Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Retrieval & Targeting

For our client, we are seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Retrieval \& Targeting to join the team of a leader in the Media space.

This role will shape the technical direction for retrieval and targeting systems that improve how ads are matched, ranked, and delivered at scale. You will lead the design and deployment of machine learning models that strengthen recall and relevance while driving better product and business outcomes. The position partners closely with engineering, data science, and product teams to turn retrieval insights into production-ready systems. It is a highly technical, cross-functional role with significant ownership from model strategy through online experimentation.

Location: Remote

Compensation: $230,000 – $322,000 annually

Responsibilities

• Define the technical direction and roadmap for ads retrieval modeling.
• Design and launch candidate-generation and retrieval models for ads.
• Apply modern ML techniques to enhance product value.
• Improve the retrieval stack through key modeling decisions.
• Work with vector retrieval systems to balance recall and relevance.
• Establish evaluation practices linking retrieval metrics to user outcomes.
• Lead offline analysis and online experiments to refine models.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure effective integration of retrieval models.
• Mentor ML engineers to strengthen team expertise in retrieval and recommendation.

Qualifications

• 7\+ years of industry experience in applied ML products.
• Deep expertise in information retrieval and candidate generation.
• Strong grasp of retrieval modeling concepts like DNN and embeddings.
• Proficient in training and deploying deep learning models using TensorFlow or PyTorch.
• Demonstrated ownership of ML projects from inception to production.
• Solid understanding of experimental design and model evaluation.
• Experience with large-scale datasets and complex feature pipelines.
• Strong software engineering skills for maintainable production code.
• Technical leadership experience in guiding projects and mentoring engineers.

Benefits

• 100% remote work option with hybrid/onsite locations available.
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits and income replacement programs.
• 401k plan with employer match.
• Global benefit programs tailored to individual lifestyles.
• Family planning support and gender-affirming care.
• Mental health and coaching benefits.
• Flexible vacation and paid volunteer time off.
• Generous paid parental leave.

Our client is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification—your background could be exactly what this team needs.