Staff Applied AI / ML Software Engineer

MediaAlpha; Bellevue (WA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus program

Employer-paid health insurance

401(k) with match

Open PTO with Birthday off and 13 paid

Recharge days

LinkedIn Learning reimbursement

Cell phone reimbursement

Calm App subscription

Parental leave up to 22 weeks (primary

Parental leave 12 weeks (secondary)

Dog-friendly offices

Job summary

MediaAlpha, a customer acquisition technology company, seeks a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to lead the design and deployment of LLM-powered applications for internal teams and the ad-serving platform. You will own end-to-end systems, drive RAG architectures, tooling patterns, and multi-step reasoning, and mentor engineers to raise the team's quality.

You will design, implement, and integrate LLM-based services, collaborating with product and business stakeholders while maintaining strong

Qualifications

• 9+ years of software development experience.
• End-to-end system ownership including 3-tier architectures, data flows, APIs, deployments, and health.
• Proficient in Python and production LLM-powered features.
• Experience with RAG architectures, vectors and embeddings.
• Prompt engineering with strong evaluation.
• Familiarity with ML concepts and agent frameworks.
• Cloud experience (AWS preferred).
• BS in a technical field.

Responsibilities

• Own the full software development lifecycle of LLM-powered systems.
• Design and implement retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems and tooling patterns.
• Integrate LLM services into MediaAlpha products and internal tools.
• Drive architecture balancing capability, cost, latency, and maintainability.
• Establish evaluation frameworks and measurable impact.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define capabilities and features.
• Mentor engineers on LLM development patterns and best practices.

Skills

Python

LLM systems

Software design

Mentoring

Education

BS in Computer Science

Tools

Vector databases

Embedding models

MCP (Agent framework)

Function calling

AWS Bedrock

APIs

Job description

MediaAlpha is a customer acquisition solutions provider powered by technology and data science. The company provides industry-leading solutions designed to reach consumers shopping within high-consideration categories such as property and casualty insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and more.

Hybrid role: 3 days/week in office

Role Overview

As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer at MediaAlpha, you will lead the design and development of LLM-powered applications for our internal teams and ad serving platform. You will be accountable for end-to-end systems: owning strategy, architecture, implementation, and operations. You will collaborate with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to deliver intelligent systems that solve real business problems.

The ideal candidate is a strong engineer with hands-on experience building LLM-powered applications in production, who works well across organizational boundaries and improves the conditions of any area they are in. We are an intentionally small organization, designed for agility, speed, and workability.

Responsibilities

• Own the full software development lifecycle of LLM-powered systems, from requirements through production deployment and operational health.
• Design and implement retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, tool-use patterns, and multi-step reasoning workflows.
• Integrate LLM-based services into MediaAlpha's products, internal tools, and data ecosystem.
• Drive architectural decisions balancing capability, cost, latency, and maintainability.
• Establish evaluation frameworks and metrics to measure application quality and business impact.
• Work directly with stakeholders to define product capabilities and develop new features and integrations.
• Be a champion of instilling excellence in coding, testing, and quality into the team and culture.
• Mentor engineers on LLM application development patterns and best practices.

Requirements

• 9+ years of experience in software development.
• Experience designing and owning systems end-to-end, including 3-tier architectures, data flows, APIs, deployments, and operational health.
• Strong programming skills in Python, including software engineering methodologies and best practices.
• Hands-on experience building LLM-powered features in production.
• Experience with RAG architectures, including vector databases, embedding models, and retrieval strategies.
• Practical prompt engineering skills with demonstrated ability to iterate and evaluate quality.
• Familiarity with core ML concepts (classification, evaluation metrics, embeddings) and the judgment to know when traditional ML approaches outperform LLM-based solutions.
• Experience with agent frameworks and tool-use patterns (MCP, function calling, etc.).
• Familiarity with cloud environments (AWS preferred: EC2, S3, Bedrock).
• A self-starter who works independently, is comfortable with ambiguity, and pays careful attention to detail.
• Experience collaborating with engineers and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to articulate and communicate clearly, concisely, and thoughtfully.
• Organized and self-motivated.
• B.S. required, preferably in a technical discipline (e.g., computer science).

We are excited to offer a total base compensation of $170,000 to $260,000 per year for this position based on experience and qualifications. But that's not all - as a valued member of our team, you will also have access to an array of top-notch benefits, including:

• Annual bonus program and participation in our Restricted Stock Unit program
• 100% Employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for you, your dependents, and spouse or registered domestic partner
• 100% Employer paid long term disability, and life insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with matching contributions to help you plan for your future
• Open Paid Time Off policy with a Birthday Hookie day off, 13 holidays, and 5 Recharge days
• Professional development reimbursement along with a subscription to LinkedIn Learning
• Cell Phone, Wellness, and Internet expense reimbursement, along with a subscription to the Calm App
• 100% fully paid parental leave for team members up to 22 weeks for the primary caregiver and 12 weeks for the secondary caregiver
• Dog-friendly offices (LA and AZ) along with a $300 pet adoption reimbursement

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

MediaAlpha is committed to fostering, cultivating, and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our philosophy and actions are built on the premise that as an employer and citizens of our communities, we can create opportunities for lasting change.

MediaAlpha will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local "Fair Chance" laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans in our application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail] or [phone].