Join a venture-backed AI startup as a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to build next-generation intelligent systems powered by LLMs. Collaborate with brilliant engineers and founders to design, implement, and optimize ML-powered systems. Drive measurable improvements in relevance and recall.
Key Highlights
Technical Skills Required
Benefits & Perks
Job Description
About the Job
Staff ML Engineer (Hybrid – New York, NY)
💼 Employment Type: Full-time
📍 Location: New York, NY (Hybrid, 3 days per week)
💰 Salary: $200K – $280K
🛂 Visa: H1B sponsorship available
🕒 Start Date: ASAP
About the Company
Our client is a venture-backed AI startup at the forefront of building intelligent systems that power LLM-driven search, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic workflows.
Backed by Tier 1 investors, the team is composed of world-class engineers, builders, and operators from top startups and universities. The company is growing rapidly, and this is a rare opportunity to join early and help shape the foundation of their next-generation AI platform.
About the Role
We’re looking for a Staff Machine Learning Engineer who thrives at the cutting edge of large language model applications. You’ll architect and scale systems that combine LLMs, embeddings, semantic search, and vector databases to deliver best-in-class search and reasoning experiences.
This is a highly technical, hands-on role with significant ownership. You’ll collaborate closely with engineering leadership and product teams to design, implement, and optimize ML-powered systems that directly impact users and customers.
What You’ll Bring
Core Experience
- 6+ years of hands-on ML engineering experience
- Proven track record building and optimizing semantic search, embeddings, vector stores, or ranking pipelines to drive measurable improvements in relevance and recall
- Experience at a Tier 1 venture-backed startup
- Familiarity with LLM-powered search, RAG implementations, or agentic workflows
- AI-native mindset — you stay current with the latest LLM frameworks, tools, and model releases
- Energy, curiosity, and a user-first mindset
- Top 30 CS degree (e.g., MIT, Berkeley, Stanford) a strong plus.
Tech Stack
Python | TypeScript | React | LangChain | LangGraph | Terraform | dbt | PostgreSQL | Elasticsearch
Soft Skills & Culture Fit
- High energy and enthusiasm — someone others love to collaborate with
- Reflective and thoughtful, with a passion for learning and experimentation
- Clear drive or curiosity in a specific domain (e.g., open-source, community, research, or public speaking)
- Strong product sense and empathy for user needs
Interview Process
1️⃣ Submit Candidate
2️⃣ Initial Screen (20–30 minutes)
3️⃣ Technical Screen I (45 minutes)
Systems design interview focused on technical depth and product thinking.
We look for alignment with values like customer obsession, continuous improvement, and bias for action.
4️⃣ Technical Screen II (3 hours total)
A 2-hour coding exercise + 45-minute behavioral interview with the Head of Engineering.
5️⃣ Final Round (30 minutes)
Confirmatory conversation with the CEO.
Why This Role?
If you’re looking to:
✨ Build next-generation intelligent systems powered by LLMs
🚀 Join a high-growth, venture-backed startup in NYC
🧠 Collaborate with brilliant engineers and founders
💡 Push the boundaries of search, reasoning, and AI-driven products
…then this is a role worth exploring.
🚀 Ready to Apply?
If you’re passionate about AI, search, and intelligent systems, we’d love to hear from you.
📩 DM us or tag someone brilliant who should see this.