Principal Engineer - AI /ML Platform

The pay range is $168,000.00 - $356,000.00Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at .PRINCIPAL ENGINEER – AI PLATFORMSAbout UsWorking at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.Target's AI Platform organization is building the next generation of enterprise AI capabilities that enable teams to develop, deploy, govern, and operate Machine Learning and Generative AI solutions at scale. Our platform powers AI innovation across the enterprise by providing secure, scalable, and reusable capabilities that accelerate development while maintaining enterprise standards for reliability, governance, and operational excellence.As a Principal Engineer – ML Operations Platform, you will provide technical leadership in defining the architecture and evolution of our enterprise machine learning platform. You will work across engineering, data science, infrastructure, security, and product organizations to establish scalable patterns for developing, deploying, monitoring, and governing machine learning systems throughout their lifecycle.This role is ideal for a technology leader who enjoys solving complex platform challenges, influencing engineering strategy, and building capabilities that enable hundreds of engineers and data scientists to deliver AI solutions efficiently and safely.About the Role:As a Principal Engineer, you will define the long-term architecture and technical direction for Target's ML Operations Platform. You will establish enterprise-wide standards for machine learning lifecycle management, deployment, governance, observability, and operational excellence while partnering with cross-functional engineering teams to modernize AI platform capabilities. You will influence architecture across multiple organizations, mentor senior engineers, evaluate emerging technologies, and guide strategic platform investments that improve developer productivity and accelerate AI adoption.Key responsibilities include:Define the long-term technical strategy and architecture for the enterprise ML Operations Platform.Design scalable, secure, and resilient cloud-native platforms supporting machine learning workloads.Establish best practices for model development, deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management.Lead architecture for enterprise machine learning infrastructure supporting batch, streaming, and real-time inference.Drive adoption of cloud-native technologies, Kubernetes, and modern platform engineering practices.Define standards for model governance, observability, reliability, explainability, and responsible AI.Partner with infrastructure, security, and engineering teams to improve platform scalability, performance, and operational efficiency.Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend architectural approaches that improve platform capabilities.Mentor engineers and influence technical direction across multiple engineering organizations.Core responsibilities of this job are articulated within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.About You:MS in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical field with relevant software engineering experienceExtensive experience designing and delivering large-scale cloud-native platforms or distributed systemsDeep experience building and operating enterprise machine learning platforms and MLOps capabilitiesStrong understanding of machine learning lifecycle management, deployment strategies, observability and production operationsDemonstrated experience with machine learning platforms and tooling such as Vertex AI, Kubeflow, MLflow, and/or equivalent technologiesExperience building developer platforms or internal platform productsExperience with distributed training, GPU infrastructure, and large-scale inference platformsExperience with feature management, model governance, and responsible AI practices.Familiarity with Generative AI platforms and infrastructure supporting foundation model workloadsExperience with Terraform, GitOps, service mesh technologies, and platform automationExperience mentoring senior engineers and leading enterprise-scale modernization initiativesExpertise designing Kubernetes-based platforms supporting AI and machine learning workloadsStrong understanding of software engineering best practices including CI/CD, infrastructure as code, observability, testing, and automationExperience defining technical strategy, architectural standards and engineering best practices across multiple teamsExcellent communication and influencing skills with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to engineering and business leadersThis position may be considered for a Remote or Hybrid (known internally at Target as "Flex for Your Day") work arrangement based on Target's needs.  A Remote work arrangement means the team member works full-time from home or an alternate location that's not a Target location, does not have a desk at a Target location and may travel to HQ up to 4 times a year.  A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member's core role may be performed either remote or onsite at a Target location depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.Benefits EligibilityPlease paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: with Disabilities Act (ADA)In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to View email address on click.appcast.io. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.  Application deadline is : 08/20/2026SummaryLocation: 7000 Target Pkwy N,NCD-0375 Brooklyn Park,MN 55445; 100 Mathilda Place,Ste 100 Sunnyvale,CA 94086-6017Type: Full time