Spotify is seeking a Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer to join our Personalization team and help deliver the best music and podcast recommendations to millions of users worldwide. As a Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, you will focus on advanced recommender systems and generative AI to build personalized experiences across Spotify’s music and talk content. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, shape technical strategy, and implement scalable ML systems that enhance the listening experience. This role is perfect for engineers who want to combine research and production impact while influencing the next generation of AI-driven personalization at a global scale.
Key Responsibilities – Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer
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Define and execute the machine learning technical strategy for generative recommenders and user modeling.
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Collaborate with agile teams spanning design, research, product, and engineering to deliver impactful features.
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Lead technical efforts to accelerate development, ensure scalability, and push the boundaries of ML methods.
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Design, develop, evaluate, and deploy personalization products with hands-on ML implementation.
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Prototype new modeling approaches and productionize them at scale for hundreds of millions of active users.
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Promote best practices for ML model development, testing, evaluation, and reproducibility across teams.
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Stay up-to-date with ML research and translate emerging techniques into actionable solutions.
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Mentor engineers and influence technical strategy by setting high standards in methodology and collaboration.
Qualifications – Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer
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Strong background in machine learning, recommender systems, and user modeling.
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Production experience with large-scale ML systems using Python, Java, Scala, or similar languages; PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX experience is a plus.
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Hands-on experience or strong interest in training and operating transformer models in production.
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Proven ability to lead projects end-to-end, navigate ambiguity, and deliver high-impact results.
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Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to bridge research and product outcomes.
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Experience designing ML-enabled system architectures and building prototypes or MVPs.
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Passion for improving user experiences and enriching music and podcast recommendations globally.
Work Location & Compensation
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Flexible remote work within North America; collaboration aligned with Eastern Standard Time zone.
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U.S. base salary range: $264,641–$378,058 plus equity.
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Benefits include health insurance, six-month paid parental leave, 401(k) plan, 23 paid days off, 13 flexible holidays, paid sick leave, and monthly meal allowance.
Culture & Inclusion
Spotify values diversity, equity, and inclusion and encourages applicants of all backgrounds. We provide accessible recruitment processes and accommodations to ensure every candidate can perform their best. At Spotify, your unique perspective helps us keep revolutionizing how the world listens.
About Spotify
Since 2008, Spotify has transformed music and podcast listening, unlocking human creativity for millions of creators and fans worldwide. Our mission is to provide exceptional audio experiences while fostering a platform for all voices to thrive.