Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ads Delivery

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Hybrid

Quick summary

Work type: Hybrid
Location: San Francisco, CAPalo Alto, CASeattle, WA
Salary: $314,580–$550,515 / yr
Posted: 7 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $231k

This role $433k

$141k most similar roles pay here $594k

This role pays more than 99% of similar roles. Most pay $202,800–$260,150 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $433k versus about $231k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual discovery and inspiration platform where people find ideas for home, style, recipes, and more. It serves hundreds of millions of users worldwide through its image and video pinboard product.

Pinterest currently has 82 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $164,695–$337,990 across 82 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Pinterest

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ads Delivery

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As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ads Delivery, you will join the Ads Delivery team to develop and execute a vision for the evolution of the Pinterest marketplace. You will be responsible for building backend systems and statistical models that underpin the marketplace to maximize value for users and partners. Your daily work involves designing and implementing systems to improve the ads delivery funnel, conducting experiments to shape utility functions, designing auction mechanisms, and analyzing marketplace dynamics to derive new insights. The role requires strong software engineering and mathematical skills, including knowledge of statistical methods. You will utilize your expertise in machine learning and statistics to balance long and short term business objectives. Preferred experience includes computational advertising and large-scale online e-commerce systems, while technical familiarity with AI coding assistants and LLM-powered productivity tools is also valued.

What does a Machine Learning Engineer earn in California?

Median $246394 from 172 postings across 28 companies.

See salary data

Skills

Machine Learning Statistics SQL LLM Cursor Copilot Codex Software Engineering Backend Systems Computational Advertising Data Exploration Auction Mechanism Design

What you'll do

Develop and execute a vision for the evolution of the Pinterest marketplace.
Build and improve backend systems and statistical models to maximize value for Pinners and Partners.
Design and implement systems to improve the ads delivery funnel.
Create experiments to shape the utility function and auction mechanism design.
Analyze marketplace dynamics to derive new insights for ad allocation.
Define and implement experiments to understand long-term marketplace effects.
Develop strategies to balance long-term and short-term business objectives.

What we're looking for

Degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or a related field.
10+ years of professional experience as a hands-on engineer and technical leader leading multiple projects.
Strong software engineering and mathematical skills with knowledge of statistical methods.
Experience with large-scale online e-commerce systems is preferred.
Background in computational advertising is preferred.
Experience using AI coding assistants like Cursor, Copilot, or Codex for development and testing.
Familiarity with LLM-powered productivity tools for documentation, data exploration, and engineering workflows.
Must be located within a commutable distance of the San Francisco, Palo Alto, or Seattle offices.

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