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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 ...

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Founding Machine Learning Engineer information

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

As of Aug 4, 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.

How much does a founding machine learning engineer make?

A founding machine learning engineer typically earns between $120,000 and $180,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. Equity and bonuses are also common components of compensation, especially in startup environments where they play a significant role in total earnings.

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 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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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 96% Full Time, 1% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $128,769 per year, or $61.9 per hour.

Founding Machine Learning Engineer

Novaflow (YC S25)

San Francisco, CA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 15 days ago

Job description

Job Summary:
Novaflow is an innovative company focused on revolutionizing data analysis for biology labs through AI. They are seeking a Founding Machine Learning Engineer to develop AI systems that convert natural language queries into bioinformatics workflows, ensuring biologists can obtain insights rapidly.
Responsibilities:
• Build and improve the LLM-powered pipelines that turn natural language into bioinformatics workflows
• Design evaluation pipelines and benchmarks to measure model quality against real scientific expectations
• Experiment with fine-tuning, RAG, prompt engineering, and different model architectures
• Deploy and scale models in production on AWS or GCP
• Make build-vs-buy decisions on AI tooling and infrastructure
• Work across the team to integrate ML capabilities into the product
Qualifications:
Required:
• Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, or a related field (PhD is a plus)
• 2+ years building and deploying ML models in production
• Strong Python skills and hands-on experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar
• Real experience with LLMs: fine-tuning, RAG, prompt engineering, evals
• Experience working with large datasets and building data pipelines
• Familiar with AWS or GCP for model training and deployment
• Docker and CI/CD experience for ML workflows
• Can spot when an LLM is confidently wrong
Preferred:
• Experience applying ML to scientific or biological data
• Familiarity with Anthropic, OpenAI, or other LLM APIs and agent frameworks
• Terraform and Kubernetes experience
• Startup background or experience in research-oriented engineering
• Previous startup experience (prior experience either working for or founding a startup)
Company:
Creating tools to automate data analysis for life science researchers. Founded in 2025, the company is headquartered in San Francisco, USA, with a team of 2-10 employees. The company is currently Early Stage.

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