Machine learning engineering

Taking models to production and keeping them alive when the world shifts.

The steps

Experienced

Senior

Lead / Principal

Machine learning engineer
Senior ML engineer
ML platform leadSpecialist

PromotionLateral move or track changeEach step links to its full detail below.

#	Step	What changes here	Jump	Skills
1	Machine learning engineerExperienced · Individual contributorNo active openings	The model stops being an experiment and becomes a service.	—	ML operations Machine learning Cloud infrastructure Python
2	Senior ML engineerSenior · Individual contributorNo active openings	Answers for how the model behaves in production.	PromotionJump: Moderate	Feature engineering ML operations System design Observability and monitoring
3	ML platform leadLead / Principal · SpecialistNo active openings	Builds the platform others train and deploy on.	PromotionJump: Moderate	Deep learning AI literacy System design Cross-functional leadership ML operations

What makes the differenceAlso asked for

This describes moves that happen, not a recommended sequence or the only way to get there.

How this path was built

A structured starting point: it describes how this function is organized in technology companies, not a survey of Costa Rican employers. The skills at each step come from the platform’s curated vocabulary. Each version goes through industry review before it replaces this one.

Evidence as of: August 16, 2026
Reviewed on: August 16, 2027