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Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Relevance

Join Airbnb as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to develop cutting-edge AI technologies for search and recommendation systems.

Location
United States
Compensation
$200k–$235k/yr
Level
senior
Type
full time · Hybrid

Posted by employer 3 days ago

First seen on Joblaze 2 days ago

Last verified on the company career page 2 days ago

What you'll build

  • Build and improve Machine Learning models
  • Work with large scale structured and unstructured data
  • Collaborate with cross-functional partners
  • Develop reusable Machine Learning systems
  • Productionize Machine Learning models and pipelines

Must have

  • 5+ years of industry experience in applied Machine Learning
  • Strong programming skills in Scala / Python / Java / C++
  • Deep understanding of Machine Learning best practices
  • Experience with 3 or more of these technologies: TensorFlow, PyTorch, Kubernetes

Nice to have

  • Experience with test driven development
  • Familiar with A/B testing
  • Exposure to architectural patterns of high-scale software applications

Role intensity

70% hands-on coding

AI in the day-to-day

We build cutting-edge AI technologies across the end-to-end search ranking product stack.

Requirements

Experience
5+ years
Education
Master's degree

Not disclosed in this posting: visa sponsorship.

Benefits

Equity/Stock Options Remote Work

Joblaze summary

In this role, the Senior Machine Learning Engineer focuses on developing and optimizing ranking algorithms that enhance search and recommendation systems across Airbnb's platform. Key skills include proficiency in programming languages like Scala or Python, along with a strong foundation in machine learning practices and technologies such as TensorFlow and Kubernetes. This position is ideal for experienced professionals with over five years in applied machine learning, particularly those who have built end-to-end ML infrastructure. The Relevance and Personalization team emphasizes collaboration across various departments to drive impactful solutions.

Joblaze insights

  • Listed 2 days ago — first seen on Joblaze November 4, 2026. Last confirmed on Airbnb's careers page November 4, 2026.
  • Salary band is in line with the typical range for AI/ML roles (median ~$190,000).
  • Starts above 56% of 212 comparable senior ai/ml roles in United States that list Python we track (median $182,000 across 72 companies). See Python salary trends
  • Python appears in 53.6% of 560 comparable senior ai/ml roles in United States; Scala appears in 1.6% of 560 comparable senior ai/ml roles in United States.

Quick facts

Is the Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Relevance role remote?
It's hybrid — Airbnb expects some on-site time in United States.
What's the salary range?
Airbnb lists $200,000–$235,000 for this role.
How much experience is required?
At least 5 years of relevant experience for this Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Relevance role.
Where is the role based?
Airbnb is hiring for this position in United States.
What's the tech stack?
Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: Airflow, C++, Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, Machine Learning.
What seniority level is this role?
Airbnb targets senior candidates for this position.
Is this full-time or contract?
Full-time for this Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Relevance role at Airbnb.

From the original posting

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join:

The Relevance and Personalization team at Airbnb is responsible for search and recommendation across the entire Airbnb digital platform. Be a leader in the team working on critical, impactful projects with focus on developing end-to-end ranking algorithms and ecosystems for optimizing multiple critical business objectives.

The Difference You Will Make:

We build cutting-edge AI technologies across the end-to-end search ranking product stack w.r.t. data pipelines, feature and model innovations, serving and experimentation efficiency, leveraging rich signals from various types of data (structured, sequential, image, text, etc) at Airbnb. We collaborate closely with teams across Airbnb to develop the ranking solutions and support a healthy marketplace for hosts and guests to further Airbnb’s mission of creating a world where people can Belong Anywhere. Some past publications from the team can be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/airbnb-relevance-publications/home

A Typical Day:

  • Work with large scale structured and unstructured data, build and continuously improve cutting edge Machine Learning models for Airbnb product, business and operational use cases.
  • Work collaboratively with cross-functional partners including software engineers, product managers, operations and data scientists, identify opportunities for business impact, understand, refine, and prioritize requirements for machine learning models, drive engineering decisions, and quantify impact.
  • Hands-on develop, productionize, and operate Machine Learning models and pipelines at scale, including both batch and real-time use cases.
  • Leverage third-party and in-house Machine Learning tools & infrastructure to develop reusable, highly differentiating and high-performing Machine Learning systems, enable fast model development, low-latency serving and ease of model quality upkeep.
  • Example projects include: feature platform, model interpretability, hyperparameter optimization, concept drift detection.

Your Expertise:

  • 5+ years of industry experience in applied Machine Learning, inclusive MS or PhD in relevant fields
  • Strong programming (Scala / Python / Java / C++ or equivalent) and data engineering skills
  • Deep understanding of Machine Learning best practices (eg. training/serving skew minimization, A/B test, feature engineering, feature/model selection), algorithms (eg. neural networks/deep learning, optimization) and domains (eg. natural language processing, computer vision, personalization, search and recommendation, marketplace optimization, anomaly detection)
  • Experience with 3 or more of these technologies: Tensorflow, PyTorch, Kubernetes, Spark, Airflow (or equivalent), Kafka (or equivalent), data warehouse (eg. Hive)
  • Industry experience building end-to-end Machine Learning infrastructure and/or building and productionizing Machine Learning models
  • Exposure to architectural patterns of a large, high-scale software applications (e.g., well-designed APIs, high volume data pipelines, efficient algorithms, models)
  • Experience with test driven development, familiar with A/B testing, incremental delivery and deployment.

Your Location:

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Airbnb values diversity & belonging and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All individuals seeking employment at Airbnb are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic.

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Pay Range
$200,000—$235,000 USD

Standard company text repeated across Airbnb's postings is omitted here.

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