Machine Learning Engineer I, Growth Relevance

Handshake; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Ownership

Financial Wellness

Family Support

Wellbeing

Growth

Remote & Office

Time Off

Connection

Job summary

Handshake is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer I for the Growth Relevance team. AI is transforming how students navigate their careers, and we pursue innovative, responsible AI-powered solutions that guide students from aspirations to meaningful opportunities.

You’ll build, deploy, and optimize ML systems using embedding-based retrieval, Graph Neural Networks, and rankers on a robust data platform with billions of data points, driving marketplace metrics and responsible AI practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field.
• 3 years of experience in machine learning, data science, or a related area.
• Proficient in Python, with hands-on experience in frameworks such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow.
• Strong foundation in core ML concepts, including classification, regression, ranking, and model evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Innovator: Develop and iterate on machine learning models and features that directly influence user experience across lifecycle, notifications, and monetization — with guidance from senior engineers.
• Collaborator: Partner with senior engineers, data scientists, and product managers to develop and iterate on machine learning models that improve product features and user experience.
• Learner: Grow your technical depth by working alongside experienced ML practitioners, picking up best practices in model development, experimentation, and production deployment.

Skills

Python

ML frameworks

Core ML concepts

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

Data Science related field

Tools

scikit-learn

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

About Handshake

Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.

In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.

Why join Handshake now:

• Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel

• Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions

• Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders

• Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

About Handshake AI

Human data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains. Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.

About the Role

Handshake is hiring a Machine Learning Engineer I for the Growth Relevance team. AI is transforming how students navigate their careers, and we're committed to providing innovative, responsible AI-powered solutions that guide students from educational aspirations to meaningful career opportunities. In this role, you will contribute directly to this mission by developing, deploying, and enhancing machine learning systems focused on lifecycle optimization, personalized notifications, and monetization strategies.

You’ll join a high-impact team leveraging cutting-edge ML infrastructure, including embedding-based retrieval, Graph Neural Networks, and multi-stage rankers built upon a robust data platform with billions of data points. Your work will drive critical marketplace metrics, enhance user engagement, and contribute to responsible AI practices around explainability, fairness, and quality.

What You’ll Do

• Innovator: Develop and iterate on machine learning models and features that directly influence user experience across lifecycle, notifications, and monetization — with guidance from senior engineers.

• Collaborator: Partner with senior engineers, data scientists, and product managers to develop and iterate on machine learning models that improve product features and user experience.

• Learner: Grow your technical depth by working alongside experienced ML practitioners, picking up best practices in model development, experimentation, and production deployment.

Desired Capabilities

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field

• 3 years of experience in machine learning, data science, or a related area

• Proficient in Python, with hands-on experience in frameworks such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow

• Strong foundation in core ML concepts, including classification, regression, ranking, and model evaluation

Extra Credit

• Master’s degree or currently pursuing an advanced degree in a relevant field

• Exposure to areas such as recommendations, personalization, NLP, deep learning, LLMs, or explainable AI

• Familiarity with the ML lifecycle (e.g., experiment tracking, model monitoring, feature pipelines)

• Experience with cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, or Azure)

• Clear communicator, able to translate technical work for diverse audiences

• Collaborative mindset with experience working cross-functionally with product, analytics, and engineering teams

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

Perks

• Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
• Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
• Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
• Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
• Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
• Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
• Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
• Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.