ML Engineer for Mobile Application

Overview Workplay is building the future of youth sports training. Our mission is to celebrate the unseen work behind athletic success by helping athletes track practice, measure improvement, and stay motivated through gamification. Starting in lacrosse, Workplay combines computer vision, rep tracking, leaderboards, progression systems, and AI-powered feedback to transform practice into an engaging experience. Our brand is built around the idea of turning effort into visible progress and helping athletes "Turn Screentime into Playtime." We are looking for an experienced Machine Learning Engineer to help build the next generation of sports performance technology. Role As our ML Engineer, you will lead development of computer vision and AI systems that power athlete training experiences. Initially, you will focus on: Object detection for lacrosse ball and stick tracking Rep counting and session analytics Human pose estimation for movement analysis Performance scoring and feedback systems Real-time mobile inference optimization Building scalable AI infrastructure for future expansion into basketball, soccer, tennis, baseball, golf, hockey, and other sports This role has the potential to evolve into a long-term technical leadership position as Workplay scales. Responsibilities Computer Vision Develop and train object detection models Build systems for tracking sports equipment, athlete positioning, and movement Improve rep-counting accuracy across varying environments Optimize models for mobile deployment Human Pose Estimation Implement pose estimation pipelines Analyze athlete movement patterns Build form-feedback systems Compare athlete movements against benchmark techniques Support future "train like the pros" experiences using movement comparison technology AI Product Development Design performance scoring algorithms Create progression and improvement metrics Develop personalized training recommendations Support gamification systems tied to athlete progress Research & Innovation Evaluate state-of-the-art CV and sports AI technologies Recommend architecture improvements Prototype new training experiences and AI features Required Skills 3+ years of Machine Learning Engineering experience Strong Python experience Deep understanding of Computer Vision Experience with: PyTorch TensorFlow OpenCV YOLO MediaPipe Pose Estimation frameworks Experience training and fine-tuning custom models Experience working with video datasets Familiarity with mobile deployment (iOS/Android) Nice to Have Sports technology experience Startup experience Experience with: MoveNet BlazePose Detectron2 TensorRT CoreML ONNX Edge AI deployment Experience building real-time camera applications Experience with gamified consumer products Current Product Vision The AI systems you build will contribute to features such as: Automated wallball rep counting Shooting analysis Form correction Progress tracking Personalized training plans Virtual coaching Professional athlete movement comparisons Community competitions and challenges Multi-sport expansion opportunities Project Scope We are open to: Fixed-price project engagements Hourly contracts Long-term partnerships Fractional technical leadership arrangements Please include in your proposal: Relevant computer vision projects Experience with pose estimation Mobile ML deployment experience Links to GitHub, portfolio, or demos Your preferred engagement structure Estimated hourly rate Why Join Workplay? Workplay is building technology that helps young athletes see the results of their hard work. We believe progress should be measurable, motivating, and fun. If you're excited about sports, AI, computer vision, and building products that inspire athletes, we'd love to talk.