Groq delivers fast, efficient AI inference. Our LPU-based system powers GroqCloud™, giving businesses and developers the speed and scale they need. From our Bay Area roots to our growing global presence, we are on a mission to make high performance AI compute more accessible and affordable. When real-time AI is within reach, anything is possible. Build fast.

Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Post Training & Speculative Decoding

Mission:

We are seeking a highly skilled Machine Learning Engineer to join our advanced model development team. This role focuses on pre-training, continued training, and post-training of models, with a particular emphasis on draft model optimization for speculative decoding and quantization-aware training (QAT). The ideal candidate has deep experience with training methodologies, open-weight models, and performance-tuning for inference.

Responsibilities & opportunities in this role:

Lead pre-training and post-training efforts for draft models tailored to speculative decoding architectures.
Conduct continued training and post-training of open-weight models for non-draft (standard) inference scenarios.
Implement and optimize quantization-aware training pipelines to enable low-precision inference with minimal accuracy loss.
Collaborate with model architecture, inference, and systems teams to evaluate model readiness across training and deployment stages.
Develop tooling and evaluation metrics for training effectiveness, draft model fidelity, and speculative hit-rate optimization.
Contribute to experimental designs for novel training regimes and speculative decoding strategies.

Ideal candidates have/are:

5+ years of experience in machine learning, with a strong focus on model training.
Proven experience with transformer-based architectures (e.g., LLaMA, Mistral, Gemma).
Deep understanding of speculative decoding and draft model usage.
Hands-on experience with quantization-aware training, including PyTorch QAT workflows or similar frameworks.
Familiarity with open-weight foundation models and continued/pre-training techniques.
Proficient in Python and ML frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience optimizing models for fast inference and sampling in production environments.
Exposure to distributed training, low-level kernel optimizations, and inference-time system constraints.
Publications or contributions to open-source ML projects.

Attributes of a Groqster:

Humility - Egos are checked at the door
Collaborative & Team Savvy - We make up the smartest person in the room, together
Growth & Giver Mindset - Learn it all versus know it all, we share knowledge generously
Curious & Innovative - Take a creative approach to projects, problems, and design
Passion, Grit, & Boldness - no limit thinking, fueling informed risk taking

Compensation: At Groq, a competitive base salary is part of our comprehensive compensation package, which includes equity and benefits. For this role, salary range is determined by your location, skills, qualifications, experience and internal benchmarks. Compensation for candidates outside the USA will be dependent on the local market.

This position may require access to technology and/or information subject to U.S. export control laws and regulations, as well as applicable local laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). To comply with these requirements, candidates for this role must meet all relevant export control eligibility criteria.

Groq is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Groq complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any protected characteristic.

Groq is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application or to participate in the hiring process, please contact us at talent@groq.com. This contact is for accommodation requests only, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

All offers of employment are contingent upon verification of the applicant’s identity and employment authorization in accordance with federal law.

Groq encourages people with criminal record histories to apply for employment, and values diverse experiences, including prior contact with the criminal legal system. To that end, Groq welcomes such applicants in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act, Los Angeles City Fair Chance Act Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Act Ordinance, and San Francisco Fair Chance Act Ordinance. Philadelphia applicants can review information pertaining to Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance here: https://www.phila.gov/documents/fair-chance-hiring-law-poster.

Req ID: 438

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