Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Quizlet

San Francisco, California, United States

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Not SpecifiedCompensation

Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level

Full TimeJob Type

UnknownVisa

EdTech, TechnologyIndustries

Requirements

Deep expertise in modern recommender systems, including deep learning–based retrieval, embeddings, multi-task ranking, and evaluation
Experience designing and building large-scale retrieval, ranking, and recommendation systems
Proficiency in scalable architectures such as Two-Tower, deep ranking, and ANN-based vector search
Ability to work at the intersection of machine learning, product design, and scalable systems
Knowledge of evaluation methodologies, including offline metrics (e.g., NDCG, CTR, calibration) and A/B testing
Familiarity with RecSys research and industry trends from conferences like KDD, WSDM, SIGIR, RecSys, NeurIPS
Experience mentoring engineers and applied scientists
Commitment to responsible ML practices, privacy, fairness, collaboration, inclusion, and curiosity
Ability to work onsite in San Francisco office a minimum of three days per week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday) and as needed

Responsibilities

Design and implement personalization models across candidate retrieval, ranking, and post-ranking layers, leveraging user embeddings, contextual signals, and content features
Develop scalable retrieval and serving systems for real-time personalization across surfaces
Build and maintain model training, evaluation, and deployment pipelines, ensuring reliability, training–serving consistency, and robust monitoring
Partner closely with Product and Data Science to translate learner objectives (engagement, retention, mastery) into measurable modeling goals and experimentation plans
Advance evaluation methodologies, refining offline metrics and supporting rigorous A/B testing to measure learner and business impact
Collaborate with platform and infrastructure teams to optimize distributed training, inference latency, and serving cost at scale
Contribute to the long-term technical vision for personalization and recommendations, aligning with Quizlet’s AI and product roadmaps
Stay current with RecSys research and industry trends, bringing relevant advances into production
Mentor other engineers and applied scientists, fostering technical growth, experimentation rigor, and responsible ML practices
Champion collaboration, inclusion, and curiosity

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

Machine LearningRecommender SystemsDeep LearningEmbeddingsRetrieval SystemsRanking SystemsMulti-task LearningScalable InfrastructurePersonalizationSearch Systems

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

Is this a remote position or does it require office attendance?

This is an onsite position in the San Francisco office, requiring employees to be in the office a minimum of three days per week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and as needed by your manager or the company.

What key skills and expertise are required for this Staff Machine Learning Engineer role?

The role requires deep expertise in modern recommender systems, including deep learning-based retrieval and embeddings, multi-task ranking and evaluation, as well as experience designing large-scale retrieval, ranking, and recommendation systems.

What is the salary or compensation for this position?

This information is not specified in the job description.

What is the team structure and who will I collaborate with in this role?

You'll join the Personalization & Recommendations ML Engineering team and collaborate closely with product managers, data scientists, platform engineers, and fellow ML engineers.

What makes a strong candidate for this Machine Learning Engineer position?

Strong candidates will have deep expertise in recommender systems, experience building scalable retrieval and serving systems like Two-Tower and ANN-based vector search, and skills in developing model training, evaluation, and deployment pipelines.

Quizlet

Develops educational tools for students and teachers

About Quizlet

Quizlet develops educational tools designed to inspire and empower students and teachers. It serves over 60 million active users each month and is recognized as one of the top education apps available on iOS and Android. Quizlet's products include various learning tools that help users study and retain information effectively. The platform offers both free and premium subscription services, allowing users to access additional features and resources. Unlike many competitors, Quizlet has a large user base and a strong presence in the education technology market, which enhances its community and resource sharing. The company's goal is to create a significant global impact in education by providing accessible and effective learning solutions.

San Francisco, CaliforniaHeadquarters

2005Year Founded

$60.3MTotal Funding

SERIES_CCompany Stage

Consumer Software, EducationIndustries

501-1,000Employees

Benefits

Shared financial success: Competitive salaries, stock options and a 401k that makes saving for retirement easy.

Competitive healthcare: Comprehensive health, dental, vision and disability plans for you and your family.

PTO and family benefits: Everyone gets four weeks of PTO. Our generous family leave plan has you covered when you welcome a new, little learner into your family.

Professional development: Learning never stops. Get reimbursed each year for professional development, and learn from the best with regular tech talks.

A welcoming workplace: Enjoy free lunch and dinner with great company. Benefit from adjustable desks and employee lounges while taking in amazing views of the Bay.

Commuter benefits: We don’t have a school bus, but we'll help cover your public transportation and parking. If you decide to work late, your ride home is on us as well.

Risks

Increased competition from AI-driven platforms like Khan Academy and Duolingo.

Recent U.S. outage may decrease user trust and retention.

New CEO's strategic shifts could disrupt operations or alienate existing users.

Differentiation

Quizlet offers AI-powered features like Magic Notes and Memory Score for personalized learning.

The platform's gamification strategy includes features like Quizlet Challenge and Quizlet Learn.

Quizlet's Q-Chat beta feature aligns with the trend of conversational AI in education.

Upsides

Quizlet's new CEO, Beidler, may drive fresh strategic direction and innovation.

Intentional slowing of AI adoption focuses on quality, ensuring sustainable long-term growth.

AI-powered features enhance user engagement, potentially increasing retention and user base.

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