Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Trust

airbnb, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Airbnb, Inc. is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer for the Trust team in San Francisco to design and deploy ML models that protect millions of users.

You will develop end-to-end ML pipelines, battle-tested in production, and collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and engineers to fight fraud and improve trust across the platform. The role emphasizes productionizing models, handling real-time data, and partnering across teams to deliver impactful ML solutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of industry experience in applied Machine Learning.
• Strong Python programming (required) with familiarity in Scala, Java, or equivalent.
• Solid understanding of ML best practices: training/serving skew, A/B testing, feature engineering, model selection; algorithms include gradient boosted trees, neural networks, transformers, and deep learning.
• Experience with ML frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, or equivalent.
• Experience with data engineering and building end-to-end ML pipelines (batch and real-time).
• Exposure to architectural patterns of large, high-scale software applications (APIs, data pipelines).
• Experience with test-driven development, incremental delivery, and deployment practices.
• Exposure to Trust and Risk domain is a plus.
• A Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in CS/ML or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with product managers, data scientists, software engineers, and operations teams to scope ML solutions and refine requirements for Trust models.
• Design, build, and productionize end-to-end ML pipelines, including feature engineering, model training, evaluation, and deployment for batch and real-time use cases.
• Investigate emerging fraud patterns and develop ML-based detections to enable fast, accurate responses.
• Write, review, and ship clean, testable code for models and pipelines.
• Work with large-scale structured and unstructured data to continuously improve ML models for Airbnb products, business, and operations.
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and cross-team collaborations to maintain high-quality ML engineering culture.
• Collaborate with trust defense and platform teams to adapt models to evolving fraud landscapes.

Skills

Machine Learning

Python

Production ML

Feature Engineering

A/B Testing

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Data Pipelines

Big Data

Scalability

API Design

Fraud Domain

Education

Bachelor's in CS/ML

Master's in CS/ML

PhD in CS/ML

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Scikit-learn

Spark

Job description

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join:

Everyone at Airbnb thinks about trust, but our team obsesses over it daily. At the core of trust is safety, and thus we spend a significant amount of our time and energy keeping the community safe. The Trust team is responsible for developing the technology that helps protect our community and platform from fraud while also ensuring our hosts, guests, homes, and experiences meet our high standards. We constantly work to fight against online fraud (such as monetary loss, compromised accounts, spam and scam in messages, fake inventory, etc.) as well as offline fraud (theft, property damage, personal safety, etc.). We also work on onboarding and screening of users, and think about complex topics like identity and reputation to ensure that every interaction with Airbnb helps build trust in us and our community.

You'll work side-by-side with talented product managers, data scientists, software engineers, fraud intelligence, and operations teams. Together, you'll design and build ML solutions that have direct, meaningful impact on user trust, business success, and the global Airbnb community.

The Difference You Will Make:

As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer on the Trust team, you will actively contribute code and ideas that shape the ML systems protecting millions of Airbnb users. You'll own and deliver ML projects end-to-end — from designing and training models to productionizing and operating them at scale, while collaborating closely with cross-functional partners.

You'll tackle real-world challenges such as account takeover, fake accounts, payment fraud, and bot detection. Your work will help reduce risks posed by bad actors while ensuring the platform remains seamless and welcoming for everyone else. As you develop your skills, you'll see the tangible impact of your models, helping real users stay safe and confident as they travel, host, and connect on Airbnb.

A Typical Day:

• Collaborate with product managers, data scientists, software engineers, and operations teams to identify opportunities, scope ML solutions, and refine requirements for new or improved Trust models.
• Design, build, and productionize end-to-end Machine Learning pipelines, including feature engineering, model training, evaluation, and deployment — for both batch and real-time use cases.
• Investigate emerging fraud patterns and threat signals with your teammates, and develop ML-based detections and tools that enable faster, more accurate responses.
• Write, review, and ship clean, testable code — whether training a new model, improving an existing pipeline, or optimizing a feature for scalability and reliability.
• Work with large-scale structured and unstructured data to continuously improve ML models for Airbnb product, business, and operational use cases.
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and cross-team collaborations to contribute to a high-quality ML engineering culture.
• Work closely with trust defense and platform teams to adapt models and systems to an evolving landscape of fraud attacks.

Your Expertise:

• 5+ years of industry experience in applied Machine Learning, with a track record of building and productionizing models at scale.
• Strong programming skills in Python (required) and familiarity with Scala, Java, or equivalent.
• Solid understanding of Machine Learning best practices — e.g., training/serving skew minimization, A/B testing, feature engineering, model selection — and algorithms such as gradient boosted trees, neural networks, transformers, and deep learning.
• Experience with ML frameworks and tooling such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or equivalent.
• Experience with data engineering and building end-to-end ML pipelines, including both batch and real-time systems.
• Exposure to architectural patterns of large, high-scale software applications (e.g., well-designed APIs, high-volume data pipelines, efficient algorithms).
• Experience with test-driven development, incremental delivery, and deployment practices.
• Exposure to the Trust and Risk domain (e.g., fraud detection, anomaly detection, identity, account integrity) is a plus.
• A Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in CS/ML or a related field.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: [e-mail]. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.

Reasonable Accommodations:

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role.