What does a machine learning engineer do?

Kadeem had a lingering question when he started as a machine learning engineer at Capital One in 2022: Would he be able to keep up with his more experienced teammates?

His worries were soon behind him. With support from Capital One resources, programs and colleagues, his confidence as a machine learning engineer soared. Every day brings a mix of tackling innovative work that supports our customers and pursuing new knowledge.

“I wake up excited about the interesting challenges we get to solve,” Kadeem said. “Machine learning engineers are at the heart of driving change at Capital One. It’s incredible to be part of that.” 

Tackling innovative work

Kadeem joined a team of machine learning engineers supporting Card Tech through the Technology Development Program (TDP), a rotational program in which recent grads experience two distinct software engineering roles as full-time associates. While associates in the TDP typically rotate through two positions with two different groups, Kadeem chose to stay on the same team.

“There’s such an evolution to the work my team is doing,” Kadeem said. “My experience in the first year only gave me a taste of what I wanted to experience. The problems we’ve solved are cool, but I know the work is only going to get more exciting.”

Most days, Kadeem supports a suite of machine learning models, data pipelines and data-intensive applications that enable customers to use their Capital One cards, apply for new cards or gain credit line increases. While some of this work includes day-to-day management and quick problem-solving, Kadeem has also been part of his team’s multi-year journey deploying a new model to support Card Tech. 

All of this work requires a variety of tech. Kadeem uses Python, Spark, DAS, Amazon Web Services and several in-house platforms.

“Capital One is the premier place to be a machine learning engineer because we’re right at the intersection of being a bank and tech company,” he said. “What’s better than using state-of-the-art tech stacks to help people save money?” 

Building knowledge and community

Learning has been central to Kadeem’s life at Capital One. 

He joined the company through Capital One Developer Academy (CODA), a six-month training program that creates a career pathway into tech for non-computer science students from diverse backgrounds, majors, academic disciplines and experiences. During CODA, skilled engineers taught Kadeem how to code and complete full stack web application development. 

“Beyond those tech skills, CODA gave me the confidence and hunger to learn,” Kadeem said. “I’ve adopted an ‘ABL’ mindset: always be learning.”

Kadeem’s desire for learning has continued in his current role. He’s earned certificates in AWS, secure coding and automation testing. He and his colleagues share new tech discoveries in weekly meetings and on Slack channels. Blacks in Tech (BIT), our Business Resource Group for Black technologists, has also played a big role in Kadeem’s development, offering workshops on everything from performance management to understanding how patents work. 

“At Capital One, it’s okay to say you don’t know something,” Kadeem said. “You just need to have a desire to find out.”

Sharing his tech acumen

As Kadeem has grown more comfortable as a machine learning engineer, he’s started helping students get excited and learn about tech.  

With BIT in 2024, Kadeem attended the Capital One-sponsored HBCU Battle of the Brains, a hackathon and conference where students develop a solution to a complex issue in 24 hours while networking with tech companies. Kadeem coached students on how to use machine learning and AI while competing in the hackathon. 

“Attending the Battle of the Brains showed me how far I’ve come as a technologist and machine learning engineer,” Kadeem said. “I’m having the time of my life at Capital One.”