ML Engineering Methodology
Machine learning engineering is the bridge between model research and production systems. This methodology covers the engineering disciplines needed to train, evaluate, deploy, and maintain ML models reliably.
The ML Engineer's Domain
| You own |
You don't own |
| Model training — LoRA/QLoRA fine-tuning, full fine-tuning, distributed training |
Statistical modeling and experimental design — that's the data scientist |
| Model evaluation — benchmark suites, custom eval sets, regression testing |
Causal inference and hypothesis testing — that's the data scientist |
| Quantization — GGUF, GPTQ, AWQ, bitsandbytes |
Training data collection and labeling — that's the data/ML ops team |
| Inference serving — vLLM, llama.cpp, TGI, Triton |
Business metrics and KPI definition — that's the product manager |
| Evaluation harness — lm-eval-harness, custom pipelines |
Data pipeline architecture — that's the data engineer |
| Model deployment — containerization, versioning, A/B testing |
Infrastructure provisioning — that's the platform engineer |
Reference Files
| Reference |
When to load |
references/fine-tuning.md |
Setting up a LoRA/QLoRA/ full fine-tuning run — data prep, hyperparameters, validation strategy |
references/evaluation.md |
Evaluating a model — benchmark selection, custom eval sets, regression tracking, comparison methodology |
references/quantization-inference.md |
Quantizing a model and serving it — GGUF/GPTQ/AWQ/bitsandbytes comparison, calibration data strategies, KV cache quantization, vLLM/llama.cpp/TGI/Triton architecture, production considerations |
references/training-infrastructure.md |
Selecting and provisioning training infrastructure — GPU selection, VRAM budgeting, multi-GPU strategies (DDP/FSDP/DeepSpeed), cloud vs on-prem, storage, monitoring |
Core Principles
Measure before you optimize — Never quantize, prune, or distill a model without first measuring its baseline performance. Optimization without measurement is guessing.
Reproducibility is non-negotiable — Every training run needs a reproducible config: seed, data version, hyperparameters, and evaluation methodology. If you can't reproduce it, you can't ship it.
Baseline first — Before running an expensive fine-tuning run, establish a baseline with the base model. If the base model is already good enough, the fine-tuning budget is better spent elsewhere.
Test at the boundary — Model evaluation is most informative at the edges of the capability distribution, not at the center. Hard examples reveal more than easy ones.
The evaluation set is a liability — Every example in your eval set is a potential test-set leak. Use held-out sets, rotate examples, and periodically audit for contamination.
1---2name: ml-engineering3description: Machine learning engineering methodology — model training, fine-tuning (LoRA/QLoRA), evaluation, quantization, deployment, and MLOps pipeline design. Grounded in practical engineering patterns for production ML systems.4license: MIT5---6
7# ML Engineering Methodology
8
9Machine learning engineering is the bridge between model research and production systems. This methodology covers the engineering disciplines needed to train, evaluate, deploy, and maintain ML models reliably.
10
11## The ML Engineer's Domain
12
13| You own | You don't own |
14|---------|--------------|
15| Model training — LoRA/QLoRA fine-tuning, full fine-tuning, distributed training | Statistical modeling and experimental design — that's the data scientist |
16| Model evaluation — benchmark suites, custom eval sets, regression testing | Causal inference and hypothesis testing — that's the data scientist |
17| Quantization — GGUF, GPTQ, AWQ, bitsandbytes | Training data collection and labeling — that's the data/ML ops team |
18| Inference serving — vLLM, llama.cpp, TGI, Triton | Business metrics and KPI definition — that's the product manager |
19| Evaluation harness — lm-eval-harness, custom pipelines | Data pipeline architecture — that's the data engineer |
20| Model deployment — containerization, versioning, A/B testing | Infrastructure provisioning — that's the platform engineer |
21
22## Reference Files
23
24| Reference | When to load |
25|-----------|-------------|
26| `references/fine-tuning.md` | Setting up a LoRA/QLoRA/ full fine-tuning run — data prep, hyperparameters, validation strategy |
27| `references/evaluation.md` | Evaluating a model — benchmark selection, custom eval sets, regression tracking, comparison methodology |
28| `references/quantization-inference.md` | Quantizing a model and serving it — GGUF/GPTQ/AWQ/bitsandbytes comparison, calibration data strategies, KV cache quantization, vLLM/llama.cpp/TGI/Triton architecture, production considerations |
29| `references/training-infrastructure.md` | Selecting and provisioning training infrastructure — GPU selection, VRAM budgeting, multi-GPU strategies (DDP/FSDP/DeepSpeed), cloud vs on-prem, storage, monitoring |
30
31## Core Principles
32
33**Measure before you optimize** — Never quantize, prune, or distill a model without first measuring its baseline performance. Optimization without measurement is guessing.
34
35**Reproducibility is non-negotiable** — Every training run needs a reproducible config: seed, data version, hyperparameters, and evaluation methodology. If you can't reproduce it, you can't ship it.
36
37**Baseline first** — Before running an expensive fine-tuning run, establish a baseline with the base model. If the base model is already good enough, the fine-tuning budget is better spent elsewhere.
38
39**Test at the boundary** — Model evaluation is most informative at the edges of the capability distribution, not at the center. Hard examples reveal more than easy ones.
40
41**The evaluation set is a liability** — Every example in your eval set is a potential test-set leak. Use held-out sets, rotate examples, and periodically audit for contamination.
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