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Director Machine Learning Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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Machine Learning Engineers

San Jose, CA · On-site

$136K - $280K/yr

Tiktok Machine Learning Engineer (Search) - E-commerce - San JoseSan JoseRegularR DJob ID: A162279 ... Our company believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship on ...

Aven

Machine Learning Engineer

Campbell, CA · On-site

We are looking for Machine Learning Engineers who have built product models from idea to delivery ... Building targeting models for our Direct Mail Channel * Building risk models from both existing ...

Apple

Machine Learning Video Engineer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

As a machine learning engineer, you'll be developing machine learning based technologies for the ... that have direct customer impact and will delight and inspire millions of people every day!

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Director Machine Learning information

See California salary details

$35.5K

$90.7K

$139.2K

How much do director machine learning jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 4, 2026, the average yearly pay for director machine learning in California is $90,729.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $70,600.00 and $104,600.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Director Machine Learning position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Director Machine Learning, you need advanced expertise in machine learning, statistics, data science, and leadership, typically supported by a master's or Ph.D. in a related field and several years of relevant industry experience. Familiarity with tools such as Python, TensorFlow or PyTorch, cloud platforms, and data management systems, as well as certifications like AWS Certified Machine Learning or Google Professional Machine Learning Engineer, are commonly required. Exceptional communication, strategic thinking, and team management skills distinguish top candidates in this role. These capabilities are essential for driving organizational AI initiatives, fostering high-performing teams, and delivering impactful business solutions.

What is a Director Machine Learning job?

A Director of Machine Learning leads teams in developing and deploying machine learning models to solve business challenges. They define the AI strategy, oversee research, and ensure models are scalable and ethical. This role requires expertise in machine learning, data science, and leadership, as well as collaboration with cross-functional teams. Directors also stay updated on industry advancements and drive innovation within their organizations.

What are the primary responsibilities and challenges faced by a Director of Machine Learning on a daily basis?

A Director of Machine Learning is typically responsible for overseeing the development and deployment of machine learning solutions, mentoring technical teams, setting strategic direction for AI initiatives, and ensuring the alignment of projects with organizational goals. Challenges often include balancing innovative research with business priorities, navigating evolving technology landscapes, and coordinating efforts across data science, engineering, and stakeholder teams. This role requires regular collaboration with product managers, executives, and cross-functional departments to prioritize initiatives and communicate complex technical concepts. Successful directors excel at fostering a culture of continuous learning, optimizing team productivity, and staying ahead in a fast-paced, rapidly changing field.

What are the most commonly searched types of Machine Learning jobs in California? The most popular types of Machine Learning jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Director Machine Learning jobs in California? For Director Machine Learning jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Director Machine Learning jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Director Machine Learning jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Director Machine Learning jobs? Cities in California with the most Director Machine Learning job openings:
Director Machine Learning jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Machine Learning job openings in California as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 1% As Needed, 81% Full Time, 14% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $90,729 per year, or $43.6 per hour.

Head of Machine Learning

RZR Global Inc.

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Other

Posted 15 days ago

Job description

Who are we?

RZR Global  is an AI-driven company specializing in mobile advertising solutions designed to fuel revenue growth. We leverage AI to discover audiences in a privacy-first environment through trillions of contextual bidding signals and proprietary behavioral models. Our audience engagement platform includes creative strategy and execution. We handle 5 million mobile ad requests per second from over 10 billion devices, driving performance for both publishers and brands. We are headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a global presence across the United States, EMEA, and APAC.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Head of Machine Learning to lead the development of the next generation of our machine learning platform.  This role combines technical leadership, hands-on development, and organizational building. You will be responsible for the infrastructure for training and serving the deep learning models powering our Demand Side Platform.

Our machine learning systems power real-time advertising use cases including bidding, ranking, pacing, and fraud detection. These models operate in extremely latency-sensitive environments, serving millions of predictions per second. You will work closely with engineering and product leadership to translate business challenges into scalable ML solutions.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building systems and teams from scratch, moving quickly, and owning outcomes end-to-end.

Key Responsibilities

  • Design and build the next generation production ML system, including training pipelines, feature pipelines, and real-time inference services.

  • Work directly in the codebase to prototype models, evaluate approaches, and ship production systems.

  • Build and lead the machine learning team, including hiring, mentoring, and establishing engineering culture.

  • Partner with engineering to design infrastructure capable of serving millions of low-latency predictions.

  • Identify high-impact ML opportunities across bidding, ranking, pacing, fraud detection, and optimization.

  • Establish best practices around experimentation, model evaluation, monitoring, and continuous improvement.

  • Translate business and product goals into measurable machine learning improvements.

Required Skills / Experience

  • 7+ years of experience with a focus on building production machine learning systems.

  • Experience taking ML models from research or prototype to production at scale.

  • Strong programming background in Python and at least one systems language (C++, Java, Rust, or Go).

  • Experience working with large-scale data pipelines and training infrastructure.

  • Comfortable operating in early-stage environments where you may be both the architect and the implementer.

  • Strong product intuition and ability to prioritize ML work based on business impact.

  • Experience scaling ML teams.

  • Excellent communication skills and ability to work across engineering, product, and leadership.

  • Fluent Mandarin required.

Nice-to-Have

  • Experience in advertising technology and real-time systems.

  • Experience operating ML infrastructure in on-prem environments using open-source tools including Spark, ClickHouse, AeroSpike, and Prefect.

 

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