Staff Machine Learning Engineer

• Lead the design and development of machine learning models for Search ranking, including relevance ranking, personalization, result quality, intent understanding, and engagement optimization
• Own major ranking initiatives from problem definition through experimentation, launch, and iteration
• Develop and improve ranking models using techniques such as learning-to-rank, deep retrieval, neural ranking, sequence models, embeddings, multi-task learning, calibrated prediction, and large-scale feature engineering
• Build ranking systems that balance multiple objectives, such as relevance, user satisfaction, freshness, diversity, fairness, safety, latency, and business goals
• Partner with product managers, data scientists, and engineers to define success metrics, experimentation strategy, and long-term ranking roadmap
• Analyze user behavior, search logs, query-result interactions, and model performance to identify opportunities for improvement
• Design robust offline evaluation, online experimentation, and model monitoring frameworks
• Improve feature pipelines, training infrastructure, serving systems, and model iteration velocity
• Provide technical leadership across teams, influence architecture decisions, and mentor engineers working on ML ranking systems
• Stay current with advances in search, recommendation systems, ads ranking, generative AI, LLM-based ranking, and retrieval-augmented systems

• Strong machine learning fundamentals, including supervised learning, ranking models, embeddings, deep learning, optimization, evaluation, and experimentation
• Strong programming skills in Python, C++, Java, Scala, or similar languages
• Experience with large-scale data processing and ML infrastructure, such as Spark, Flink, Beam, TensorFlow, PyTorch, JAX, or similar tools
• Ability to take ML models from research or prototyping into large-scale production systems
• Strong understanding of online experimentation, A/B testing, metric design, model debugging, and tradeoff analysis
• Proven ability to lead complex technical projects across multiple teams
• Excellent communication skills and ability to explain complex ML concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders, * Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant technical field such as computer science or equivalent years of practical work experience
• 8+ years of post-Bachelor’s machine learning experience; or Master’s degree in a technical field + 7+ year of post-grad machine learning experience; or PhD in a relevant technical field + 4 years of post-grad machine learning experience
• Experience developing machine learning models for relevance ranking, personalization, intent understanding, and/or engagement optimization
• Experience with large-scale data processing and ML infrastructure, such as Spark, Flink, Beam, TensorFlow, PyTorch, JAX, or similar tools, * Advanced degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Mathematics, Information Retrieval, or a related field
• Direct experience building Search ranking systems, including query understanding, retrieval, ranking, re-ranking, relevance modeling, or result blending
• Experience with ads ranking, recommendation ranking, feed ranking, marketplace ranking, or content discovery systems
• Experience with learning-to-rank methods such as LambdaMART, pairwise/listwise ranking losses, neural ranking models, or transformer-based rankers
• Experience with candidate generation, retrieval models, ANN search, embeddings, vector search, or two-stage ranking architectures
• Experience optimizing ranking systems for multiple objectives, including relevance, engagement, quality, diversity, freshness, long-term user value, and monetization
• Experience with LLMs, foundation models, semantic search, natural language understanding, or retrieval-augmented generation
• Experience building low-latency ML serving systems and improving production model reliability
• Track record of publishing, patenting, or otherwise advancing the state of the art in search, ranking, recommendations, ads, or applied ML, A/B Testing, Analysis Skills, Artificial Intelligence (AI), C++ Programming Language, Communication Skills, Computer Programming, Computer Science, Customer/Consumer Behavior, Data Processing, Data Science, Debugging Skills, Deep Learning, Diversity, Federal Laws and Regulations, Information Retrieval, JAX (Java API for XML), Java, Large-Scale Systems, Leadership, Legal, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Medical Conditions, Medical Genetics, Mentoring, Metrics, Multitasking, Performance Modeling, Production Systems, Prototyping, Python Programming/Scripting Language, Quality Metrics, Reliability Engineering, Scala Programming Language, Search Ranking, Semantic Search, State Laws and Regulations, Statistics, Technical Leadership, Trade-Off Analysis

In the United States, work locations are assigned a pay zone which determines the salary range for the position. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. The starting pay may be negotiable within the salary range for the position.These pay zones may be modified in the future.

Zone A (CA, WA, NYC): The base salary range for this position is $229,000-$343,000 annually.

Zone B: The base salary range for this position is $218,000-$326,000 annually.

Zone C: The base salary range for this position is $195,000-$292,000 annually.This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs., Paid Sick Days, Parking, Prescription Drug Coverage, Employee Referral Program, Retirement / Pension Plans, Tuition Reimbursement, Life Insurance

Snap Inc is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Snap contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together.

The Company operates Snapchat, a visual messaging app that enhances your relationships with friends, family, and the world, and Specs Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to making computing more human, in addition to Bitmoji, Saturn, and other digital services.

Snap Engineering teams build fun and technically sophisticated products that reach hundreds of millions of Snapchatters around the world, every day. We’re deeply committed to the well-being of everyone in our global community, which is why our values are at the root of everything we do. We move fast, with precision, and always execute with privacy at the forefront., “Default Together” Policy at Snap: At Snap Inc. we believe that being together in person helps us build our culture faster, reinforce our values, and serve our community, customers and partners better through dynamic collaboration. To reflect this, we practice a “default together” approach and expect our team members to work in an office 4+ days per week.

At Snap, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to create innovative products that improve the way people live and communicate. Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. EOE, including disability/vets.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law (by example, the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, where applicable).

Our Benefits: Snap Inc. is its own community, so we’ve got your back! We do our best to make sure you and your loved ones have everything you need to be happy and healthy, on your own terms. Our benefits are built around your needs and include paid parental leave, comprehensive medical coverage, emotional and mental health support programs, and compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long-term success!, Snap

Our Story

The name may have changed over the years, but the commitment made when the forerunner of SNAP (Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners) formed in 1966 remains its guiding purpose today. SNAP’s mission was, and is, to provide people of low income with access to needed resources, and to help them make the kinds of connections that create opportunity. Our goal always has been to help build a vibrant community that treats everyone with dignity and respect by advocating for that which is fair, honorable and equitable.

The foundation for what is now SNAP got its start in the summer of 1966, when Father Frank Bach, then the director of Catholic Charities in Spokane, enlisted the assistance of the St. Vincent DePaul Society to establish three community centers, in Hillyard, East Central and West Central Spokane, each with a goal of helping low-income people meet their emergency needs as well as to provide a multitude of services within those communities.

These centers and the community-based programs they initiated were so successful that the Spokane Community Action Agency took over the administration of the neighborhood centers. Unfortunately, that agency lost its funding in the summer of 1973. The programs would have been lost were it not for the intervention of a number of community leaders. New funding was secured and Catholic Charities again administered the program.

Striving to fill growing needs, the Neighborhood Centers had developed an annual budget in excess of $4 million by 1985 and were growing beyond the scope of Catholic Charities. On September 12, 1985, with Tom Pleas as Director, the centers became Spokane Neighborhood Centers, Inc. The incorporators were: P.J. Grabicki, Thelma Pugh, Robert Huckabay, Sheri Barnard, Clarence (Bud) Barnes, Nora Beggs, Ed Stevens and Bill Fearn. The corporation adopted bylaws on December 10, 1985.

Five years after incorporation, leadership shifted with the announced retirement of Director Pleas. The agency’s associate director, Larry Stuckart, was formally named executive director in July 1992. Julie Honekamp assumed the role of SNAP and SNAP Financial Access CEO in June of 2011.

From 1985 through the present, the agency has expanded services to meet the needs of a growing population, proving itself to be more than just “neighborhood centers.” Through continuing expansion and a variety of programs, the agency strives to facilitate long-term solutions for the people it serves.

The agency officially became Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs in December 1991, a name chosen to reflect the breadth of the agency’s operations. In Sheri S. Barnard’s Mayoral Proclamation, the agency pledged to continue providing quality services and to ensure that Spokane remains a place that cares about its citizens. In 2008, the name was officially shortened to “SNAP” and legally changed to Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners.

With a re-energized mission, vision and values statement, as well as a new visual identity, SNAP continues to respond to individual and community needs by providing a range of opportunities that offer stability to our vulnerable neighbors and encourage economic self-sufficiency for those who are able.

Company Size: 100 to 499 employees