Pay
Higher than most similar jobs
$230K–$300K against $166K–$240K, the middle half of what similar US postings state.
From 1,319 postings in the last year. Stated ranges, not salaries paid.
Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Recommendation & AI Platform
Mountain View, California, United States
Live, first seen by us 89 days ago- Pay
USD 230,000–300,000/year · Base — pay source
Annual Base Pay Range $230,000—$300,000 USD CPRA Privacy Notice for California Candidates
Read the full posting- Work setting
- Not stated
- Employment
- Not stated
What you’ll work on
Full postingWe are seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to provide technical leadership for our recommendation systems and AI initiatives.
In this role, you will define technical direction for large-scale personalization systems, lead complex projects across teams, and drive the adoption of AI / LLM technologies in both product capabilities and engineering workflows.
Lead design of next-generation recommendation system architectures at scale
Apply LLMs and foundation models to recommendation and content systems
Establish standards and shared tooling for AI-driven engineering
From the employer’s posting
We are seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to provide technical leadership for our recommendation systems and AI initiatives.
In this role, you will define technical direction for large-scale personalization systems, lead complex projects across teams, and drive the adoption of AI / LLM technologies in both product capabilities and engineering workflows.
Lead the design of next-generation recommendation system architectures at scale.
Lead the application of LLMs and foundation models in recommendation, content intelligence, and user modeling.
Help establish standards and shared tooling for AI-driven engineering.
Benefits in the posting
Full benefits wording- We offer a competitive benefits package:
- Health, dental, and vision care for you and your family
- Top-tier 401(K) plan with company matching
- Paid time off and paid holidays
- Paid parental leave
- FSA and commuter benefits programs
- Team activity budget
- The US base salary range for this full-time position is listed below. Pay may vary based on a number of factors including job-related skills, level, experience, geographic location and relevant education or training. At NewsBreak, we design our overall rewards package to attract top talents. Depending on the position, the role may also be eligible for discretionary bonus and options. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.
- Annual Base Pay Range
- CPRA Privacy Notice for California Candidates
From the employer’s posting.
About NewsBreak
NewsBreak started in 2015 to answer these questions, and today more than 40 million people a month rely on us to follow what’s going on in their zip code.
In the employer’s words · Read in context
Posting record
Report an error- Status in our records
- Live
- First seen by us
- Aug 8, 202689 days ago
- Recorded sightings
- 44
- Last seen by us
- Nov 5, 2026
These dates show when we found the posting. Check the employer’s website to confirm it is still accepting applications.
How this job compares
Time since we first saw it
Day 89
Up longer than most. Similar jobs usually come down between day 6 and day 70.
From 4,560 similar postings that came down. Coming down is not always a hire.
NewsBreak is hiring
10 open jobs
Open jobs by the week we first saw them, last 12 weeks.
- ML Engineer hiring has slowed
- Its jobs tend to stay up a long time
See how this role fits your experience
Add your resume to compare the role’s scope, tools and requirements with your experience.
Your next step
Complete your application on job-boards.greenhouse.io. The employer’s form will show what is required.
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- No account needed: the form is one page, with an “Autofill my application” option that reads your resume.
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Demand for ML Engineer roles
New ML Engineer postings at the employers we follow are up 12% over the last 5 weeks compared with the 5 before.
Each bar is one week of new postings. The darkest bars are the last 5 weeks.
Counted from the hiring pages we’ve followed for at least five weeks, so employers we add don’t look like growth. Updated weekly.
About the role
We file this job under ML Engineer, by the work the posting describes.
ML engineers put machine learning models into products. They write the code that trains, ships, serves and monitors models so a recommendation or prediction works for real users.
Postings ask for strong Python and software engineering, a framework such as PyTorch, cloud services, and more and more often experience with large language models.
A data scientist often works out which model to build; an ML engineer makes it run reliably in production.
US government figures for computer and information research scientists
- Median yearly pay, May 2025
- $140,300
- Expected change, 2025 to 2035
- 21.8% more jobsagainst 3.5% for all jobs
The government has no code for ML engineers, so these figures are for the closest group, computer and information research scientists.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and Employment Projections (2025 to 2035). Occupation code 15-1221.
Job description
About NewsBreak
Local life runs on local information. What happened down the street? Who can fix this? Where should we go tonight? NewsBreak started in 2015 to answer these questions, and today more than 40 million people a month rely on us to follow what’s going on in their zip code.
Three platforms with one vision: powering local life. Led by founder and CEO Jeff Zheng, NewsBreak is our local life and news platform; Nearby AI connects people with local businesses; and NDot AI helps publishers and creators grow and earn.
Building for the long term. A $115 million Series C made us a unicorn in 2021, and we keep investing in our people. We’re Great Place to Work® certified and named to Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators (2025) and Fortune’s Best Workplaces in the Bay Area™ (2026).
Everyone makes an impact. Whether you write code, shape products, tell our story, or run the business, we want people who own projects end to end, stay curious, and speak up. Join us.
Learn more at: NewsBreak, Nearby AI, NDot AI
About the Role
We are seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to provide technical leadership for our recommendation systems and AI initiatives.
In this role, you will define technical direction for large-scale personalization systems, lead complex projects across teams, and drive the adoption of AI / LLM technologies in both product capabilities and engineering workflows.
This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy system-level thinking, mentoring others, and turning ambiguous problems into scalable solutions.
What You’ll Work On
Technical Leadership & Architecture
- Lead the design of next-generation recommendation system architectures at scale.
- Drive best practices for model lifecycle management, experimentation, and system reliability.
- Partner with product, infra, and data teams to align technical strategy with business goals.
Advanced Recommendation & AI Systems
- Own complex initiatives across retrieval, ranking, re-ranking, and multi-objective optimization.
- Lead the application of LLMs and foundation models in recommendation, content intelligence, and user modeling.
- Evaluate emerging AI technologies and guide their adoption into production systems.
AI-Native Engineering
- Champion AI-native development practices, including LLM-assisted coding, experimentation, and analysis.
- Help establish standards and shared tooling for AI-driven engineering.
0 → 1 Innovation & Scaling
- Lead 0–1 AI initiatives, from ideation and technical validation to production rollout and scaling.
- Ensure successful prototypes evolve into maintainable, scalable platforms.
What We’re Looking For
Minimum Qualifications - 8+ years of industry experience building large-scale ML or recommendation systems. - Deep expertise in recommendation systems and applied machine learning in production environments. - Strong system design skills and the ability to influence architecture across teams. - Proven track record of technical leadership and cross-team collaboration.
Bonus / Plus Qualifications - Demonstrated success applying LLMs or foundation models to recommendation or content systems in production. - Experience leading 0 → 1 AI platform or product initiatives. - Passion for improving engineering velocity through AI-assisted development workflows.
Benefits
We offer a competitive benefits package:
- Health, dental, and vision care for you and your family
- Top-tier 401(K) plan with company matching
- Paid time off and paid holidays
- Paid parental leave
- FSA and commuter benefits programs
- Team activity budget
The US base salary range for this full-time position is listed below. Pay may vary based on a number of factors including job-related skills, level, experience, geographic location and relevant education or training. At NewsBreak, we design our overall rewards package to attract top talents. Depending on the position, the role may also be eligible for discretionary bonus and options. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.
Annual Base Pay Range
$230,000—$300,000 USD
Source details
Source notes
Source excerptsSelected passages from the saved posting. Check the full description for conditions and exceptions.
- Pay
Annual Base Pay Range $230,000—$300,000 USD CPRA Privacy Notice for California Candidates
- Location & working pattern
Mountain View, California, United States
Working pattern and location restrictions need checking in the full posting.
- Work authorization
No clear work-authorization passage found. Eligibility is unconfirmed.