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Roles at frontier labs · Systems and infrastructure

Machine Learning Engineer

61 recorded postings · Partial update · October 8, 2026

Recorded postings, not a live vacancy count. Partial update: some sources retain earlier observations; each listing has its own check date.

Machine learning engineers at labs build the models inside products and the systems that train and serve them: ranking, data science, fine-tuning and production ML.

What the postings ask for
  1. Python 87%
  2. Inference and serving 67%
  3. Working with customers 62%
  4. How language models work 57%
  5. Statistics and experimental design 52%
  6. Evals and benchmarks 44%

taught here course coming not taught

The numbers

Recorded postings at 16 labs
61
Median base pay middle half $308k to $371k, 36 U.S. bands
$324k
No degree requirement stated 3% require a PhD outright
70%
Years asked, median of the 41 that state a minimum
5
Explore opportunities

The recorded snapshot

Postings from 16 labs

In the labs' own words

In the labs' own words

“Background in offline incrementality methods, uplift modeling, CUPED/causal inference, or counterfactual evaluation”
OpenAI · Data Scientist, Financial Engineering ↗
“You have experience in Fine Tuning LLMs, tackling advanced RAG or agentic use cases”
Mistral AI · Applied AI, Forward Deployed Machine Learning Engineer - EMEA ↗
“Expertise in experimental design, causal inference, statistical modeling, and A/B testing, particularly in high-scale technical environments”
Anthropic · Data Scientist, GTM ↗

Your way in

Three doors to this role

  1. Door 1

    Finishing a degree

    Prof Rod Avatar

    10% mention publications

    The way in is a program: 32 recorded in the snapshot

  2. Door 2

    A software engineer

    Prof Rod Avatar

    70% have no degree requirement stated

    What to add

  3. Door 3

    A PhD

    Prof Rod Avatar

    7% ask for distributed training

    Engineering at scale

Asked often

The short answers

How much does a machine learning engineer at a frontier lab make?

The median U.S. base salary across 36 recorded machine learning engineer postings that publish a band is $324k; the middle half runs from $308k to $371k. Equity and bonus are not included.

Do you need a PhD to be a machine learning engineer?

70% of the 61 recorded postings do not state a degree requirement, 23% mention a PhD or master's, and 3% require a PhD outright.

What skills do machine learning engineer postings ask for?

Most often: python (87%), inference and serving (67%), working with customers (62%), how language models work (57%), statistics and experimental design (52%).

Which labs posted machine learning engineer roles in this recorded board?

Recorded board: OpenAI (22), Mistral AI (8), Anthropic (5), Lovable (5), Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) (5), Together AI (3), and 10 more.

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The board

Recorded postings, newest first

The newest 40 of 61. Each title opens the lab's own posting. By family: machine learning engineers · applied ai and forward-deployed · fellowships, residencies and internships · ml systems and infrastructure

  1. ML engineer - API Platform ↗

    Physical Intelligence · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  2. ML Engineer - API Platform ↗

    Physical Intelligence · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  3. Data Scientist ↗

    Graphite · Machine learning engineers · Bachelor's degree

  4. Founding ML Engineer (Spectrum) ↗

    JetBrains (Junie, Mellum) · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  5. Data Scientist ↗

    Lovable · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  6. Data Scientist, Agent ↗

    Lovable · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  7. Data Scientist, Growth ↗

    Lovable · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  8. Data Scientist, Pricing ↗

    Lovable · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  9. Data Scientist, Product ↗

    Lovable · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  10. Machine Learning Engineer ↗

    Relace · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  11. Data Scientist, Product ↗

    Replit · Machine learning engineers · Bachelor's or equivalent · $210k to $350k base

  12. Data Scientist, Trust & Safety ↗

    Replit · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $210k to $310k base

  13. Data Scientist, GTM ↗

    Anthropic · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $285k to $380k base

  14. Data Scientist, Policy ↗

    Anthropic · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $285k to $380k base

  15. Data Scientist, Product ↗

    Anthropic · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $285k to $380k base

  16. Data Scientist, Safeguards ↗

    Anthropic · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $285k to $380k base

  17. Lead Data Scientist, Platform Product ↗

    Anthropic · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $285k to $380k base

  18. Staff Data Scientist, Monetization ↗

    Character.AI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $250k to $300k base

  19. Lead Data Scientist ↗

    Cohere · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $190k to $325k base

  20. Senior Data Scientist, GeminiApp, DeepMind ↗

    Google DeepMind · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  21. Data Scientist, Meta Superintelligence Labs (Safety) ↗

    Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Machine learning engineers · PhD required

  22. Software Engineer, Machine Learning ↗

    Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  23. Software Engineer, Machine Learning RecSys ↗

    Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Machine learning engineers · PhD required

  24. Software Engineer, Machine Learning RecSys ↗

    Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Machine learning engineers · Master's or PhD required

  25. Software Engineer, Systems ML Engineering ↗

    Meta (Superintelligence Labs and FAIR) · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  26. Applied AI, Forward Deployed Machine Learning Engineer ↗

    Mistral AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · Master's or PhD required

  27. Applied AI, Forward Deployed Machine Learning Engineer ↗

    Mistral AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated

  28. Applied AI, Forward Deployed Machine Learning Engineer ↗

    Mistral AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · Master's or PhD required

  29. Applied AI, Forward Deployed Machine Learning Engineer - (Internship) ↗

    Mistral AI · Fellowships, residencies and internships · No degree stated

  30. Applied AI, Forward Deployed Machine Learning Engineer - EMEA ↗

    Mistral AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · No degree stated

  31. Applied AI, Machine Learning Engineer, South Korea ↗

    Mistral AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · Master's or PhD required

  32. Data Scientist ↗

    Mistral AI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated

  33. Lead Applied AI, Machine Learning Engineer, South Korea ↗

    Mistral AI · Applied AI and forward-deployed · Master's or PhD required

  34. Data Scientist, Ads Demand ↗

    OpenAI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $293k to $515k base

  35. Data Scientist, B2B Demand Generation, Growth & Measurement ↗

    OpenAI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $293k to $385k base

  36. Data Scientist, B2B Strategy & Intelligence ↗

    OpenAI · Machine learning engineers · Master's, PhD or equivalent · $347k to $510k base

  37. Data Scientist, Business ↗

    OpenAI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $345k to $440k base

  38. Data Scientist, Codex ↗

    OpenAI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $230k to $385k base

  39. Data Scientist, Core Experimentation ↗

    OpenAI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $347k to $385k base

  40. Data Scientist, Cybersecurity ↗

    OpenAI · Machine learning engineers · No degree stated · $263k to $515k base

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