Role overview
A machine learning engineer builds, deploys and maintains machine-learning models in production at scale. In India they typically combine software engineering with ML, taking models from research into reliable services — building training pipelines, optimising inference, monitoring model performance and drift, and ensuring AI features run efficiently and reliably for real users in live applications.
A machine learning engineer usually has around 1–8 yrs of experience and earns typically ₹7L–₹35L/yr in India. The day-to-day blends Python, TensorFlow / PyTorch, MLOps and more — this page gives you a ready-to-use machine learning engineer job description template you can copy, plus the exact skills and salary employers expect.
Key responsibilities
A machine learning engineer is typically responsible for:
- Take models from prototype to production-grade, scalable services
- Build and automate training, evaluation and deployment pipelines (MLOps)
- Optimise model inference for latency, throughput and cost
- Monitor models in production for accuracy, drift and data quality
- Engineer features and data pipelines that feed model training
- Collaborate with data scientists to productionise their experiments
- Implement A/B testing and rollback strategies for model releases
- Integrate ML services into applications via APIs
Requirements & qualifications
To succeed as a machine learning engineer, candidates usually need:
- Strong software-engineering skills plus solid machine-learning fundamentals
- Proficiency in Python and an ML framework (TensorFlow or PyTorch)
- Experience deploying and serving models, plus MLOps tooling
- Understanding of data pipelines, containers and cloud ML services
- Knowledge of model evaluation, versioning and monitoring
Machine Learning Engineer skills
The most in-demand machine learning engineer skills on listings today:
Not sure which of these you're missing? A free OnJob profile runs your CV against every live machine learning engineer job and shows the exact skill gaps standing between you and a 100% match.
Typical salary & experience
Typical salary (India)
typically ₹7L–₹35L/yr
Experience range
1–8 yrs
These are typical ranges and vary by city, company and skills. For live, role-specific pay data, see the OnJob salary guide.
Machine Learning Engineer job description — FAQs
What does a machine learning engineer do?
A machine learning engineer builds and deploys ML models into production so they run reliably at scale. The work blends software engineering with ML — building training and serving pipelines, optimising inference, and monitoring models for drift and accuracy in live systems.
What is the difference between an ML engineer and a data scientist?
A data scientist focuses on analysis and building models to answer questions; an ML engineer focuses on deploying, scaling and maintaining those models in production. ML engineers lean more toward software engineering and MLOps.
What is MLOps?
MLOps is the set of practices and tools for reliably deploying, monitoring and maintaining machine-learning models in production — covering versioning, automated training/deployment pipelines, monitoring for drift, and rollback. It's a core skill for ML engineers.
How much does a machine learning engineer earn in India?
Entry-level ML engineers typically earn ₹7L–₹14L per year, mid-level ₹16L–₹26L, and senior ML/AI engineers ₹30L+. Check our salary guide for current ranges.