How to Interview and Hire ML/AI Engineers

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses best practices for interviewing and hiring machine learning (ML) and AI engineers. It covers the key technical and non-technical qualities to assess, how to structure the interview process, and tips for interviewers and hiring managers.

🙋 Q&A

[01] What technical qualities should be assessed for ML/AI roles?

• Basic proficiency in software engineering, such as the ability to write clean, readable, and maintainable code
• Data literacy, including understanding and respecting the data, being proficient at data analysis, and having an intuition for when the data or analysis is questionable
• Comfort with the inherent uncertainty and opacity of ML models, and the ability to build validators and policies to align the system's behavior with user and business needs
• Understanding of model evaluation, including experience with evaluating simple models like decision trees as well as large language models (LLMs)

[02] What non-technical qualities should be assessed for ML/AI roles?

• Ambiguity: How the candidate handles nebulous problems with unclear success criteria
• Influence: The candidate's ability to collaborate and drive impact through others, beyond their immediate team
• Complexity: The intricacy of the problem space the candidate has worked on
• Execution: The candidate's ability to deliver within limited resources and timelines

[03] How should the interview process be structured?

• Conduct a rigorous phone screen to select candidates with a high likelihood of success in the interview loop
• Hold a pre-brief with interviewers to align on role requirements and what to look for
• Use the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to gather relevant data points from the candidate's past experiences
• Have interviewers write feedback independently before the debrief, to prevent groupthink
• Conclude the debrief with a hiring decision, with the hiring manager making the final call

[04] What tips are provided for interviewers and hiring managers?

• Make the candidate feel comfortable to help them perform their best
• Approach each interview with the mindset of uncovering the candidate's strengths and potential
• Sell candidates on the organization's mission, the talent density of the team, and the growth opportunity
• Be prepared for the hiring process to take time, especially for senior roles

[05] What are the key traits of a strong hire according to the article?

• Hunger: Bias for action, fast learning, and grit to push through challenges
• Judgment: Pragmatic decision-making and the ability to think several steps ahead
• Empathy: Genuine interest in customers, the organization, and the team