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Founding Machine Learning Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

OneScreen

Founding Machine Learning Engineer

Boston, MA · On-site

About the role You'll be the founding ML engineer who owns our matching algorithms from exploration ... Real ranking and matching modeling fluency - learning-to-rank, retrieval and re-rank patterns, not ...

Known

AI / ML Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$200K - $375K/yr

Known - Founding Machine Learning Engineer * San Francisco, CA (In-Person) * 200k-375k Cash + Equity Known is a matchmaker that talks to users and supports them like a friend. Our mission is to ...

Forhyre

Machine Learning Engineer

New York, NY

We are looking for a Machine Learning Engineer to help us create artificial intelligence products. Machine Learning Engineer responsibilities include creating machine learning models and retraining ...

X4 Engineering

Machine Learning Engineer

Austin, TX · On-site

$140K - $180K/yr

🚀 Machine Learning Engineer 📍 Austin, TX (Hybrid/Remote Considered) 💰 $140,000 - $180,000 Base We're partnering with a fast-growing energy firm looking to hire a Machine Learning Engineer to ...

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Founding Machine Learning Engineer information

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$31.5K

$128.8K

$193.5K

How much do founding machine learning engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for founding machine learning engineer in the United States is $128,769.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $101,500.00 and $155,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a Founding Machine Learning Engineer?

A Founding Machine Learning Engineer is one of the first technical team members at a startup who specializes in designing, building, and deploying machine learning systems. This role involves working closely with the founders to set the technical direction, build core AI products, and establish best practices for data and model development. In addition to hands-on coding and experimentation, a Founding Machine Learning Engineer often influences product decisions and helps shape the company's engineering culture. The role typically requires a blend of deep technical expertise, startup agility, and a willingness to tackle both high-level strategy and low-level engineering tasks.

What engineer makes $500,000 a year?

A founding machine learning engineer at top tech companies or successful startups can earn $500,000 or more annually, often including base salary, bonuses, and equity. Such roles typically require advanced skills in deep learning, data modeling, and experience with large-scale systems, along with a strong track record of innovation and leadership.

What are some unique challenges and expectations for a Founding Machine Learning Engineer in an early-stage startup?

As a Founding Machine Learning Engineer, you'll face the unique challenge of building the company's machine learning infrastructure from the ground up, often with limited resources and rapidly evolving requirements. You'll be expected to wear many hats, from designing and deploying models to setting up data pipelines and collaborating closely with product and engineering teams. Your role will also involve making critical decisions about technology stacks and best practices that will shape the company's technical direction. Additionally, you'll have significant influence on the company's culture and have ample opportunities for growth as the team expands.

What is a founding ML engineer?

A founding machine learning engineer is a key technical team member involved in building and developing the company's initial machine learning systems and infrastructure. They typically have strong skills in programming, data modeling, and deploying ML models, often working closely with product teams during the startup or early-stage company formation. This role requires a combination of technical expertise and entrepreneurial mindset to shape the company's AI capabilities from the ground up.

Is a machine learning engineer still in demand?

Yes, machine learning engineers are in high demand due to the increasing adoption of AI and data-driven solutions across industries. They are sought after for their skills in algorithms, programming, and tools like Python and TensorFlow, with job growth expected to continue as AI applications expand.

Which 5 jobs will survive AI?

Founding Machine Learning Engineers are likely to continue playing a crucial role as AI advances, focusing on developing and deploying complex models that require specialized skills in programming, data science, and system architecture. Jobs that involve high levels of creativity, strategic decision-making, and human interaction—such as healthcare professionals, educators, skilled trades, and roles in management—are also expected to persist despite AI automation. These positions typically require emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and adaptability that AI cannot easily replicate.

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

To thrive as a Founding Machine Learning Engineer, you need deep expertise in machine learning algorithms, software engineering, and data science, often supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools such as Python, TensorFlow or PyTorch, cloud platforms, and experience deploying ML models in production are typically required. Strong problem-solving abilities, entrepreneurial mindset, and excellent communication skills set standout candidates apart. These skills and qualities are vital for driving innovation, building scalable solutions from scratch, and collaborating within a fast-paced startup environment.
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What cities are hiring for Founding Machine Learning Engineer jobs? Cities with the most Founding Machine Learning Engineer job openings:
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Founding Machine Learning Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Machine Learning Engineer job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 95% Full Time, 2% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $128,769 per year, or $61.9 per hour.

Founding Machine Learning Engineer

Transparent Search Group

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$200K - $375K/yr

Full-time

Posted 28 days ago

Job description

Founding Machine Learning Engineer

Posted by Transparent Search Group on behalf of Known.

About Known

Known is building an AI-powered social platform that creates personalized AI companions and predicts human compatibility. The company works with an ultra-personal dataset combining voice transcripts, images, and structured user data.

Website: https://www.known.is

About the Role

We're looking for founding machine learning engineers to continue to design and build Known's core systems intelligence, driving our recommendation engine and agentic systems. This is a unique opportunity to work with an ultra-personal data-set, combining voice transcripts, images, and structured user data to create both personalized AI companions as well as predict human compatibility. You'll work directly with Chen Peng, former head of ML at Uber Eats and Faire.

What you'll do

It's up to you to decide what part of the ML stack you're most excited about working on. This could be:

  • Training and deploying ML models that form the core of our recommendation engine
  • Designing evals to assess recommendation ability and RL systems to learn from results data
  • Building personalization and long-term memory systems into Known's conversational AI
  • Using LLMs to enhance our suite of user-facing AI Agents

You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of your models, from ideation and training to deployment and iteration.

Compensation & Terms
  • Base salary: $200K – $375K
  • Workplace: On-site in San Francisco, CA
  • Employment type: Full-time
Hiring Manager

Aden Solomon — Highly engaged (Top 10% of hiring managers on Paraform). Time to first action: 27 hours.

How to apply

Apply directly through this listing. Transparent Search Group will respond within 48 business hours to qualified candidates.