Join Proton and build a better internet where privacy is the default

At Proton, we believe that privacy is a fundamental human right and the cornerstone of democracy. Since our inception in 2014, founded by a team of scientists from CERN, we have dedicated ourselves to providing free and open-source technology to millions worldwide, ensuring access to privacy, security, and freedom online.

Our journey began with Proton Mail, the largest secure email service globally, and has since expanded to include Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, and Proton Pass. These tools empower individuals and organizations to take control of their personal data, break away from Big Tech’s invasive practices, and defeat censorship. Our work impacts hundreds of millions of lives, from activists on the front lines defending freedom to leaders in governments protecting sensitive information. In some cases, Proton’s services have even been instrumental in saving lives by enabling secure and private communications in high-risk situations.

Proton is a profitable company that does not rely upon VC funding, supporting over 100 million user accounts with a growing team of over 500 people from over 50 different countries, from the world's top companies and universities. We value intelligence, learning potential, and ambition in our hiring process. Adaptability is key as we navigate uncharted territories and redefine how business is conducted online.

Hiring at Proton is highly selective, with less than 1% of candidates hired. We believe smaller teams of exceptional talent will always prevail over larger teams with lower talent density. You will have the opportunity work with many of the world's top minds in their fields, ranging from former international math and science olympiad winners to chess champions.

We have a global mindset and big ambitions but remain a start-up at heart. We value empowerment and flexibility and keep our structure flat to keep moving fast and avoid unnecessary politics. Tired of blending into the crowd? Join us and do work you can truly be proud of. Check our open-source projects here!

Purpose of the role:

MSA is a highly multi-disciplinary group started in 2019 to tackle difficult mail delivery, spam, abuse, and account security problems that impact the Proton ecosystem. We built sophisticated systems from scratch that combine human intelligence and machine learning to make tens of millions of realtime or asynchronous decisions each day. As of late 2023, our areas of focus are 1) mail delivery and spam, 2) abuse and account security, 3) site reliability of Proton, and 4) a new product involving blockchains. Over the past few years, our custom systems have reduced spam filter misclassifications by over 60%, blocked millions of abusive bulk signups, protected hundreds of thousands of users from account compromise by attackers, and mitigated hundreds of DDoS attacks. In order to move fast with limited resources, we are organized into autonomous teams responsible for the whole system, with expertise across infrastructure, data storage, backend, web and mobile apps, machine learning, security and operational excellence. In 3 years, we grew from 2 engineers to over 30 engineers and analysts, spread across 3 continents for 24/7 coverage. We are looking for humble, mission-driven, systems-thinking people who want to make a big impact in a startup environment.

What you will do:

As an ML Operations Engineer at Proton, you will be at the forefront of maintaining the operational excellence of our machine learning and anti-abuse systems. These critical services must run reliably 24/7 and scale with increasing traffic and complexity. Your responsibilities will include the research, development, stress testing, and rollout of new services and infrastructure. You will collaborate with Software and ML Engineers to ensure that systems have comprehensive logging, monitoring, alerting, and on-call capabilities. Your expertise in debugging and problem-solving will be essential in addressing issues that arise in production environments.

Key responsibilities: 

• Ensure the operational excellence of machine learning and anti-abuse systems running 24/7.
• Research, develop, stress test, and roll out new services and infrastructure.
• Collaborate with engineers to implement logging, monitoring, alerting, and on-call capabilities.
• Debug and resolve production issues efficiently.
• Manage and monitor production systems involving in-house developed solutions.
• Deploy, run, and maintain machine learning systems in production environments.
• Utilize Docker for containerization and efficient deployment.
• Implement and manage Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.

Job requirements:

• Strong expertise in infrastructure automation tools (Puppet, Terraform, OpenNebula, Kubernetes).
• Proficient in scripting languages (Bash, Python).
• Experience in managing and scaling data storage solutions, particularly MySQL, Kafka, and ElasticSearch.
• Familiarity with Dask and Airflow for data processing and workflow orchestration.
• Solid experience with CI/CD pipelines for automated deployments.
• Hands-on experience with Docker for containerization.
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment with a global team and participate in on-call rotations.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken.

• Past experience in running ML systems in a production environment.
• Experience in establishing and managing ML platforms, including feature stores and model registries/hubs.

Even if you don’t meet all the requirements listed above, but feel you could still be a great fit, please still apply.

 

What We Offer

• Office First: Collaboration is easier and more effective in person, which is why we have offices in Geneva, Zurich, Prague, Barcelona, Paris, London, Vilnius, Skopje, and Taipei. You can also enjoy working from home up to 30% of the time, while enjoying great company during our three core days in the office. Depending on the role, fully remote positions may also be available.
• Technology: We provide all the devices and software you need to excel in your role, ensuring you have the best tools at your disposal to achieve your goals.
• Food: Lunch and snacks are provided by Proton every day at our offices.
• Transport: We will always support our employees with transport costs through subsidizing public transport, bike allowances, or parking spaces based on your office location.
• Stock Options: At Proton, we are all owners of the company and you get stock options when you join us.
• Flexible Working: You can define your own working hours as long as it works with team meetings.
• Learning and Development: We are committed to your professional growth. Proton offers various learning opportunities, including training programs, conferences and events, and continual learning.
• Employee Benefits: Comprehensive health insurance plans, competitive retirement savings options, generous vacation and leave policies, and wellness programs.
• Work that Matters: Proton is a community-first organization, started with the support of a crowdfunding campaign and built with community input. To this day, Proton’s only source of revenue is user subscriptions. Over 100 million people trust and support Proton, and we put our users and community first in everything we do. Read more about our impact here.

 

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Proton, we believe diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socio-economic background, feel valued and empowered. We strive to create equal opportunities, promote open dialogue, and support continuous learning to ensure every voice is heard and respected.

If you need any extra support or reasonable adjustments during the hiring process, please let your talent partner know.

Candidate Privacy Notice

When you apply for a position, refer a candidate, or are considered for a role at Proton Technologies AG (Proton, we, us, or our), your information is stored in Greenhouse, in accordance with their Service Privacy Policy. This information is used to evaluate your suitability for the posted position. We also retain this information for consideration for future roles that you may apply for or that we believe may align with your background and skills.

If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will either delete or anonymize it. Should you have any inquiries about how we use or manage your information, or if you wish to access, correct, or delete your data, please contact our privacy team at careers@proton.ch.

Proton does not accept unsolicited resumes from any sources other than directly from candidates. We will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from an unsolicited offer, even if the candidate is subsequently hired by Proton.

To learn more about our privacy policy, please visit our privacy policy page.

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