Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Platform Integrity Engineering, Level 7

Snapchat, Inc.; Bellevue (WA); On-site; USD 276,000 - 414,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity via RSUs

Comprehensive medical coverage

Parental leave and wellbeing programs

Job summary

Snapchat, Inc. is seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to design and scale models that protect users and ensure a healthy content ecosystem.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to define ML strategies aligned with company objectives and stay ahead with evolving ML technologies. The role requires leading ML initiatives, shipping scalable models, and mentoring teams while focusing on regulatory compliance and cost-effective operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field such as computer science, mathematics, or statistics, or equivalent years of experience.
• 9+ years of post-Bachelor’s machine learning experience, or Master’s in a technical field plus 8+ years of post-grad ML experience, or PhD plus 5+ years of post-grad ML experience.
• 2+ years of experience in technical leadership or acting as the domain expert for a technical organization
• Experience developing and shipping performant, scalable machine learning models
• Experience with TensorFlow and/or PyTorch (or related deep learning frameworks)
• Strong understanding of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, NLP, and LLMs/VLMs approaches for Trust and Safety
• Experience setting direction for teams that deliver online ML models to detect harmful content and automate moderation tasks
• Ability to design, train, and optimize advanced ML models
• Excellent programming and software design skills
• Ability to proactively learn new concepts and technology and apply them at work
• Skilled at solving ambiguous problems and leading and executing complex technical initiatives
• Strong collaboration and mentorship skills

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and scale critical ML models and systems to protect Snapchatters from harmful content and bad actors
• Support a healthy content ecosystem through effective moderation and regulatory compliance
• Partner with cross-functional teams to define ML strategies that support company objectives
• Stay current with ML tech and apply it to solve complex problems with innovative approaches
• Collaborate with leadership to improve the ML tech stack and organizational performance
• Work across teams to understand product requirements, evaluate trade-offs, and deliver solutions for new products
• Advocate for best practices across availability, scalability, and cost management
• Provide technical direction that influences the broader ML community

Skills

Leadership experience

Mentorship

Collaboration

Problem solving

Communication

Proactive learning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in technical field

Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in related field

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Python

LLMs/VLMs

Job description

Snap’s Platform Integrity Engineering team is seeking a Principal Machine Learning Engineer to design and scale models that improve Trust and Safety outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and scale critical machine learning models and systems to protect Snapchatters from harmful content and bad actors
• Support a healthy content ecosystem through effective moderation and help ensure regulatory compliance
• Partner with cross-functional teams to define and align on machine learning strategies that support company objectives
• Stay current with machine learning technology and apply it to solve complex problems with innovative approaches
• Collaborate with leadership to improve the ML tech stack and advance organizational performance
• Work across teams to understand product requirements, evaluate trade-offs, and deliver solutions for new products and services
• Advocate for best practices across availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management
• Provide technical direction that influences the broader ML community

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field such as computer science, mathematics, or statistics, or equivalent years of experience
• 9+ years of post-Bachelor’s machine learning experience, or Master’s in a technical field plus 8+ years of post-grad ML experience, or PhD plus 5+ years of post-grad ML experience
• 2+ years of experience in technical leadership or acting as the domain expert for a technical organization
• Experience developing and shipping performant, scalable machine learning models
• Experience with TensorFlow and/or PyTorch (or related deep learning frameworks)
• Strong understanding of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and LLMs/VLMs approaches and algorithms for Trust and Safety, content moderation, and content quality
• Experience setting direction for teams that deliver online machine learning models to proactively detect harmful content and bad actors, moderate content supply with high precision, and automate moderation tasks
• Ability to design, train, and optimize advanced machine learning models
• Excellent programming and software design skills
• Ability to proactively learn new concepts and technology and apply them at work
• Skilled at solving ambiguous problems and leading and executing complex technical initiatives
• Strong collaboration and mentorship skills

Technologies

• TensorFlow
• PyTorch

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in online safety and integrity, including Trust and Safety, Content Moderation, and Content Quality
• Experience developing multimodal models and LLMs/VLMs for harmful content detection, using state-of-the-art techniques to detect bad actors with features such as social, time sequence, and user behavioral signals
• Advanced degree in a related field such as machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, or mathematics
• Experience partnering with cross-functional executives and management across a globally distributed organization with sound judgment
• Track record of delivery in rapidly changing, highly collaborative, multi-site, multi-stakeholder environments
• Experience working with a diverse group of engineers
• Experience contributing to AI publications

Benefits

• Paid parental leave
• Comprehensive medical coverage
• Emotional and mental health support programs
• Compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long-term success (equity eligibility noted below)

Work Location and Policy

• Onsite role in Bellevue, WA
• Default together policy: expect your team members to work in an office 4+ days per week

Compensation

• Zone A (CA, WA, NYC): $276,000 - $414,000 base salary annually
• Zone B: $262,000 - $393,000 base salary annually
• Zone C: $235,000 - $352,000 base salary annually
• Eligible for equity in the form of RSUs