office credit to set up your home office.
- Supportive peer group, mentors, and leaders. We care about each other across the organization and have programs to support this so everyone feels a strong sense of belonging, and believes in collective impact.
- Accelerated growth. Comprehensive company onboarding, career development through continuous coaching, training, and learning on the job.
About FreshBooks
You've probably learned a bit about FreshBooks before making it to this point, but let us take a moment to introduce ourselves: At FreshBooks, we believe that small business owners are the backbone of the economy, yet they are often the most underserved when it comes to technology. For over 20 years, we’ve been on a mission to support owners, from the scrappy solopreneur with a big dream to the growing business with employees to manage.
Our leading platform is more than just business software; it’s an all-in-one financial toolkit that automates invoicing, expenses, payments and payroll, allowing our customers to spend less time on paperwork and more time doing the work they love.
We believe in human-centric connections that empower teams to do their best work. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, our team operates in clusters across North America and Europe using a variety of working environments - remote, hybrid, and in-office - all based on what’s best for the team, collaboration, and mental well-being. We are committed to creating a supportive and flexible workplace where everyone can thrive, grow, and make an impact on the lives of small business owners worldwide.
Even if your experience doesn't meet every bullet on the above lists, we'd love to learn more about you and why you think FreshBooks is the next step in your career. FreshBooks is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, religion, race, mental disability, sexual orientation, age, or any other status. All applicants are considered based on their qualifications and merits. At FreshBooks, we inspire an environment of mutual respect and we believe diversity and inclusion are crucial to our success. FreshBooks provides employment accommodation during the recruitment process. Should you require any accommodation, please indicate this on your application and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs. For any questions, suggestions or required documents regarding accessibility in a different format, please contact us by phone at 1-416-780-2700 and/or email at accessibility@freshbooks.com.
Key skills/competency
- Machine Learning
- Python
- SQL
- Cloud Infrastructure (GCP)
- MLOps
- Software Engineering
- Data Science
- Model Deployment
- Experimentation
- LLM
Skills & topics
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Senior Machine Learning
- MLOps
- Python
- SQL
- GCP
- Data Science
- LLM
- Production ML
- Experimentation
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight ML lifecycle ownership, production deployment experience, and Python/SQL skills.
- Showcase projects: Emphasize experience with ML/LLM systems and cloud platforms like GCP.
- Prepare for technical interviews: Brush up on supervised/unsupervised learning, modeling, and experimentation.
- Demonstrate collaboration: Be ready to discuss mentoring and working with cross-functional teams.
- Understand FreshBooks: Research their mission to support small business owners.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is the salary range for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at FreshBooks?
- The total compensation for the Senior Machine Learning Engineer role at FreshBooks ranges from CA$128,000 to CA$160,000 per year. This may include incentive programs, an equity grant, and comprehensive benefits.
- Can I work remotely as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at FreshBooks?
- Yes, this Senior Machine Learning Engineer role can be worked remotely. FreshBooks offers various working environments, including remote, hybrid, and in-office, to support their teams.
- What are the key technical skills required for this Senior Machine Learning Engineer position?
- Key technical skills include 5+ years in data science/ML engineering, a strong foundation in ML/statistical modeling, experience shipping ML models in production, Python and SQL proficiency, and hands-on experience with ML/LLM systems. Familiarity with cloud platforms like GCP and MLOps tools is also important.
- What benefits does FreshBooks offer its employees?
- FreshBooks offers comprehensive health and wellness benefits, generous time off, a retirement savings program, stock options, parental leave, home office credits, and other perks like a Peer Recognition Program and Employee Assistance Program.
- What is the company culture like at FreshBooks?
- FreshBooks fosters a human-centric culture that empowers teams and believes in collective impact. They emphasize mutual respect, diversity, inclusion, and provide supportive peer groups, mentors, and leaders for accelerated growth.
- What is the role of a Senior Machine Learning Engineer in terms of ownership?
- As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, you will own the full machine learning lifecycle, from experimentation and prototyping to deployment and monitoring. You will also contribute to refining ML processes and supporting teammates.
- Does FreshBooks encourage career growth for Senior Machine Learning Engineers?
- Yes, FreshBooks is committed to accelerated growth for its employees. They offer comprehensive onboarding, continuous coaching, training, and learning opportunities on the job.
- What is FreshBooks' mission?
- FreshBooks' mission is to support small business owners, who they believe are the backbone of the economy. Their platform provides an all-in-one financial toolkit to help small businesses manage their operations more effectively.