Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Ranking, Quora)

Quora; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Quora is seeking an experienced machine learning engineer to join our distribution team, focusing on ranking models behind feed and digest and advancing recommendation systems across the product. You will own end-to-end ML systems—from data pipelines to feature engineering and deployment—collaborating with other ML engineers to push the state of the art in ranking and user behavior modeling.

Qualifications include 5+ years of Python/C++ coding, strong ML foundations, and prior leadership on

Qualifications

• Previous experience building end-to-end ML systems.
• Strong understanding of mathematical foundations of ML algorithms.
• 5+ years of experience writing Python or C++ code.
• Experience leading large-scale multi-engineer projects.
• Experience with generative recommendation systems.
• Experience with user behavior or user sequence modeling, transformers, or long sequence modeling applied to ranking.

Responsibilities

• Develop ranking models for feed, notifications, and digest recommendations.
• Take ownership of end-to-end ML systems: data pipelines, feature engineering, model training, deployment.
• Collaborate with other ML engineers to implement algorithms and systems efficiently.
• Improve existing ML ranking models using core coding skills and ML knowledge.
• Identify opportunities to apply ML to different parts of the Quora product.

Skills

Python

C++

ML fundamentals

Ranking models

End-to-end ML systems

Communication

Team player

Education

Bachelor's in CS/Engineering

MS/PhD in CS/Engineering

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Spark

Git

Job description

Responsibilities

• Our small engineering team works on challenging problems every day. We have a culture that’s rooted in constantly learning and improving, and our engineers are encouraged to think big and experiment with new ideas
• As a remote-first company, our engineers have a high degree of flexibility and autonomy. Everyone on the engineering team has a significant impact on our product and our company
• We are looking for an experienced machine learning engineer to join our distribution team, working on recommendation systems such as feed, notifications, and Quora’s famous digest emails
• At Quora, we use machine learning in almost every part of the product and recommendation systems play an important role in connecting users with content
• As a ranking modeling expert, you will own and advance the second-phase ranking model behind feed and digest, one of the highest-leverage surfaces at Quora, by applying the latest machine learning techniques
• You will also play a key role in developing methodologies that our other developers will build on top of
• Improve our existing machine learning ranking models using your core coding skills and ML knowledge
• Take end-to-end ownership of machine learning systems - data pipelines, candidate extraction, feature engineering, model training, as well as integration into our production systems
• Identify new opportunities to apply machine learning to different parts of the Quora product
• Work with other machine learning engineers to implement algorithms and systems efficiently

Requirements

• Availability for meetings and impromptu communication during Quora’s “coordination hours” (Mon-Fri: 9am-3pm Pacific Time)
• Previous experience building end-to-end machine learning systems
• Good understanding of mathematical foundations of machine learning algorithms
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
• 3+ years of professional experience working on recommendation or ranking models
• Passion for Quora’s mission and goals
• Flexible and positive team player with outstanding interpersonal skills
• 5+ years of experience writing Python or C++ code
• Experience with leading large-scale multi-engineer projects
• Experience with generative recommendation systems
• Experience with user behavior or user sequence modeling, transformers, or long sequence modeling applied to ranking