Machine Learning Engineer, Level 5

Location: Bellevue, India | Palo Alto, Canada | Santa Monica, United States | Seattle, India

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Full time

About Snap Inc

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.

About the Role

Snap Inc is a camera company that believes the camera represents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. We empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together through our core products: Snapchat, a visual messaging app reaching hundreds of millions daily; Lens Studio, our AR platform; and Spectacles, our AR glasses. Our Engineering teams build fun, technically sophisticated products with precision, privacy first, and a creative culture at heart. Join us as a Machine Learning Engineer, Level 5, in Engineering to push the boundaries of AR innovation and camera technology. In this role, you'll create cutting-edge ML models that power personalized recommendations, real-time AR Lenses, image generation for Snapchat creativity, and enhanced Spectacles experiences. You'll evaluate tradeoffs to deliver scalable, robust systems that drive value for users, advertisers, and Snap, while iterating quickly without sacrificing quality. Collaborate with AR creators, product teams, and global partners to solve ambiguous challenges, perform code reviews, and mentor others in our fast-paced, innovative environment. We're seeking engineers with deep ML expertise in ranking, search, content understanding, and computer vision, ready to thrive in Snap's 'Default Together' culture (4+ days/week in office). If you have 5+ years of experience (or equivalent with advanced degrees), a passion for camera-driven tech, and skills in frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow, apply to help shape the future of AR and social connection. Snap is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, with comprehensive benefits including equity, health support, and parental leave.

What You'll Do

• Design and develop advanced ML models to enhance Snapchat's camera features, AR Lenses, and Spectacles AR experiences
• Create recommendation and ranking systems that personalize content for millions of daily Snapchatters
• Build models for image generation, content understanding, and real-time AR innovations
• Evaluate technical tradeoffs to optimize model performance, latency, and scalability
• Perform code reviews and mentor junior engineers to maintain exceptional code quality
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including AR designers, product managers, and advertisers
• Iterate rapidly on ML prototypes while ensuring privacy and reliability at scale
• Deploy and monitor ML models in production to drive user engagement and business value
• Experiment with cutting-edge techniques in computer vision and generative AI for camera tech
• Contribute to Snap's creative culture by solving ambiguous problems in AR and social features
• Work with massive datasets from Snapchat's global user base to uncover insights

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a relevant technical field or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years of post-Bachelor’s machine learning experience; or Master’s degree + 4+ years post-grad ML experience; or PhD + 1+ year post-grad ML experience
• Experience developing ML models for ranking, recommendations, search, content understanding, image generation, or AR-related applications
• Strong understanding of machine learning algorithms and approaches
• Experience with large-scale data processing and model deployment
• Ability to evaluate technical tradeoffs and ensure code quality through reviews
• Proficiency in building scalable, robust ML systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field
• Experience with ML frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, Caffe2, Spark ML, or scikit-learn
• Hands-on experience with ML infrastructures for ranking, recommendations, or AR systems
• Background in computer vision, AR, or camera-based technologies
• Experience designing ML systems for real-time applications like Snapchat Lenses or Spectacles
• Prior work at a consumer tech company with massive scale

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Machine learning algorithms and model development
• Computer vision and image processing
• AR and generative AI techniques
• TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar ML frameworks
• Large-scale data pipelines and Spark ML
• Model evaluation, optimization, and deployment
• Code review and best practices
• Scalable system design for high-traffic apps
• Problem-solving in ambiguous, open-ended scenarios
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Prioritization and independent execution
• Privacy-focused engineering
• Real-time ML inference
• A/B testing and experimentation
• Mentorship and team leadership
• Python, C++, or relevant programming languages

Our Benefits

• Competitive base salary with pay zones: Zone A (CA, WA, NYC) $209,000-$313,000; Zone B $199,000-$297,000; Zone C $178,000-$266,000
• Equity in the form of RSUs to share in Snap’s long-term success
• Paid parental leave and family-friendly policies
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Emotional and mental health support programs
• Flexible vacation and wellness perks
• "Default Together" in-office collaboration 4+ days/week to build culture
• Snacks, meals, and fun perks in Snap offices
• Professional development and mentorship opportunities

Compensation

$209,000-$313,000 annually

This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs.

"Default Together" Policy: At Snap Inc, we practice a "default together" approach and expect team members to work in an office 4+ days per week.

Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.