Junior Machine Learning Engineer

Tax Relief Advocates in Irvine, CA is seeking a junior machine learning engineer to help design, build, and fine-tune models for document classification, entity extraction, and outcome prediction that support tax automation. This growth-oriented role offers mentorship within a collaborative team and hands-on involvement with real-world AI applications in tax automation. The position is onsite in Irvine, providing an opportunity to contribute to practical ML initiatives from day one.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design, construction, and refinement of ML models for document classification, entity extraction, and outcome forecasting using libraries such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow.
• Assist internal departments by modernizing workflows through the integration of AI-powered tools.
• Help establish metrics like recall, precision, and accuracy to evaluate model performance, with a focus on reducing errors in tax form extraction and chatbot responses.
• Support model deployment and monitoring pipelines using MLflow, FastAPI, or Streamlit, including versioning, logging, and keeping live systems observed.
• Join a dynamic team and gain hands-on experience with practical AI applications in tax automation.

Requirements

• Recent graduate (0–2 years of experience, including internships) in AI, NLP, computer science, or related fields.
• Basic proficiency in Python.
• Familiarity with libraries such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow.
• Experience with pandas for document extraction.
• Familiarity with a PDF extraction library.
• Familiarity with token estimation libraries.
• Experience working with large language model APIs and their payload outputs (e.g., OpenAI, Azure AI).
• Experience with OCR or document intelligence tools (e.g., Azure Document Intelligence, Google Document AI).
• Interest in working with structured and unstructured data, especially financial or tax documents.
• Exceptional communication skills to bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Eager to learn with a proactive approach to problem-solving.
• Strong documentation habits and a collaborative, team-oriented mindset.

Technologies

• Python
• scikit-learn
• PyTorch
• TensorFlow
• pandas
• PDF extraction libraries
• Token estimation libraries
• OpenAI
• Azure AI
• Azure Document Intelligence
• Google Document AI
• MLflow
• FastAPI
• Streamlit
• Docker
• AI Foundry
• Document Intelligence
• Azure Synapse
• Power BI
• Snowflake
• AWS Lambda
• Azure Functions

Benefits

• Work on transformative AI projects that streamline tax automation.
• Gain hands-on experience with the Azure stack, including AI Foundry and Document Intelligence, alongside Python.
• Join a collaborative Irvine-based team with mentorship to kickstart your ML career.
• Salary range is up to $85,000 - $100,000 per year, depending on experience.

Nice-to-have

• Solid understanding of containerization and experience building custom Docker images.
• Familiarity with security fundamentals such as role-based access control or JWT authentication.
• Interest in regulatory or IRS compliance considerations for AI models.
• Exposure to Azure Synapse, Power BI, or Snowflake.
• Experience with serverless architectures such as AWS Lambda or Azure Functions.