Staff Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Consumer Revenue)
Discord is hiring a Staff Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Consumer Revenue). It pays $272k-$340k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Discord.
Level's read on this job
- Builds AI ●●●● is how Level rates this software engineer role: the job is building AI systems.
- Pay on this posting starts 63% higher than the typical software engineer posting on Level.
- The posting mentions PyTorch, TensorFlow and JAX among its tools and skills.
- Level classes it as a lead role.
- Discord has 26 other open roles on Level.
AI in this role
Discord has a highly engaged community of millions of daily active users who use the platform for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does: play video games. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming, and we are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to hang out before, during, and after playing games.
We're looking to hire a Staff Machine Learning Engineer on our Consumer Revenue ML team. This team applies Machine Learning across Discord's core revenue surfaces — Shop, Nitro, Server Subscriptions, and Gifting — building the ranking, targeting, and recommendation systems that connect users to the right products, subscriptions, and content. If this excites you and you’ve led org-wide initiatives in the past, keep reading!
What You'll Be Doing
- 8+ years of experience in applied Machine Learning, inclusive Ph.D. or Master's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.
- Strong expertise in applied deep learning and mainstream RecSys model architecture (e.g. two-tower, transformer-based models, multi-task learning).
- Strong proficiency in Python and ML frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow.
- A track record of building ML systems from 0→1 in ambiguous, early-stage environments, and taking them to production at scale.
- Strong product and business intuition, with the ability to translate experiment results into roadmap decisions.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills — able to lead cross-functional technical initiatives across multiple verticals and keep stakeholders educated and aligned.
- The ability to thrive in ambiguous environments, energized by open-ended, technically challenging problems.
What you should have
- Built internal ML platform/tooling (shared data standards, targeting endpoints, recommender libraries) adopted by multiple product teams.
- Familiarity with personalized marketing systems — lifecycle targeting, audience segmentation and lookalikes, campaign optimization.
- Deep expertise in distributed training (e.g. PyTorch on GPU, Ray, Anyscale) and large-scale data processing pipelines (e.g. Chronon, Spark, Flink).
This position is US-based and can be remote but if you live in the Bay Area, you're welcome to work from our beautiful SF office.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $272,000 to $340,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.
The base salary range for this full-time position is listed below. This position will also be eligible for equity and benefits. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; a 401(k) plan; life and disability insurance; paid time off; and paid parental leave. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits. Applications for this role are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Base Salary$272,000—$340,000 USDWhy Discord?
Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests, and helps developers build and grow their businesses. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!
Discord is committed to inclusion and providing reasonable accommodations during the interview process. We want you to feel set up for success, so if you are in need of reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.
Please see our Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy for details regarding Discord’s collection and usage of personal information relating to the application and recruitment process by clicking HERE.
How we rate this
Staff Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Consumer Revenue) at Discord rates 88 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Pay
- This job starts at
- $272k
- Typical software engineer job
- $167k
This posting starts 63% above the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs
Questions you could be asked
- What's a project where you used PyTorch hands-on?
- Walk me through how you've used TensorFlow in your day-to-day work.
- What are the limits of JAX that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
- How would you decide a model or AI system is ready to ship?
- Tell me about a time a model underperformed in production. How did you find out, and what did you change?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: PyTorch, TensorFlow, and JAX. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.
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