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Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer Jobs in Houston, TX

Bespoke Labs

Machine Learning Engineer

Houston, TX · On-site

Must-Have Skills 3+ years of ML engineering experience -- model training, fine-tuning, or post-training pipelines in research or production Strong Python and deep learning proficiency (PyTorch ...

Vitol

Software Engineer in Data Science

Houston, TX · On-site

$109K - $131K/yr

... Software Engineer to join our global data science and machine learning team. This role will have an ... The individual will work both with our data scientists and machine learning engineers but will also ...

Vitol

Software Engineer in Data Science

Houston, TX · On-site +1

$109K - $131K/yr

... Software Engineer to join our global data science and machine learning team. This role will have an ... The individual will work both with our data scientists and machine learning engineers but will also ...

Vitol

Software Engineer in Data Science

Houston, TX · On-site +1

$109K - $131K/yr

... Software Engineer to join our global data science and machine learning team. This role will have an ... The individual will work both with our data scientists and machine learning engineers but will also ...

Varsity Tutors

Machine Learning Tutor

Sugar Land, TX · Remote

$18 - $40/hr

Deep knowledge of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, feature engineering, model selection ... Varsity Tutors does not contract in: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New ...

Varsity Tutors

Machine Learning Tutor

Missouri City, TX · Remote

$18 - $40/hr

Deep knowledge of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, feature engineering, model selection ... Varsity Tutors does not contract in: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New ...

Varsity Tutors

Machine Learning Tutor

Houston, TX · Remote

$18 - $40/hr

Deep knowledge of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, feature engineering, model selection ... Varsity Tutors does not contract in: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New ...

Varsity Tutors

Machine Learning Tutor

Pearland, TX · Remote

$18 - $40/hr

Deep knowledge of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, feature engineering, model selection ... Varsity Tutors does not contract in: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New ...

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All JobsContract Machine Learning Software Engineer JobsContract Machine Learning Software Engineer Jobs in Houston, TX

Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer information

See Houston, TX salary details

$60.6K

$140.9K

$196.2K

How much do contract machine learning software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 14, 2026, the average yearly pay for contract machine learning software engineer in Houston, TX is $140,881.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $114,600.00 and $165,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

How does a Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer typically collaborate with full-time team members during a project?

As a Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer, you will often work closely with full-time data scientists, software engineers, and product managers. Collaboration usually happens through regular stand-up meetings, code reviews, and shared documentation platforms. Despite being a contractor, you’re expected to integrate seamlessly with the team, communicate progress transparently, and adapt to the company’s workflows. Building strong relationships and proactively seeking feedback can help ensure your contributions align with the project’s goals and timelines.

What is the difference between Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer vs Data Scientist?

AspectContract Machine Learning Software EngineerData Scientist
CredentialsBachelor's or Master’s in CS, ML, or related fields; experience with ML frameworksBachelor's or Master’s in Statistics, Data Science, or related fields; strong analytical skills
Work EnvironmentProject-based, often remote, focused on developing ML models and softwareData analysis, visualization, and interpretation, often in research or business settings
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, startups, consulting firms; used for deploying ML solutionsResearch institutions, finance, healthcare, and tech; used for insights and decision-making

The main difference is that Contract Machine Learning Software Engineers focus on developing and deploying ML models as software solutions, while Data Scientists analyze data to generate insights. Both roles require strong technical skills, but their primary objectives and work environments differ.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer, you need a strong background in computer science, proficiency in programming languages like Python, and expertise in machine learning algorithms, typically supported by a relevant degree or equivalent experience. Familiarity with frameworks and tools such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, and cloud platforms, along with knowledge of version control systems like Git, is essential. Strong problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and the ability to work independently or with cross-functional teams make someone stand out in this role. These skills ensure efficient delivery of scalable machine learning solutions that meet client requirements and project timelines.

What is a Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer?

A Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer is a professional who is hired on a temporary or project basis to design, develop, and deploy machine learning models and systems. They often work with organizations that need specialized expertise for a limited duration, helping to build algorithms, analyze data, and integrate AI solutions into existing software products. Contract engineers typically have strong backgrounds in programming, mathematics, and data science, and they may work remotely or on-site. Their responsibilities can range from data preprocessing and model training to deploying models in production environments. This arrangement allows companies to access advanced machine learning skills without committing to a full-time hire.
Contract Machine Learning Software Engineer jobs near you

Machine Learning Engineer

Bespoke Labs

Houston, TX • On-site

Full-time

Posted 26 days ago

Job description

About Us

We are AI researchers and builders who understand how to curate data and RL environments that truly improve models. We curated OpenThoughts, one of the best open reasoning datasets, and have trained SOTA models such as Bespoke-MiniCheck and Bespoke-MiniChart.

We are embarked on a journey to build Environments that are entire digital worlds that can be used to push the frontier of agents.

What You'll Be Working On

You will work directly with our research team on RL environment and task creation for agent training. This means designing observation spaces, action spaces, reward signals, and success criteria for new environments — and building the infrastructure that makes world-scale RL training possible. This is a high-ownership role; you will be building novel systems, not maintaining legacy ones.

Must-Have Skills

3+ years of ML engineering experience — model training, fine-tuning, or post-training pipelines in research or production

Strong Python and deep learning proficiency (PyTorch preferred; familiar with training loops, optimizers, mixed precision)

Hands-on experience with LLM post-training — SFT, RLHF, PPO, DPO, or reward model training — and understanding of how training data quality affects model behavior

Familiarity with RL frameworks (Gymnasium, dm_env) and the ability to design or modify reward functions for agent training objectives

Experience running experiments at scale on cloud or HPC (AWS, GCP, SLURM, or Ray)

Solid understanding of evaluation methodology — held-out sets, benchmark design, avoiding train/eval contamination

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