Headspace

Principal Machine Learning Engineer

Headspace$162K — $225K *
US-Anywhere
+ 3 other locationsRemote
Healthcare
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's degree or higher in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related field OR equivalent experience
  • 8+ years of ML engineering experience with proficiency in Python
  • Expertise with vector search, embedding models, recommender systems, supervised and unsupervised learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning
  • 5+ years of experience with NLP tools and machine learning libraries (scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, spaCy)
  • Proficiency in testing methodologies and version control
  • Strong problem-solving, communication, and influencing skills
  • Experience mentoring junior engineers and contributing to DEIB initiatives.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the development of complex, scalable AI models and applications from inception to production
  • Drive the design and evolution of the internal ML platform
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical decisions with organizational goals
  • Participate in impactful ML technology initiatives that enhance mental healthcare access.
  • Serve as a go-to expert and mentor, promoting technical career growth in others.

Benefits

  • Equity participation
  • Comprehensive healthcare coverage
  • Monthly wellness stipend
  • Retirement savings match
  • Lifetime Headspace membership
  • Generous parental leave
Full Job Description
About the Principal Machine Learning Engineer at Headspace:

Machine Learning at Headspace is a dynamic and innovative group whose mission is to improve the experiences of our members and clinicians through the mindful application of Machine Learning. These applications include building conversational AI systems, healthcare assistance tools, and recommendation and personalization systems. In this team, you'll be tasked with owning and delivering cutting edge language-based ML applications that will power the core features of Headspace. You'll have the opportunity to lead the vision, alignment, development, deployment, and adoption of these solutions, helping to bring Headspace to the forefront of AI and to realize its mission to improve health and happiness of the world.

What you will do:
  • Technical Leadership: Lead the development of complex, scalable AI models and applications from inception to production. Drive impactful ML technology initiatives that will shape the delivery of and access to mental healthcare. Serve as a go-to expert and mentor, exemplifying excellence in AI/ML engineering and inspiring others to pursue technical career growth.
  • Shape ML Platform Architecture: Drive the design, development, and evolution of our internal ML platform, taking it from high-level vision to robust implementation.
  • Collaborative Problem-Solving: Partner with cross-functional teams to align technical decisions with organizational goals, ensuring cohesive and impactful solutions.

What you will bring:

Required Skills:
  • Master's of Science degree or higher in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics or a related field OR equivalent experience
  • 8+ years of ML engineering experience in an academic or professional setting, programming in Python
  • 8+ years of experience with any of the following fundamental technologies: vector search, embedding models, recommender systems, supervised, unsupervised machine learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, LLM orchestration, RAG systems.
  • 5+ years of experience with modern NLP tools and machine learning libraries (scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, spaCy)
  • Experience with unit, integration, and end-to-end testing, version control
  • Strong problem solving and communication skills and ability to influence across internal organizations
  • Mentorship of junior engineers and contribution to DEIB initiatives

Preferred Skills:
  • PhD in relevant field or equivalent experience
  • Professional experience with clinical and/or healthcare applications of machine learning
  • Familiarity with current ML literature including optimization methods and agent-based models
  • Experience with implementation of robust and highly scalable services
  • Experience with AWS, including SageMaker, Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, IAM

Location: This role is open to candidates across the US, with preferred locations in San Francisco, CA (hybrid), New York City, NY (remote), and Seattle, WA (remote). Candidates must permanently reside in the US full-time.

If your primary residence is in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, this role follows our hybrid model, with 3 days per week in office to support in-person collaboration. Your recruiter will share more details.

Pay & Benefits:

The anticipated new hire base salary range for this full-time position is $162,000-$225,000 + equity + benefits.

For candidates based in San Francisco, New York City, or Seattle, a separate salary range of $207,000-$258,700 applies, consistent with our location-based compensation philosophy.

Our salary ranges are based on the job, level, and location, and reflect the lowest to highest geographic markets where we are hiring for this role within the United States. Within this range, individual compensation is determined by a candidate's location as well as a range of factors including but not limited to: unique relevant experience, job-related skills, and education or training.

Your recruiter will provide more details on the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.

At Headspace, base salary is but one component of our Total Rewards package. We're proud of our robust package inclusive of: base salary, stock awards, comprehensive healthcare coverage, monthly wellness stipend, retirement savings match, lifetime Headspace membership, generous parental leave, and more. Additional details about our Total Rewards package will be provided during the recruitment process.

About Headspace

Headspace is a digital health platform that provides guided meditation sessions and mindfulness training. The company was founded in 2010 by Andy Puddicombe and Rich Pierson, and has since grown to become one of the most popular meditation apps in the world, with over 65 million users in more than 190 countries. Headspace offers a variety of meditation programs, including stress reduction, sleep improvement, and focus enhancement, and has partnerships with major companies such as Google, Nike, and Apple. The company is committed to making meditation accessible to everyone, and offers a free version of its app as well as a paid subscription service.
Learn more about Headspace
Size
500 employees
Industry
Founded
2010

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