Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Matching and Recommendations

Bumbleinc; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 210,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision insurance

Unlimited PTO

401k with company match

Paid parental leave

Wellness program

Job summary

Bumble Inc. in Austin, TX is seeking a senior ML leader to define and execute the technical strategy for AI/ML powering recommendations and personalization across Bumble products.

You will deliver scalable production models using PyTorch, and build AI agents with LLMs and sub-components in a high-traffic environment. The role requires 10–15 years of experience in ML, strong Python and ML framework expertise, and a track record of mentoring senior engineers and driving cross-functional programs.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of experience in machine learning product and systems
• Hands-on experience building and deploying large-scale ML systems
• Proficiency in Python and major ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow)
• Expertise in prompting/fine-tuning LLMs and production AI Agents
• Experience with scalable data/ML pipelines (Spark, Airflow)
• Senior IC who influences strategy and outcomes across teams
• Proven mentoring of other engineers and cross-functional collaboration
• Strong AI fluency and responsible AI practices

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the technical ML strategy for recommendations, ranking and personalization
• Develop and deploy production-grade models using PyTorch in high-traffic environments
• Build production AI Agents with LLMs and MCP integrations
• Architect end-to-end ML pipelines combining data processing with model workflows
• Drive experimentation with A/B testing and offline evaluation
• Collaborate with Product/Engineering/Data leadership to translate challenges into ML solutions
• Mentor senior ICs and foster a culture of excellence and learning
• Own complex problems and drive initiatives from insight to impact
• Champion responsible AI ensuring fairness and safety in systems

Skills

ML systems

Python

PyTorch

Spark

Airflow

LLMs

Production ML

Leadership

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the technical strategy for AI and Machine Learning systems that power recommendations, ranking, and personalization across Bumble products, delivering measurable improvements in user engagement and safety
• Design, develop, and deploy production-grade models using modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch, ensuring scalability and reliability in high-traffic environments
• Build and deploy production AI Agents using raw and fine-tuned foundational Large Language Models (LLMs), along with sub-agents, tools, and MCP integrations
• Architect end-to-end ML pipelines, integrating data processing (e.g. Spark, Airflow) with model training, evaluation, and deployment workflows
• Drive experimentation frameworks, including A/B testing and offline evaluation, to continuously improve model performance and product outcomes
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Data leadership to translate business challenges into impactful ML solutions, collaborating with purpose and influencing at senior levels
• Mentor and elevate senior individual contributors, fostering a culture of Excellence, Curiosity, and continuous learning across the ML community
• Take ownership of complex, ambiguous problem spaces, seeing initiatives through from insight to impact while adapting approaches with an agile mindset
• Champion responsible AI practices, ensuring fairness, transparency, and user safety are embedded into all machine learning systems

Qualifications

• Typically requires 10-15 years of experience, though we welcome candidates with alternative backgrounds that demonstrate equivalent skills.
• Deep expertise in machine learning, with hands‑on experience building and deploying large‑scale systems in production environments
• Strong proficiency in Python and at least one major ML framework (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow), with experience in areas such as recommendation systems, ranking models, or NLP
• Expertise in prompting and fine‑tuning Large Language Models (LLMs) and building production AI Agents
• Proven experience designing scalable data and ML pipelines using tools such as Spark, Airflow, or similar distributed systems
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a senior individual contributor, influencing technical strategy and decision‑making without direct authority
• Experience partnering effectively across functions, collaborating with purpose and taking ownership of outcomes in complex organisational environments
• A track record of mentoring and uplifting others, role‑modeling Respect and Excellence while building inclusive, high‑performing teams
• Strong AI fluency, with the ability to independently design, evaluate, and optimise ML systems, and guide others in the responsible and effective application of AI

Benefits & Perks

• Insurance: Medical/dental/vision, 30‑day eligibility. Bumble has multiple competitive offerings that will be available to you on the first of the month following date of hire.
• Unlimited PTO + 1 company‑wide week off + Focus Fridays every week
• Fully paid life and long‑term disability insurance
• 401k with 4% company match if you contribute 6%, 90‑day eligibility
• Monthly wellness benefit and access to Noom, Unmind, and Your Money Line
• Maternity and Fertility benefit + 26 week paid parental leave
• Premium App Access

Final Compensation will be determined based on factors such as the selected candidate’s qualifications, relevant experience, skill set, and other job‑related considerations.

Bumble Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and we strongly encourage people of all ages, colour, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non‑binary people, veterans, parents, people with disabilities, and neurodivergent people to apply. We're happy to make any reasonable adjustments that will help you feel more confident throughout the process, please don't hesitate to let us know how we can help.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example: she/her, he/him, they/them, etc).