Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Pinterest Engineering; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 228,000 - 469,000; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest Labs is seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Applied Science to tackle ambitious challenges in generation and recommendation. You will lead the research, architecture, scale, and deployment of GenRec and RL solutions with a world-class team.

Collaborating with Product, Engineering, and Data Science, you will translate complex research into product impact, publish in top ML venues, and help shape the long-term research strategy while mentoring colleagues.

Qualifications

• MS/PhD in Computer Science, or equivalent industry experience.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant industry experience.
• Hands-on experience with large-scale recommendation systems and reinforcement learning.
• Publications at top ML conferences (e.g. KDD, NeurIPS, RecSys).
• Cross-functional collaborator and strong communicator.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to cutting-edge ML research across Ads, Discovery, Growth, and Search.
• Identify, scope, architect, build, and deliver novel ML solutions from 0 to 1 at scale.
• Identify new research opportunities by collaborating with external and internal partners.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Data Science to translate research into product impact.

Skills

Large-scale ML

Reinforcement learning

LLMs/VLMs

Cross-functional

Education

MS/PhD in CS

Job description

About Pinterest:

Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibilities and plan for memories that will last a lifetime. At Pinterest, we’re on a mission to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and that starts with the people behind the product.

Discover a career where you ignite innovation for millions, transform passion into growth opportunities, celebrate each other’s unique experiences and embrace the flexibility to do your best work. Creating a career you love? It’s Possible.

At Pinterest, AI isn't just a feature, it's a powerful partner that augments our creativity and amplifies our impact, and we’re looking for candidates who are excited to be a part of that. To get a complete picture of your experience and abilities, we’ll explore your foundational skills and how you collaborate with AI.

Through our interview process, what matters most is that you can always explain your approach, showing us not just what you know, but how you think. You can read more about our AI interview philosophy and how we use AI in our recruiting process here.

About Pinterest

Millions of people across the world come to Pinterest to find new ideas every day. It’s where they get inspiration, dream about new possibilities and plan for what matters most. Our mission is to help those people find their inspiration and create a life they love. As a Pinterest employee, you’ll be challenged to take on work that upholds this mission and pushes Pinterest forward. You’ll grow as a person and leader in your field, all the while helping users make their lives better in the positive corner of the internet.

Our new progressive work model is called PinFlex, a term that’s uniquely Pinterest to describe our flexible approach to living and working. Visit our PinFlex landing page to learn more.

Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Applied Science

As part of Pinterest Labs, you’ll work on tackling new challenges in machine learning and artificial intelligence along with a world-class team of research scientists and machine learning engineers. In this role, you will play a central part in transforming how content is discovered on Pinterest by driving the research, architecture, scale and production deployment of Generative Recommendation System (GenRec) and Reinforcement Learning solutions. You will conduct research that directly applies across Pinterest engineering teams, engage in external collaborations and mentoring, and perform research in the intersection of recommendation systems, LLMs, VLMs, and reinforcement learning.

What you’ll do:

• Contribute to cutting-edge AI/ML research that can be applied to Pinterest challenges across Ads, Discovery, Growth, and Search.
• Identify, scope, architect, build, and deliver full, novel ML solutions from 0 to 1 at scale. Identify timelines and obtain resources needed.
• Identify new and upcoming research opportunities by interacting with external and internal collaborators. Own long-term research strategy and plans to expand the impact of Applied Science.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Data Science to translate complex engineering solutions into product impact.

What we’re looking for:

• MS/PhD in Computer Science, or equivalent industry experience
• Minimum 6 years of relevant industry experience
• Hands‑on experience with large-scale recommendation system and reinforcement learning applications; experience with LLM/VLM post‑training is a plus
• Technical leadership and experience in driving ambiguous research problems into production deliverables
• Publications at top ML conferences (e.g. KDD, NeurIPS, RecSys, etc.)
• Cross‑functional collaborator and strong communicator

In‑Office Requirement Statement:

• We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day‑to‑day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role.
• This role will need to be in the office for in‑person collaboration 1‑2 times/quarter and therefore can be situated anywhere in the country.

Relocation Statement:

• This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.

US based applicants only

$227,871—$469,147 USD

Our Commitment to Inclusion:

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. We want to have the best qualified people in every job. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, status as a protected veteran, physical or mental disability, medical condition or genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you require a medical or religious accommodation during the job application process, please complete this form for support.

By submitting this application, I certify that all information submitted in my application and throughout the hiring process is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any false statement, omission, or misrepresentation may disqualify me from employment consideration or result in termination if discovered after hire.