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Junior Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in Ankeny, IA

Bespoke Labs

Machine Learning Engineer

Des Moines, IA · 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 ...

Workiva, Inc.

Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Ames, IA · On-site

Join our team at Workiva as a Staff Machine Learning Engineer! As a pivotal member of our Machine Learning (ML) team, you'll spearhead the architecture and delivery of groundbreaking machine learning ...

Workiva, Inc.

Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Ames, IA · On-site +1

Join our team at Workiva as a Staff Machine Learning Engineer! As a pivotal member of our Machine Learning (ML) team, you'll spearhead the architecture and delivery of groundbreaking machine learning ...

Varsity Tutors

Machine Learning Tutor

Ames, IA · Remote

$18 - $40/hr

Deep knowledge of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, feature engineering, model selection ... Familiar with machine learning curricula and common challenges such as understanding bias-variance ...

Pwc

CTIO AI Engineering Manager

Des Moines, IA · On-site

$73K - $244K/yr

Those in data science and machine learning engineering at PwC will focus on leveraging advanced ... junior staff while upholding remarkable standards of quality and innovation in deliverables.

Deloitte

Lead AI and Data Science Engineer II

Des Moines, IA · On-site

$100K - $131K/yr

Mentor junior and mid-level data scientists across the analytics lifecycle, from problem framing ... Data science applies statistical analysis, machine learning, and AI to identify meaningful patterns ...

Pwc

AI Engineer

Des Moines, IA · On-site

$50K - $112K/yr

Certifications aligned to data engineering, machine learning, and cloud platforms, including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, or related data and AI credentials - Building ...

RFA Engineering

AI Test Automation Engineer

Urbandale, IA · On-site

$90K - $150K/yr

Leverage machine learning, agentic AI, large language models, or intelligent agents to improve engineering workflows * Analyze testing data and system behavior to identify trends, inefficiencies, and ...

Pwc

US Tech - AI Engineering Manager

Des Moines, IA

$73K - $244K/yr

Those in data science and machine learning engineering at PwC will focus on leveraging advanced ... Responsibilities - Mentor junior engineers and foster their growth - Maintain security and ...

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All JobsMachine Learning Engineer JobsJunior Machine Learning Engineer JobsJunior Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in Ankeny, IA

Junior Machine Learning Engineer information

See Ankeny, IA salary details

$31.4K

$67.3K

$102.6K

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

As of Aug 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for junior machine learning engineer in Ankeny, IA is $67,285.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $45,400.00 and $75,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a junior machine learning engineer, and why are they important?

To succeed as a Junior Machine Learning Engineer, you need a solid grasp of programming (especially Python), foundational knowledge of algorithms and statistics, and a relevant degree in computer science, mathematics, or a related field. Familiarity with machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch and tools like scikit-learn, as well as experience with version control systems like Git, are typically required. Strong problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn from feedback are valuable soft skills that help you adapt and grow in the field. These skills ensure you can effectively develop, test, and improve machine learning models while collaborating with more experienced engineers and contributing to team projects.

What kinds of projects and responsibilities can a junior machine learning engineer expect in their first year on the job?

As a Junior Machine Learning Engineer, you’ll typically work on tasks such as data preprocessing, building and testing simple models, and supporting more senior engineers in deploying machine learning solutions. Your responsibilities may also include cleaning datasets, implementing basic algorithms, and running experiments to evaluate model performance. You’ll often collaborate closely with data scientists, software engineers, and product teams to understand project goals and learn best practices. The role provides excellent opportunities to develop your technical skills, gain exposure to various stages of the ML pipeline, and gradually take on more complex projects as you grow.

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

AspectJunior Machine Learning EngineerData Scientist
Required CredentialsBachelor's in CS, Data Science, or related; some experience with ML frameworksBachelor's or higher in CS, Statistics, or related; often advanced certifications
Work EnvironmentDeveloping and deploying ML models, coding, testingData analysis, statistical modeling, interpreting data insights
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, startups, AI-focused firmsFinance, healthcare, tech, consulting
Search & Comparison IntentYesYes

While both roles involve working with data and machine learning, Junior Machine Learning Engineers focus on building and deploying models, often with coding and engineering skills. Data Scientists analyze data, create statistical models, and interpret insights. The roles overlap but differ mainly in their core responsibilities and skill emphasis.

What does a junior machine learning engineer do?

As a junior machine learning engineer, you work in AI, performing research with algorithms and data modeling techniques. Machine learning involves using large collections of data to create systems that are capable of making predictions, and in this field, your duties and responsibilities revolve around using advanced mathematics to design applications for use in everything from stock trading to sports betting. Some machine learning efforts involve images, and this branch of the field is known as computer vision, while other techniques which focus on text are called natural language processing (NLP). Given these divisions, titles in machine learning include computer vision engineer, NLP scientist, or simply research scientist.

More about Junior Machine Learning Engineer jobs
Junior Machine Learning Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Junior Machine Learning Engineer job openings in Ankeny, IA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 71% Full Time, 25% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $67,285 per year, or $32.3 per hour.

Machine Learning Engineer

Bespoke Labs

Des Moines, IA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 29 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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