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Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Assistance Engineering

Join Airbnb as a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to innovate customer service with cutting-edge AI technologies.

Location
San Francisco, CA
Compensation
$212k–$260k/yr
Level
staff
Type
full time · Hybrid

Posted by employer 4 months ago

First seen on Joblaze 1 month ago

Last verified on the company career page 8 hours ago

AI in the day-to-day

The team develops and enhances various AI models, ML services and tools including LLM fine-tuning and optimization.

Requirements

Experience
9+ years
Education
PhD

Not disclosed in this posting: visa sponsorship.

Benefits

Equity/Stock Options Remote Work

Joblaze summary

The Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Airbnb focuses on developing and optimizing AI models and services to enhance customer support through innovative applications of generative AI. This role requires extensive experience in machine learning engineering, particularly with large-scale systems and AI-driven products, making it suitable for seasoned professionals with a strong technical background. The position offers the chance to work on cutting-edge projects that are still in conceptual stages, allowing for significant influence on the direction of customer service innovations.

Joblaze insights

  • Listed about a month ago — first seen on Joblaze September 3, 2026. Last confirmed on Airbnb's careers page October 27, 2026.
  • Salary band is above the typical range for AI/ML roles (median ~$190,000).
  • Starts above 39% of 36 comparable staff ai/ml roles in United States that list Machine Learning we track (median $226,358 across 14 companies). See Machine Learning salary trends
  • Machine Learning appears in 19.3% of 285 comparable staff ai/ml roles in United States; Artificial Intelligence appears in 0.4% of 285 comparable staff ai/ml roles in United States.

Quick facts

Is the Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Assistance Engineering role remote?
It's hybrid — Airbnb expects some on-site time in San Francisco, CA.
What's the salary range?
Airbnb lists $212,000–$260,000 for this role.
How much experience is required?
At least 9 years of relevant experience for this Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Assistance Engineering role.
Where is the role based?
Airbnb is hiring for this position in San Francisco, CA.
What's the tech stack?
Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: AI models, Agentic AI, Artificial Intelligence, Chatbot, Generative AI, LLM.
What seniority level is this role?
Airbnb targets staff-level candidates for this position.
Is this full-time or contract?
Full-time for this Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Assistance Engineering 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:

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are at the heart of the Airbnb product. From Trust to Payments, and from Customer Service to Marketing we rely on ML to ensure that guests and hosts have the best possible experience with Airbnb.

The Assistance Engineering Machine Learning team is the core team responsible for driving CSxAI (Customer Support x Artificial Intelligence) initiatives by adopting the Generative AI technologies to enable an intelligent, scalable and exceptional service experience. The team develops and enhances various AI models, ML services and tools including LLM fine-tuning and optimization, RAG/Search, LLM evaluation and testing automation, feedback-based learning and guardrail for a wide range of applications in Airbnb.

The richness of Airbnb's data, the complexity of its marketplace and the variety innate in our product mean that we need to operate at the state of the art of AI practice. We are committed to investing in long term innovation to solve the complex problems we face, and to do that we need the very best experts in ML and AI to join us.

The Difference You Will Make:

We believe our current customer experiences in these domains are only scratching the surface of the innovations that are possible, and that science is at the heart of delivering a step-function change for our Guest and and Host on Airbnb.

You will build and leverage cutting edge AI technologies to transform Airbnb’s customer service by delivering personalized, easy-to-use and proactive customer service experience.

Many of the initiatives you’ll tackle are in their early conceptual stages. You will have the opportunity to shape these ideas from inception to production, turning visionary concepts into impactful realities.

A Typical Day:

  • Envision, champion, and support the development of novel ML systems, product integrations, and performance optimizations to solve real-world problems
  • Work cross-functionally with product, design, and other engineering counterparts to design and build efficient AI solutions for Airbnb CS products
  • Learn and share the latest AI/ML technologies with the team.

Your Expertise:

  • PhD/Master’s degree, preferably in CS, or equivalent experience
  • 9+ years of ML engineering experience, with ownership responsibility over large-scale software systems
  • Background in the design and development of AI and ML systems and services, and a deep passion for building efficient and scalable ML-powered products
  • Experience with LLM driven chatbot and Agentic AI products would be a big plus
  • Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well within a team and with teams across the engineering, product & design organizations

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.

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
$212,000—$260,000 USD

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