Staff Machine Learning Engineer, AI Experience

Airbnb; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 212,000 - 276,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Employee Travel Credits

Job summary

A global tech company in San Francisco is seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to lead complex AI initiatives. In this role, you will architect cutting-edge systems to transform the platform into an adaptive user experience. Your responsibilities include developing large-scale AI solutions, collaborating on prototypes, and driving data quality. The ideal candidate has over 9 years of experience in machine learning engineering, hands-on in generative AI, and strong backend engineering skills. This position offers a competitive salary and additional benefits.

Qualifications

• 9+ years of professional machine learning engineering experience.
• Hands-on experience building generative AI solutions.
• Strong proficiency in cloud-based architectures.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop large-scale AI solutions.
• Collaborate on prototypes for generative AI.
• Drive data quality and improve AI performance.

Skills

Leadership on AI/ML projects

Generative AI solutions

Data quality improvement

Backend engineering

Excellent communication skills

Passion for ethical AI

Job description

Overview

Airbnb 11 April 2025

Join Airbnb's AI Experience Team and help build the next-generation platform that leverages generative AI and agentic systems to deliver deeply personalized and adaptive user experiences. As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer, you will lead complex AI initiatives, architect cutting-edge systems, and drive innovation across diverse teams. You will transform the Airbnb app into an ever-evolving platform that knows you, adapts to your needs, and drives our broader mission of creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop large-scale AI solutions, from data pipelines and fine-tuning methodologies to multi-step agentic workflows.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to develop prototypes that push the boundaries of generative AI and transition them into high-impact production features.
• Develop prototypes that embed state-of-the-art generative AI capabilities, ensuring they meet production-level metrics for reliability, scalability, and ethical alignment.
• Drive data quality, leveraging advanced synthetic data generation techniques and robust analytics to continuously improve AI performance.
• Serve as a technical mentor, conducting knowledge-sharing sessions and code reviews.
• Present progress, insights, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• 9+ years of professional machine learning engineering experience, including proven leadership on AI/ML projects at scale.
• Hands-on experience building and shipping generative AI solutions, emphasizing Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), agentic workflows, and large language models.
• Demonstrated success improving AI data quality through synthetic data techniques, adversarial testing, or advanced data annotation pipelines.
• Strong proficiency in backend engineering and cloud-based architectures that support high-volume, real-time AI workloads.
• Excellent communication skills and a track record of cross-functional collaboration.
• Passion for responsible and ethical AI.

Benefits

• This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.
• Pay Range: $212,000--$276,500 USD

How to Apply

Interested in this position? Please submit your resume and cover letter through the application portal.