Director, Machine Learning Engineering

Credit Acceptance is proud to be an award-winning company with local and national workplace recognition in multiple categories! Our world-class culture is shaped by dedicated Team Members who share a drive to succeed as professionals and together as a company. A great product, amazing people and our stable financial history have made us one of the largest used car finance companies nationally. Our Engineering and Analytics Team Members utilize the latest technology to develop, monitor, and maintain complex practices that help optimize our success. Our Team Members value being challenged, are encouraged to express their ideas, and have the flexibility to enjoy work life balance. We build intrinsic value by partnering with all functions of our business to support their success and make strategic business decisions. We focus on professional development and continuous improvement while enjoying a casual work environment and Great Place to Work culture! The AIML Director is a senior technology leader responsible for defining and driving the enterprise strategy across AI, Machine Learning, and Generative AI. This role owns the long term roadmap for AI/ML solutions, platforms, models, and engineering capabilities. The Director will lead a high-performing organization across data science, machine learning engineering, or GenAI/platform engineering (depending on assignment), ensuring scalable, secure, and innovative solutions that deliver measurable business impact. The Director operates as a cross-functional thought leader, partnering with Product, Engineering, Analytics, Infrastructure, and executive stakeholders to advance the company's AI maturity and accelerate responsible, value-oriented AI adoption. Outcomes and ActivitiesThis position will work from home; occasional planned travel to an assigned Southfield, Michigan office location may be required. However, this position is permitted to work at a Southfield, Michigan office location if requested by the team member. Strategic LeadershipDefine and communicate the long-term vision for ML/AI applications and engineering, aligning with corporate strategy.

Partner with senior executives, product, and engineering leaders to prioritize initiatives and allocate resources effectively.

Execution & DeliveryOversee design, development and deployment of enterprise-scale ML/AI solutions, inference pipelines, and respective technical roadmaps.

Ensure operational excellence in ML/LLM Ops, including automation, observability, and lifecycle management in partnership with the AIML platform engineering teamInnovationChampion adoption of cutting-edge techniques (Deep learning, recommendation engine architecture, graph neural networks, causal inference, LLMs, RLs, etc).Drive responsible AI practices, model interpretability, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Team DevelopmentBuild and mentor a high-performing organization of managers and senior engineers.

Foster a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and engineering craftsmanship.

Governance & RiskEstablish standards for security, scalability, and architectural integrity across ML/AI systems.

Implement robust governance for data privacy, ethical AI, and risk mitigation.

Competencies:

The following items detail how you will be successful in this role.

Customer Empathy:

Customer Empathy is the ability to understand the perspectives, pain points, and experiences of customers. It involves actively putting oneself in the customer's shoes, comprehending their needs and challenges, and using that understanding to provide a better, more customer-centric experience.

Engineering Excellence:

Engineering Excellence is about bringing great craftsmanship and thought leadership to deliver an outstanding product that delights customers and solves for the business. This involves pursuing and achieving high standards, best practices, innovation, and superior solutions.

One Team:

A One Team mindset refers to a collaborative approach across the organization, where individuals work together seamlessly, without boundaries, as a single, cohesive team. Shared goals, open communication and mutual support create a sense of collective purpose. This enables teams to navigate challenges and pursue shared objectives more effectively.

Owner's Mindset:

Owner's Mindset involves adopting a set of behaviors that reflect a sense of responsibility, accountability, strategic thinking, and a proactive approach to managing your domain. As an owner, you understand the business and your domain(s) deeply and solve for the right outcome for the domain(s) and the business.

RequirementsEducation & ExperiencePhD in Computer Science, Statistics and related field with 10+ years in Machine Learning engineering (preferred); or MS with 12+ years of experience.

Minimum 5 years in senior leadership roles managing managers and large engineering teams.

Technical ExpertiseProven track record in building production-grade ML systems with strong problem-solving skillsHands-on experience building different types of models (ex: large-scale real-time Recommendation models, Causal Inference, Offer optimization, RL, multi-layer DL algorithms, Propensity, Churn, etc.) and scientific solutionsDeep knowledge of ML lifecycle tools (MLflow, Kubeflow), distributed systems, and cloud-native architectures.

Leadership SkillsPassion to solve problems and drive value-based... For full info follow application link. Credit Acceptance is dedicated to providing an inclusive environment for all. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and value a culturally diverse workforce. We believe in ensuring all team members demonstrate mutual respect for one another. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected characteristics like age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.