Principal AI Engineer

At Shutterfly, we make life’s experiences unforgettable. We believe there is extraordinary power in the self-expression. That’s why our family of brands helps customers create products and capture moments that reflect who they uniquely are.

We are seeking aPrincipal AI Engineer with deep expertise in computer vision and machine learning to lead the development of our next-generation AI-driven photo evaluation and personalized recommendation platform. We are seeing an engineer well versed in both CNNs and transformer-based vision models to build systems that can intelligently evaluate and rank photos for their potential as personalized physical products. You’ll lead efforts in combining semantic image understanding, aesthetic scoring, and behavioral personalization into a unified recommendation pipeline. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in building AI systems that analyze visual media, extract rich metadata, and leverage user behavior data to deliver hyper-personalized product recommendations.

Key Responsibilities

Computer Vision & Image Intelligence

• Expertise in any CNN based models (MobileNetV3 VGG, Inception) as well as transformer-based vision models (e.g., ViT, CLIP, BLIP, DINOv2) for analyzing, scoring, performing similarity vector analysis and tagging photos with metadata such as:
• Facial expression, recognition and grouping
• Contextual categories (e.g., vacations, events, portraits)
• Aesthetic appeal and print-worthiness
• Facial recognition and grouping
• Object and scene detection
• Develop scalable pipelines for processing large volumes of image data and generating structured, query-able metadata.
• Integrate image intelligence with downstream applications such as search, ranking, and personalization.
  

Behavioral AI & Recommendation Systems

• Build and deploy transformer-based ML models that analyze historical user behavior and purchasing patterns to generate personalized product recommendations.
• Correlate behavior data with metadata from image scoring models to curate visual content for individual users.
• Lead experimentation frameworks (e.g., A/B testing) to optimize recommendation relevance and conversion.
  
  

Leadership & Architecture

• Define architectural direction for AI components and ensure their integration with core systems.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership, mentorship, and code contributions across teams.
• Drive strategic decisions regarding data acquisition, model training, deployment, and monitoring.
  
  

Required Qualifications

• 10 years of experience in software engineering with at least 5 years in AI/ML-focused roles.
• Deep knowledge of computer vision techniques including CNNs, vision transformers, facial recognition, object detection, image classification, and image embedding.
• Strong experience with recommendation systems, collaborative filtering, deep learning for personalization, as well as transformer-based models for recommendation systems.
• Proficiency in Python and relevant ML libraries (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, OpenCV,
• Experience deploying ML models at scale (e.g., using Docker, AWS/GCP, or similar).
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional technical initiatives from ideation to delivery.
• Strong grasp of ML lifecycle best practices (data management, model evaluation, explainability, observability).
• MS in Computer Science or related field.
  
  

Supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce is important to Shutterfly not only because it directly reflects our value of Embracing our Differences, but also because it’s the right thing to do for our business and for our people. We welcome all applicants and evaluate them based on their qualifications, without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, sex, or other characteristic covered by law. Learn more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on our Career Site.

This position will accept applications on an ongoing basis until filled.

The compensation package for this role is based on multiple factors, such as job level, responsibilities, location, and candidate experience. The base pay ranges included below are specific to the locations listed, and may not be applicable to other locations.

California : [$156,000-$221,000]

Connecticut and New York: [$156,000-$202,250]

Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and Washington: [$156,000-$187,250]

Nevada: [$146,750-$202,250]

Maryland and New Jersey: [$168,500-$202,250]

Hawaii : [$146,750 – $176,000]

This position may be eligible for a bonus incentive, health benefits, a 401K program, and other employee perks. More details about our company benefits can be found at https://shutterflyinc.com/benefits/.

This opportunity can be remote, but candidates must reside in a state in which Shutterfly is registered to do business. This includes all US states except District of Columbia, North Dakota, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming.

This position will accept applications on an ongoing basis until filled.

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