Sr. Machine Learning Engineer, Content Discovery

Inspired by our belief that anyone can learn anything and powered by our own curiosity, we build the smartest tools we can imagine to help students learn.

Quizlet is the popular, global learning platform and app that millions of students, teachers and everyday people use to study any subject imaginable for school, work or as part of their personal interests – including two-thirds of high school students and half of all college students in the US. Combining cognitive science and machine learning, Quizlet guides students through adaptive study activities to confidently reach their learning goals. We’re on track to become the undisputed leader in user-generated learning content and engagement, at the scale of YouTube.

Valued at $1 billion, Quizlet has raised over $60 million in venture capital from investors including Icon Ventures, Union Square Ventures, General Atlantic, Costanoa Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Altos Ventures.

To serve our global community of learners, our teams tackle lofty technical challenges and design for use cases across cultures and languages. We work hard, act like owners, and collaborate every chance we get. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.

About the Team:

Quizlet’s Machine Learning team is core to Quizlet’s vision of being an AI tutor and go-to student app for everyone. We inspire, validate, build, and continuously improve ML/AI products to scale learning. Some things we’ve worked on include personalized learning experiences by modeling how students learn, smart assessment, and advanced questions. We use our vast UGC study content, unique data of billions of study interactions, learning science, diverse domain expertise, cutting-edge ML, and generative AI.

About the Role:

We are “full stack” ML data scientists here at Quizlet, involved in everything from ideation to prototype research to technical implementation.

This is a hybrid role. While you are currently permitted to work remotely in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area, you must remain able to work in the office as business needs dictate and as identified by your manager.

In this role, you will:

• • Apply your proven expertise in building and validating search, personalization, recommendation, and/or newsfeed algorithms for customer-facing products
  • Leverage your technical leadership skills to provide mentorship and guidance to team members
  • Use your deep understanding of various search and recommendation algorithms to optimize our systems, considering the real-world advantages and drawbacks, and measuring their success
  • Handle ambiguity, competing priorities, and complex technical problems effectively
  • Utilize your hands-on experience with Python, machine learning libraries, and deep learning libraries (such as scikit-learn, numpy, pandas, scipy, TensorFlow, SQL, hive, spark, etc.) to access and analyze data
  • Write clean, understandable, well-documented code, and build reproducible models, adhering to industry standards and best practices
  • Account for biases in data, developing appropriate solutions to mitigate them
  • Communicate effectively at all levels, with the ability to explain sophisticated technical solutions to non-experts, and openness to diverse voices and perspectives
  • Maintain clarity, credibility, and forward-thinking in all aspects of your work

What you bring to the table:

• • 4+ years of experience in machine learning and a proven track record of delivering impactful, production ML solutions at scale
  • Deep understanding of machine learning approaches and techniques, as well as of product and user needs
  • Demonstrated experience in optimizing search and ranking algorithms, ideally with technologies such as ElasticSearch, SOLR, or Open Search
  • Strong expertise in building personalized recommendation systems, understanding the nuances and complexity associated with personalization
  • Proven ability to innovate and improve upon current algorithms and methodologies in search and personalization
  • Capacity to balance the trade-offs between precision and recall, relevancy and personalization, and other key aspects in search and recommendation systems

Bonus points if you have:

• • Experience working in EdTech and or with user-generated content websites
  • Familiarity with GCP (Google BigQuery, Cloud Spanner) and Elastic Search, and Apache Airflow
  • Familiarity with the latest advancements in large language models (LLMs) and their applications in education

Compensation, Benefits & Perks:

• • Quizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Salary transparency helps to mitigate unfair hiring practices when it comes to discrimination and pay gaps. Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a starting base salary of $180,000 – $240,000, depending on location and experience, as well as company stock options
  • Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance
  • 20 vacation days (and we expect you to take them!)
  • Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, HMO, VSP Choice)
  • Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match
  • Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
  • Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, Wellness benefits
  • 40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice

We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.

We provide a transparent setting, that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!

In Closing:

We hope you are excited about everything you read so far. We highly encourage you to apply for this position, even if you feel you do not meet all the requirements. Quizlet is always looking for amazing folks that believe in our mission and can contribute to our team in various ways – not merely candidates that fit a certain mold.

We have a bias for action, take initiative, and take pride in delivering results. We make informed decisions whenever possible but are unafraid to take calculated risks on great ideas to promote learning. We embrace challenges and see effort as the path to mastery. We’re constantly seeking opportunities to learn and we embrace curiosity. Quality matters at Quizlet, and we hold the bar high on everything we do.

We treat each other with honesty and respect, encourage vigorous debate, and seek critical feedback. We value diversity, humility, transparency, and collaboration as the best paths to our success — as individuals, as a team, and as a company.

Quizlet’s success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are actively working to build a team that is representative of the diverse communities we serve, and an open, inclusive work environment where all employees can thrive. As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!

At this time Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.

Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.