[All remote jobs](https://jobicy.com/jobs.md)[![Spotify logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2021/03/Jobicy-210328105941-289246.jpg)](https://jobicy.com/company/spotify.md)[Spotify](https://jobicy.com/company/spotify.md) # Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Home Surfaces AI Summary Spotify is seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to own and evolve Home feed and Shortcuts personalization experiences at global scale. The role combines recommendation systems, ranking, large language model training, experimentation, and production ML infrastructure. The engineer will set technical direction in ambiguous areas, optimize inference quality, reliability, latency, and cost, and collaborate closely with product, data science, design, and engineering partners. This is a senior technical leadership position with responsibility for mentoring other ML engineers and improving long-term personalization architecture.[Apply for this job](#job-application)[View company](https://jobicy.com/company/spotify.md)ShareRemote from[USA](https://jobicy.com/job-region/usa.md), [Canada](https://jobicy.com/job-region/canada.md)SalaryUSD 227,495–324,993 / yrDepartment[Data Science & Analytics](https://jobicy.com/categories/data-science.md)EmploymentFull TimeExperienceSeniorPublished7 Nov 2026Apply before7 Dec 2026Listing views34Application actions2Application toolkit ## Make your next move. Prepare your resume, explore your fit, and draft a cover letter for this opportunity. Opportunity details ## About this role. The Personalization team makes deciding what to play next easier and more enjoyable for every listener. From Blend to Discover Weekly, we’re behind some of [Spotify](https://jobicy.com/company/spotify.md)‘s most-loved features. We built them by understanding the world of music and podcasts better than anyone else. Join us and you’ll keep millions of users listening by making great recommendations to each and every one of them. Surfaces Moments is a ML team within the Personalization Mission focused on creating moment-based experiences across Spotify surfaces. The team owns and evolves the experiences that help listeners quickly connect with the content that matters most to them, including the Home Shortcuts experience and the underlying intelligence that powers it. By combining cutting-edge machine learning, recommendation systems, and product thinking, the team delivers highly relevant, personalized experiences to millions of listeners around the world. As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer, you will help shape the future of personalized discovery and engagement at Spotify. You’ll work at the intersection of recommendation systems, large language models, and production-scale machine learning infrastructure to build experiences that delight users and drive meaningful impact. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys taking models from research to production, driving technical direction in ambiguous problem spaces, and solving complex personalization challenges at global scale. ### What You’ll Do * Own and improve the machine learning models and systems that power the Home feed, including the Shortcuts experience. * Design, build, and ship personalized recommendations that serve millions of Spotify listeners globally. * Build content recommendation systems for emerging agentic and AI-powered user experiences. * Train, fine-tune, evaluate, and optimize large language models using techniques such as supervised fine-tuning (SFT), distillation, and parameter-efficient training approaches. * Partner closely with product managers, engineers, data scientists, and designers to define and execute experimentation strategies. * Drive A/B testing, monitoring, model evaluation, and continuous optimization of recommendation quality, reliability, and cost efficiency. * Improve ML platform capabilities, data pipelines, and production systems that support personalization at Spotify scale. * Drive technical direction in ambiguous problem spaces and contribute to the long-term architecture of personalization systems. * Mentor and support other machine learning engineers, helping raise the bar across the team. ### Who You Are * You have 8+ years of experience building and deploying machine learning systems in production environments. * You have deep expertise in recommendation systems, ranking models, personalization, or large-scale content discovery platforms. * You have strong proficiency in Python and hands-on experience building machine learning systems with PyTorch. * You are experienced with large language model training, fine-tuning, evaluation, and optimization techniques including SFT, distillation, and LoRA. * You have worked with large-scale inference systems and understand the challenges of latency, reliability, and cost optimization. * You care deeply about creating high-quality user experiences through thoughtful application of machine learning. * You communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences, and you influence technical decisions beyond your immediate team * You know how to design, execute, and interpret online experiments and A/B tests to improve user outcomes. * You have experience operating distributed machine learning workloads using technologies such as Ray, FSDP, HSDP, or similar frameworks. * You are experienced building and maintaining data pipelines and orchestration workflows using technologies such as Flyte, Airflow, BigQuery, and cloud-based storage platforms. ### Where You’ll Be * We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! For this role, you can be within the North Americas region as long as we have a work location. * This team operates within the Eastern Standard time zone for collaboration. ### Compensation ### Additional Information The United States base range for this position is $227,495- $324,993 plus equity. The benefits available for this position include health insurance, six month paid parental leave, 401(k) retirement plan, monthly meal allowance, 23 paid days off, 13 paid flexible holidays, paid sick leave. These ranges may be modified in the future. Spotify is an equal opportunity employer. You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones. Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be forward-thinking! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens. At Spotify, we are passionate about inclusivity and making sure our entire recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We have ways to request reasonable accommodations during the interview process and help assist in what you need. If you need accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know – we’re here to support you in any way we can. Show more [Apply now >](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159648-staff-machine-learning-engineer-home-surfaces.md) * ![Upload CV](data:image/svg+xml;base64,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) ### Upload your resume now To unlock remote work opportunities and be discovered by global employers. This job listing has been manually reviewed by the Jobicy Trust & Safety Team for compliance with our posting guidelines, including verification of the company's legitimacy, accuracy of job details, clarity of remote work policy, and absence of misleading or fraudulent content. ## Role DNA A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description. ### Job Complexity 5/5EasyHard ### Pace & Pressure 5/5RelaxedFast-paced ### Autonomy Level 5/5GuidedFull ownership ### Communication Load 5/5IndependentCollaborative AI insightThe position requires deep production expertise across large-scale recommender systems, LLM fine-tuning, distributed training, experimentation, and ML platform engineering. Staff-level ownership, global-scale impact, and technical leadership in ambiguous problem spaces make it highly complex. ## Salary analysis Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles. Estimated job median (per year)Market rate$276,244US market range (per year)$220k–$340k0$374.00k AI insightThe yearly pay period is inferred from the job context; it was not explicitly stated by the employer. The employer discloses a US base-pay range of $227,495–$324,993 per year, with equity additional. The midpoint is $276,244 per year. Estimated US market compensation for a staff-level machine learning engineer specializing in recommendation systems and LLM infrastructure is $220,000–$340,000 annually; this is an AI estimate, and the annual cadence is inferred from the US professional base-pay range. ## Core skills Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity. [Machine Learning](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Machine%20Learning.md)[Recommendation Systems](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Recommendation%20Systems.md)[Personalization](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Personalization.md)[Ranking Models](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Ranking%20Models.md)[Large Language Models](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Large%20Language%20Models.md)[PyTorch](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=PyTorch.md)[Python](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Python.md)[Supervised Fine-Tuning](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Supervised%20Fine-Tuning.md)[LoRA](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=LoRA.md)[Knowledge Distillation](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Knowledge%20Distillation.md)[A/B Testing](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=AB%20Testing.md)[Distributed Training](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Distributed%20Training.md)[Ray](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Ray.md)[Data Pipelines](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Data%20Pipelines.md)[Airflow](https://jobicy.com/jobs?search_keywords=Airflow.md) Sample interview questionsHow would you improve a Home feed recommender when offline ranking metrics improve but user engagement does not?I would first validate the experiment instrumentation and check segment-level effects, novelty, diversity, latency, and content availability. I would then assess whether the offline objective is misaligned with user value and introduce calibrated multi-objective metrics, such as long-term retention, skips, saves, and satisfaction proxies, before iterating through controlled online tests. Describe how you would take an LLM-based personalization feature from prototype to production. I would define the user problem, success metrics, safety constraints, latency budget, and fallback behavior before selecting an architecture. I would build an evaluation set, fine-tune or distill the model where justified, deploy through staged experiments, and continuously monitor quality, cost, reliability, and drift. What techniques would you use to reduce inference cost for a large-scale recommendation or LLM system? I would profile the end-to-end serving path and prioritize the largest cost and latency drivers. Potential approaches include model distillation, quantization, batching, caching, candidate pruning, approximate retrieval, smaller routing models, efficient feature computation, and quality-aware fallbacks. How would you design an A/B test for a new Home Shortcuts ranking model? I would randomize at the listener level, define a clear primary metric and guardrails, and ensure sufficient power for meaningful segment analysis. I would monitor exposure, latency, skips, downstream engagement, and longer-term retention, then interpret results with attention to novelty effects and statistical uncertainty. How do you provide technical leadership in an ambiguous machine learning problem space? I clarify the user and business outcome, make assumptions explicit, and turn uncertainty into a sequence of measurable technical decisions. I align stakeholders around architecture and evaluation principles, create prototypes that reduce key risks, document trade-offs, and mentor peers so the team can execute independently. Next step ## Apply now. Follow the employer’s application method and review Jobicy’s safety guidance before sharing personal information. Keep exploring ## Related remote jobs. * ![Spotify logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2021/03/Jobicy-210328105941-289246.jpg) Spotify Nov 7 New ### [Senior Data Scientist, Artist-First AI Music lab](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159642-senior-data-scientist-artist-first-ai-music-lab.md) The Music Mission team owns Spotify‘s end to end proposition for music creators and the experiences they create for fans. The team is dedicated to building tools and services to… * ![Welo Global logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2026/06/83c40f94-221.webp) Welo Global Nov 7 New ### [Entry-Level AI Data Rater – Swedish (Sweden)](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159625-entry-level-ai-data-rater-swedish-sweden.md) OVERVIEW Are you tech-savvy? Have a passion for quality? We are looking for Data Raters to work on projects aimed at advancing AI technologies. Join us for a unique chance… * ![Welo Global logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2026/06/83c40f94-221.webp) Welo Global Nov 7 New ### [Entry-Level AI Data Rater – Swedish (Romania)](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159624-entry-level-ai-data-rater-swedish-romania.md) Job Reference: #LI-JG1 OVERVIEW Are you tech-savvy? Have a passion for quality? We are looking for Data Raters to work on projects aimed at advancing AI technologies. Join us for… * ![Welo Global logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2026/06/83c40f94-221.webp) Welo Global Nov 7 New ### [Entry-Level AI Data Rater – Swedish (Poland)](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159623-entry-level-ai-data-rater-swedish-poland.md) OVERVIEW Are you tech-savvy? Have a passion for quality? We are looking for Data Raters to work on projects aimed at advancing AI technologies. Join us for a unique chance… * ![Welo Global logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2026/06/83c40f94-221.webp) Welo Global Nov 7 New ### [Entry-Level AI Data Rater – Swedish (Latvia)](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159622-entry-level-ai-data-rater-swedish-latvia.md) OVERVIEW Are you tech-savvy? Have a passion for quality? We are looking for Data Raters to work on projects aimed at advancing AI technologies. Join us for a unique chance… * ![Welo Global logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2026/06/83c40f94-221.webp) Welo Global Nov 7 New ### [Entry-Level AI Data Rater – Swedish (Estonia)](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159621-entry-level-ai-data-rater-swedish-estonia.md) OVERVIEW Are you tech-savvy? Have a passion for quality? We are looking for Data Raters to work on projects aimed at advancing AI technologies. Join us for a unique chance… * ![Welo Global logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2026/06/83c40f94-221.webp) Welo Global Nov 7 New ### [Entry-Level AI Data Rater – Swedish (Bulgaria)](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159620-entry-level-ai-data-rater-swedish-bulgaria.md) OVERVIEW Are you tech-savvy? Have a passion for quality? We are looking for a Swedish-speaking Data Rater, based in Bulgaria, to work on projects to advance AI technologies. Join us… * ![impact.com logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2022/02/05199deca16614131327f2c3fea9031c.jpeg) impact.com Nov 7 New ### [Marketing Analytics Manager](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159489-marketing-analytics-manager.md) About impact.comimpact.com is the world’s leading commerce partnership marketing platform, transforming the way businesses grow by enabling them to discover, manage, and scale partnerships across the entire customer journey. From… * ![Oddball logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2022/02/8c034287ffd7b6474f90645b1c72e60a.jpeg) Oddball Nov 7 New ### [Lead Data Engineer](https://jobicy.com/jobs/159470-lead-data-engineer.md) Oddball believes that the best products are built when companies understand and value the things they are working on. We value learning and growth and the ability to make a… * ![Reddit logo](https://jobicy.com/data/server-nyc0409/galaxy/mercury/2020/10/Reddit.jpg) Reddit Nov 7 New ### [Staff Data Scientist – Ads Measurement, Signals, Privacy](https://jobicy.com/jobs/150206-staff-data-scientist-ads-measurement-signals-privacy.md) Reddit is a community of communities. It’s built on shared interests, passion, and trust, and is home to the most open and authentic conversations on the internet. Every day, Reddit… [Browse all jobs](https://jobicy.com/jobs.md)