Manager, Machine Learning

About Calix

Calix delivers a cutting-edge broadband platform combined with managed services, empowering service providers to enhance the quality of life in communities across the United States. We’re leading a transformative era in broadband technology, enabling connectivity and unrivaled digital experiences in underserved regions. Join us as we continue to innovate and help our customers unlock their full potential.

Role Overview

Calix is looking for an accomplished Manager, Software Engineering and AI. This role will oversee the engineering team responsible for building an Agentic AI application for Calix enterprise users and customers. An ideal candidate will work closely with the team in making architecture decisions, code reviews, and occasionally stepping into development work as needed. This position requires someone who can balance people leadership with technical depth, mentoring engineers while also rolling up their sleeves to solve complex problems alongside the team.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Lead and mentor a team of software engineers and AI specialists, fostering a collaborative and high-performing culture.

• Recruit, onboard, and develop engineering talent through regular 1:1s, coaching, and career development planning.

• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to work across technical and non-technical teams.

Project Management

• Define sprint goals, project timelines, and deliverables in alignment with business priorities

• Ensure timely delivery of high-quality, scalable, and secure AI-driven software solutions

• Track and communicate project status, risks, and dependencies to stakeholders, AI Agents Development and Integration

• Oversee the development of AI applications from concept to production

• Work closely with AI/ML engineers to integrate AI models into production systems

• Ensure seamless integration of AI models with data pipelines, APIs, and backend systems

• Drive the implementation of full-stack AI solutions that are scalable, performant, and maintainable

• Stay current with AI/ML advancements and identify opportunities to leverage new technologies

Technical Excellence and Best Practices

• Ensure best practices in coding, testing, and system design are followed across ML pipelines and infrastructure.

• Conduct code and architecture reviews to ensure robust, scalable, and maintainable ML systems.

• Maintain hands-on involvement in critical technical decisions and code contributions when needed.

Required

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or a related field

• 8-12 years of experience in software development with at least 3-5 years in a leadership, tech lead, or management role

• Strong hands-on coding experience with modern programming languages (Python, Java, JavaScript, Go, or similar)

• Hands-on experience building agentic AI applications using frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, CrewAI, Google ADK (Agent Development Kit), AutoGen, or similar agent orchestration platforms

• Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers and tools for enabling AI agents to interact with external systems and data sources.

• Understanding of agent design patterns, including ReAct, Chain-of-Thought, planning and reasoning architectures, and multi-agent systems

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentoring skills

• Demonstrated ability to balance technical contribution with people management

Preferred

• Experience with cloud platforms (Google Cloud) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes)

• Knowledge of microservices architecture and RESTful API design•Experience with DevOps principles, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing frameworks

• Familiarity with natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, or deep learning applications