Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Harnham; Chicago (IL); Remote; USD 300,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative tech company is seeking a Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer to lead a talented team in developing cutting-edge AI solutions. This role involves designing and deploying machine learning models focused on ad optimization and recommendation systems, leveraging one of the largest behavioral datasets in the US. You'll collaborate with product and R&D teams to create high-impact ML products while staying at the forefront of emerging techniques. Join a dynamic environment where your expertise will directly influence the success of groundbreaking AI initiatives. If you're passionate about machine learning and eager to make a significant impact, this opportunity is for you.

Benefits

Meaningful Equity

Financial Upside

Fully Remote Work

Hybrid Options in Major Cities

Qualifications

• Proven experience building and deploying machine learning systems.
• Strong background in AdTech or recommender systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy end-to-end machine learning models for ad optimization.
• Develop ML pipelines leveraging behavioral signals for business ROI.

Skills

Machine Learning Engineering

AdTech

Personalization

Recommender Systems

MLOps

CI/CD

Airflow

Spark

Python

AWS

Education

MSc in a STEM field

PhD in a STEM field

Tools

Airflow

Spark

SQL

Scala

Python

Kubernetes

MLFlow

TensorFlow

Bazel

Job description

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

Base pay range

$300,000.00/yr - $350,000.00/yr

Direct message the job poster from Harnham

Building AI/ML & Data/Software Engineering Teams Across The US

Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Remote

Up to $350,000 + Equity

Company:

A fast-growing, mission-driven tech company in the behavioral modeling and personalization space is seeking a Senior Staff/Technical Lead Machine Learning Engineer to join and lead a team. Their platform leverages one of the largest consented behavioral datasets in the US to deliver private-by-design AI solutions for top global brands and platforms.

The team is made up of seasoned ML professionals from Top Companies, and they are partnered with major cloud providers to bring novel AI products to market. This role will be central to building and scaling ML-powered products, with a focus on ad optimization and recommendation systems.

Role:

• Design, build, and deploy end-to-end machine learning models focused on ad optimization, personalization use cases and recommendation systems.
• Develop ML pipelines and production systems that leverage rich behavioral signals to drive user value and business ROI.
• Partner with product and R&D teams to ideate and execute on high-impact, ML-first product strategies.
• Lead experimentation and model evaluation in a fast-paced, data-rich environment.
• Contribute to the development of scalable infrastructure using tools like Airflow, Spark, and CI/CD platforms.
• Work cross-functionally to bring zero-to-one ML products to market and continuously refine them post-launch.
• Stay on the pulse of emerging ML techniques in RecSys, behavioral modeling, and model optimization.

Requirements:

• MSc or PhD in a STEM field.
• Proven experience building and deploying machine learning systems in a commercial setting.
• Strong background in AdTech or recommender systems (RecSys) – with a clear understanding of personalization, targeting, or user intent modeling.
• Hands-on experience with orchestration tools (Airflow, Bazel), data infrastructure (Spark, SQL, Scala, or Python).
• DevOps knowledge including CI/CD best practices and production model monitoring.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Databricks) and ML tooling (MLFlow, TensorFlow, Kubernetes).
• Strong collaboration and communication skills, with a product-oriented mindset.
• A bias toward action and a "roll up your sleeves" attitude—ideal for a dynamic startup environment.

Salary and Benefits:

• Meaningful Equity & Financial Upside
• Fully Remote (with hybrid options in Boston, SF Bay Area, Seattle, NYC)

How to Apply:

Please register your interest by submitting your CV via the Apply link on this page.

Desired Skills and Experience:

Machine Learning Engineering, AdTech, Personalization, Recommender Systems, MLOps, CI/CD, Airflow, Spark, Python, AWS

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Analyst

• Industries

  Software Development

Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Harnham by 2x

Get notified about new Machine Learning Engineer jobs in Chicago, IL.

Machine Learning Scientist, Digital Pathology

Chicago, IL $180,000.00-$200,000.00 3 weeks ago

Chicago, IL $140,000.00-$170,000.00 1 month ago

Senior Machine Learning Scientist, NLP/LLM

Python and Kubernetes Software Engineer - Data, AI/ML & Analytics

Create a DataCamp Course - Machine Learning / Data Engineering (Part-Time, Freelance)

Chicago, IL $90,160.00-$166,080.00 2 months ago

Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Generative AI (Customer Identity)

Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Payments & Risk

Chicago, IL $160,000.00-$210,000.00 2 weeks ago

Rosemont, IL $132,200.00-$263,000.00 4 days ago

Python and Kubernetes Software Engineer - Data, Workflows, AI/ML & Analytics

Chicago, IL $180,000.00-$200,000.00 1 week ago

Chicago, IL $170,000.00-$190,000.00 2 months ago

Chicago, IL $170,000.00-$190,000.00 2 months ago

Senior Software Engineer - Virtual Appraisals

Application Engineer (Splunk/Machine Learning)

We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.