Machine Learning Engineer I, Network

About Handshake Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions. In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We've grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month. Why Join Handshake Now Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family, and peers can see and feelPartner with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 companies, and the world’s leading educational institutionsWork alongside engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC foundersHelp build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue About Handshake AI Human data is the core infrastructure of AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities through various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe spending on AI training data will increase by 3–5x over the next few years and continue growing as models expand into new domains. Handshake AI supports all frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data challenges at significant scale. About The Role Handshake is hiring a Machine Learning Engineer for the Network and Handshake AI Marketplace Relevance team. AI is transforming how students navigate their careers, and we’re committed to developing innovative, responsible AI-powered solutions that connect students with meaningful career opportunities. In this role, you’ll build and improve the machine learning systems that power job search and recommendations, user understanding, personalized notifications, and core embedding models across the Handshake platform. You’ll work closely with experienced machine learning engineers, data scientists, product managers, and software engineers to develop models, run experiments, and deploy reliable ML solutions to production. The team works with retrieval and ranking approaches including graph-based models, bi-encoders, semantic cross-encoders, and multi-stage rankers, supported by a data platform containing billions of data points. The team is also exploring emerging areas such as generative retrieval and post-training. Your work will directly contribute to improving marketplace outcomes while supporting Handshake’s commitment to explainability, fairness, and responsible AI. What You’ll Do Build and improve machine learning models for search, recommendations, notifications, user understanding, and embeddingsDevelop, test, and deploy models and supporting services in a production environmentWork with large datasets to create features, train models, and evaluate performanceContribute to retrieval, ranking, personalization, and experimentation systemsMonitor production models and help improve their quality, reliability, latency, and scalabilityPartner with product, engineering, and data science to translate business and user needs into practical ML solutionsParticipate in technical design discussions, code reviews, and team planningUse experimentation and marketplace metrics to measure the impact of your workContribute to team standards and best practices for model development, evaluation, and deployment Desired Capabilities 3+ years of professional experience in machine learning, data science, software engineering, or a related fieldProficiency in Python and experience with ML frameworks such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlowExperience building, evaluating, and deploying machine learning models in productionFamiliarity with one or more relevant areas, such as recommendations, search, personalization, ranking, NLP, deep learning, or LLMsUnderstanding of core ML concepts, including classification, regression, ranking, feature engineering, and model evaluationExperience working with data pipelines, experiment tracking, model monitoring, or other parts of the ML lifecycleStrong software engineering fundamentals and the ability to write reliable, maintainable codeExperience working collaboratively with engineers, data scientists, product managers, and other cross-functional partnersAbility to break down moderately complex problems, evaluate tradeoffs, and deliver solutions with support from senior team membersA focus on measurable results and improving the end-user experience Extra Credit Experience with embedding-based retrieval, multi-stage ranking, graph-based models, or recommender systemsExperience working with large-scale datasets or high-traffic cloud-based production systemsFamiliarity with generative retrieval, LLM evaluation, or post-training techniquesInterest in explainable AI, fairness, or responsible machine learningClear communication skills and an interest in contributing to team practices and technical standards Perks Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life. The benefits below are for full-time US employees. 🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, and financial coaching🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, and parental coaching💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, mental health support, and a $500 wellness stipend📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend and ongoing development💻 Remote & Office: Internet and commuting support, plus free lunch and gym access in our SF office🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays, and two flex days🤝 Connection: Team outings and referral bonuses Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers. Compensation Range: $151K - $189K