Senior Machine Learning Engineer

Recruiting from Scratch; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative startup is seeking a Machine Learning Research Engineer to lead the fine-tuning and deployment of large language models for enterprise AI solutions. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology in a fast-paced environment, contributing to the development of advanced AI agents that enhance customer support. The ideal candidate will thrive in a startup culture, bringing a strong background in ML engineering and a passion for research and implementation. Join a team that is redefining how AI can serve real business needs at scale and make a significant impact in the industry.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Generous PTO

In-office perks

Equity options

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in ML/AI engineering or applied research.
• Experience fine-tuning LLMs like GPT and Claude.
• Strong independence and ability to operate without a research team.

Responsibilities

• Lead efforts to fine-tune and deploy large language models.
• Design and conduct experiments to improve model performance.
• Work closely with product and engineering teams to integrate ML solutions.

Skills

Machine Learning Engineering

Large Language Models (LLMs)

Model Fine-tuning

Experiment Design

Autonomous Operations

Education

Computer Science Degree

Tools

Vector Databases

Reinforcement Learning

Job description

Recruiting from Scratch provided pay range

This range is provided by Recruiting from Scratch. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

$250,000.00/yr - $350,000.00/yr

Direct message the job poster from Recruiting from Scratch

Technical Recruiter at RFS - Startup/Hedge Fund/Big Tech Recruitment

Who is Recruiting from Scratch:

Recruiting from Scratch is a talent firm that focuses on placing the best candidate for our clients.

Title: Machine Learning Research Engineer

Company Stage of Funding: Series B

Office Type: Onsite, 5 Days a Week

Company Description

Our client is a fast-growing, venture-backed startup that’s transforming how enterprises deliver exceptional customer support through advanced AI agents. With $100M in funding and partnerships with some of the most recognized brands in tech, this company is at the forefront of conversational AI innovation. Backed by top-tier investors and founded by serial entrepreneurs, the team is building powerful, autonomous systems that handle complex support tasks with high accuracy and human-like responsiveness.

Join a team of ambitious builders and researchers redefining how AI can serve real business needs at scale.

What You Will Do

As the first dedicated Machine Learning Research Engineer, you will lead efforts to fine-tune and deploy large language models that sit at the heart of our client's enterprise AI platform. You’ll be responsible for:

• Designing and conducting experiments to improve model performance across a variety of use cases.
• Fine-tuning open and closed source LLMs to enhance their accuracy, contextual understanding, and instruction following.
• Evaluating and deploying models in production, monitoring their behavior, and continuously iterating for better outcomes.
• Working closely with product and engineering teams to understand customer needs and integrate ML solutions accordingly.
• Helping define the roadmap for model improvement and R&D.
• Operating autonomously and with full ownership of the ML stack.

Ideal Candidate Background

We’re looking for someone who thrives in an early-stage, high-impact environment and is excited by both research and implementation. Ideal candidates will have:

• 4+ years of experience in ML/AI engineering or applied research.
• Proven success taking ML projects from concept to production.
• Experience fine-tuning LLMs (e.g., GPT, LLaMA, Claude, Mistral).
• Familiarity with a wide variety of model architectures, including both open and closed source.
• A background as a machine learning engineer, not a generalist software engineer or data scientist.
• A CS degree from a top-tier university.
• Experience working at a top tech or AI-first company (e.g., Meta, Google, Nuro).
• Strong independence, ability to operate without a research team.
• Excitement for in-person collaboration in a fast-paced SF-based environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Publications or open-source contributions demonstrating thought leadership in ML/AI.
• Experience with reinforcement learning or agentic behavior modeling.
• Familiarity with vector databases, embeddings, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
• Startup experience or demonstrated ability to thrive in high-autonomy roles.

Compensation and Benefits

• Equity: Competitive and meaningful
• Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, generous PTO, in-office perks, and the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in applied AI.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Engineering and Product Management

• Industries

  Software Development

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Medical insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

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