Staff ML Engineer

Grindr; Palo Alto, San Francisco (CA, CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental & Vision

Family Formation

Retirement: 401(k) with match

Compensation & equity

Gender-affirming care

Time Off & Rest

Other benefits: stipends

Job summary

Grindr, an AI-native platform for global LGBTQ+ connections, is seeking an experienced ML engineer to architect scalable recommendation systems and leverage cutting-edge LLMs across huge user data. You will collaborate with engineering, data science, and product teams to ship production-ready ML solutions that drive real user impact.

The role requires 7+ years of ML system development, fluency in Python, and experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP or Databricks).

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience building ML systems from scratch.
• Fluency in Python and popular ML frameworks.
• Experience with data deployment technologies and cloud environments such as AWS, GCP or Databricks.
• Experience with recommendation systems or similar is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Architect scalable recommendation systems to serve millions, balancing performance and innovation.
• Leverage the latest LLMs to process vast conversation data and enhance user connections.
• Prototype, iterate, and ship production-ready ML solutions that solve real problems for our user.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, data science and product teams to turn bold ideas into tangible results.
• Drive the exploration of emerging AI tools and techniques to keep Grindr’s tech stack ahead of the curve.

Skills

Python

ML frameworks

Scrappy mindset

LLM workflows

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Snowflake

Airflow

Kubernetes

Docker

Helm

Spark

PySpark

Job description

About the Team:

Grindr is an AI-native platform powering how millions of gay people connect globally. With 15M+ monthly users, 130B+ annual messages, and a team of fewer than 200, we move fast, stay lean, and tackle technical problems at a scale few companies ever see.

At Grindr, we’re at the dawn of an AI-driven evolution, and you’ll be a key player helping to shape it. This is your chance to harness cutting-edge machine learning to redefine how millions of people in the LGBTQ+ community around the world connect —whether it’s an entertaining chat, a casual encounter or long-term relationship. We’re doubling down on ML as the future of Grindr, and in these early days, your work will leave a mark on a one-of-a-kind platform at global scale.

• Early-Stage Impact: It's still early days for ML at Grindr, so you'll be joining a focused team surrounded by high-impact, greenfield work, setting the stage for our long term ML strategy.
• Recommendations That Reshape: Build systems that match millions to their next big moment, adapting to a range of intents with impact you can feel.
• Conversations That Connect: Use LLMs to uncover insights, and help users find their spark with precision and flair.

At Grindr, we operate in Grindr Mode. Moderately hardcore day to day, truly hardcore when it counts. It’s about doing great work without burning out. Outcomes over outputs. Smart, driven people who raise your bar, with room to live full lives.

This is a hybrid role based in our San Francisco or Palo Alto offices (Palo Alto preferred) and will require you to be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

About the Job:

• Architect scalable recommendation systems to serve millions, balancing performance and innovation.
• Leverage the latest LLMs to process vast conversation data and enhance user connections.
• Prototype, iterate, and ship production-ready ML solutions that solve real problems for our user.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, data science and product teams to turn bold ideas into tangible results.
• Drive the exploration of emerging AI tools and techniques to keep Grindr’s tech stack ahead of the curve.

Role Requirements:

• 7+ years of experience building ML systems with a focus on 0-to-1 system development and creating new capabilities from scratch. Experience with recommendation systems or similar is a plus.
• Proven ability to deliver at scale, with fluency in Python and popular ML frameworks.
• A scrappy mindset—you tackle messy challenges head-on and get real results.
• Experience using data and deployment technologies (Snowflake, Airflow, Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, Spark, PySpark)
• Experience building machine/deep learning models with at least one common framework such as PyTorch, Tensorflow, or Keras.
• Experience with any public cloud environment - AWS, GCP or Databricks.

You May Thrive in this Role if You:

• Expertise in building and maintaining LLM workflows for nuanced, human-driven tasks.
• A track record of crafting recommendation systems that hit the mark for diverse user needs.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, outcome-driven environment with lots of cross-functional collaboration.
• A proven history of taking product ownership and thoughtfully addressing the unique needs of a specific user group, from early-stage concept to full-scale rollout.

Benefits and Perks:

• Health, Dental & Vision Full premium coverage for you. Partial coverage for dependents.
• Family Formation Up to $300,000 in fertility and family-building support, covering IVF, surrogacy, egg freezing, and adoption.
• Retirement: 401(k) with 6% match and immediate vesting.
• Compensation: Industry-competitive compensation, company bonus, and equity for every employee.
• Gender-Affirming Care : Industry-leading gender-affirming offerings with up to 90% cost coverage, access to Included Health, monthly stipends for HRT, and more.
• Time Off & Rest Flexible vacation policy. Two company-wide rest weeks per year.
• Other Benefits: Monthly stipends for cell phone, internet, wellness, food, and commuting, breakfast/lunch

About Grindr:

Grindr is building the Global Gayborhood in your Pocket. With more than 15 million monthly active users, Grindr has become a fundamental part of the gay community and is charting a path to make the world more free, equal, and just.

As a public company, we're moving into the next chapter: becoming an AI-native organization that's redefining what's possible for our community. We're embedding AI into our product and operations, moving with startup speed while operating at scale.

Everything we do is rooted in impact for our users and outcomes for the business. This isn't social work, it’s impact through excellence. Business success is what gives us the power to serve our community and the seat at tables others can't reach. How we work is defined by Grindr Mode, our operating model that's moderately hardcore day-to-day and truly hardcore when it counts. We think like owners, drive real outcomes, create clarity through action, and push each other to go further than we thought possible.

We’re headquartered in West Hollywood with offices in the Bay Area, Chicago, and New York. Our work extends beyond the product through Grindr for Equality, our social impact initiative that's partnered with 100+ community organizations globally to advance safety, health, and human rights for LGBTQ+ people worldwide.

We're profitable, growing, and building a team of smart, driven people who bring different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to the work. Want to build technology at a massive scale that serves millions? Come join us!

Grindr is an equal-opportunity employer.

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