Senior ML Engineering Lead - AI Search & Retrieval

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started. Join us to put AI to work for people. What you get to do in this role We are looking for a Senior Manager of Machine Learning Engineering to lead a team building the next generation of AI Search and Retrieval capabilities that power intelligent experiences across the ServiceNow platform including Conversational and Agentic experiences. You will lead engineers and machine learning practitioners responsible for designing and delivering highly scalable search, retrieval, ranking, recommendation, and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems that enable users to discover information, generate insights, and accomplish work more effectively. This leader will collaborate closely with Product Management, Applied AI, Platform Engineering, UX, and Quality Engineering to define strategy, execute roadmap commitments, and deliver AI-powered experiences that serve millions of users globally. You will play a critical role in advancing the technologies powering ServiceNow AI Search, Knowledge Retrieval, and GenAI experiences, while building a high-performing engineering culture focused on innovation, quality, and business impact. Responsibilities • Lead and grow a team of software engineers and machine learning engineers building large-scale AI Search and retrieval systems. • Drive the strategy, architecture, and execution for Search, Ranking, Relevance, Personalization, and RAG capabilities. • Partner with Product Managers and architects to define and deliver innovative AI-powered experiences. • Build scalable retrieval pipelines leveraging vector search, semantic search, ranking models, and large language models. • Improve relevance, precision, recall, and overall search quality across structured and unstructured enterprise content. • Establish architectural patterns for highly available, resilient, and performant distributed systems. • Lead the development and production deployment of machine learning models and retrieval services at enterprise scale. • Drive operational excellence, reliability, observability, and performance optimization across the platform. • Mentor engineering leaders and individual contributors while fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and technical excellence. • Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to evaluate emerging AI technologies and accelerate their adoption into customer-facing products. • Balance short-term delivery goals with long-term technical investments and platform evolution. To be successful in this role you have: • 12+ years of software engineering experience with a Bachelor's degree, or 10+ years with a Master's degree, or equivalent experience. • 3+ years of engineering management experience leading high-performing technical teams. • Strong expertise in Java or Python and large-scale distributed systems. • Hands-on experience with Search technologies such as Lucene, Elasticsearch, Solr, OpenSearch, Algolia, Coveo, Glean, or similar platforms. • Experience building and operating large-scale retrieval, ranking, recommendation, or search systems. • Experience with modern AI/ML technologies, including LLMs, embeddings, vector databases, and RAG architectures. • Strong understanding of information retrieval, search relevance, ranking algorithms, and semantic search. • Experience deploying and operating machine learning models in production environments. • Knowledge of cloud-native architectures, microservices, observability, and performance optimization. • Strong collaboration and communication skills with the ability to influence across engineering and product organizations. • Proven track record of delivering innovative products from concept through production at enterprise scale. Preferred Qualifications • Experience building enterprise search, knowledge retrieval, or GenAI products. • Experience with personalization, recommendation systems, or relevance optimization. • Experience working with vector search technologies and embedding frameworks. • Experience leading geographically distributed engineering teams. • Experience integrating AI capabilities into customer-facing SaaS products. Why this role is exciting • Own a critical part of ServiceNow's AI platform strategy. • Influence how millions of users discover knowledge and interact with AI-powered experiences. • Lead a team at the intersection of Search, Machine Learning, and Agentic platform. • Partner with world-class engineers, researchers, and product leaders. • Help shape the future of AI-driven enterprise productivity. For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $190,900 - $334,100, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location. Work Personas We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service. Equal Opportunity Employer ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements. Accommodations We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact globaltalentss@servicenow.com for assistance. Export Control Regulations For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities. From Fortune. ©2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.