Staff Machine Learning Engineer

About the Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Headspace:

The AI & Machine Learning group at Headspace is a dynamic and innovative group whose mission is to improve the experiences of our members and clinicians through the mindful application of AI. Our group builds conversational AI systems including Ebb, as well as search, recommendation & personalization systems that power the Headspace experience. The Staff ML Engineer for Personalization will be part of the team developing and delivering the holistic system to enable the personalization of the Headspace experience, including content recommendation, personalized nudges & notifications, and a tailored conversational AI experience with Ebb. You’ll have the opportunity to lead the vision, alignment, development, deployment, and adoption of these solutions, helping to realize Headspace’s mission to improve the health and happiness of the world.

What you will do:

• Technical Leadership: Lead the development of recommender systems for Headspace meditation & mindfulness content as well as other backend services that enable a personalized member experience including search, a user knowledge graph, and conversational AI memory. This will involve developing and deploying complex, scalable AI models and applications. Drive impactful ML technology initiatives that will shape the delivery of and access to mental healthcare. Serve as a go-to expert and mentor, exemplifying excellence in AI/ML engineering and inspiring others to pursue technical career growth.
• Shape Personalization Architecture: Contribute to the design, development, and evolution of our AI systems, taking it from high-level vision to robust implementation, enabling production-ready AI capabilities.
• Collaborative Problem-Solving: Partner with our team of software engineers,ML engineers, and MLOps engineers, and our Product & Clinical leads to build high quality features that improve members’ lives.

What you will bring:

Required Skills:

• Bachelor of Science degree or higher in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics or a related field OR equivalent experience
• 5+ years of ML engineering experience in an academic or professional setting, programming in Python
• 5+ years of experience with any of the following fundamental technologies: vector search, embedding models, recommender systems, supervised, unsupervised machine learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, LLM orchestration, RAG systems.
• 3+ years of experience with modern NLP tools and machine learning libraries (scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, spaCy)
• Experience with unit, integration, and end-to-end testing, version control
• Strong problem solving and communication skills and ability to influence across internal organizations
• Mentorship of junior engineers and contribution to DEIB initiatives

Preferred Skills:

• Master’s degree in relevant field or equivalent experience
• Professional experience with clinical and/or healthcare applications of machine learning
• Familiarity with current ML literature
• Experience with implementation of robust and highly scalable services
• Experience with AWS, including SageMaker, Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, IAM

Location: We are currently hiring this role remotely. Candidates must permanently reside in the US full-time.

For candidates with a primary residence in the greater SF area, this role will follow our hybrid model. You’ll work 3 days per week from our office, allowing for impactful in-office collaboration and connection, while enjoying the flexibility of remote work for the rest of the week. Your recruiter will share more details about our hybrid model. 

Pay & Benefits:

The anticipated new hire base salary range for this full-time position is $140,400-$200,000 + equity + benefits. 

Our salary ranges are based on the job, level, and location, and reflect the lowest to highest geographic markets where we are hiring for this role within the United States. Within this range, individual compensation is determined by a candidate’s location as well as a range of factors including but not limited to: unique relevant experience, job-related skills, and education or training. 
Your recruiter will provide more details on the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.

At Headspace, base salary is but one component of our Total Rewards package. We’re proud of our robust package inclusive of: base salary, stock awards, comprehensive healthcare coverage, monthly wellness stipend, retirement savings match, lifetime Headspace membership, generous parental leave, and more. Additional details about our Total Rewards package will be provided during the recruitment process. 

About Headspace

Headspace exists to provide every person access to lifelong mental health support. We combine evidence-based content, clinical care, and innovative technology to help millions of members around the world get support that’s effective, personalized, and truly accessible whenever and wherever they need it.

At Headspace, our values aren’t just what we believe, they’re how we work, grow, and make an impact together. We live them daily: Make the Mission Matter, Iterate to Great, Own the Outcome, and Connect with Courage. These values shape our decisions, guide our collaborations, and define our culture. They’re our shared commitment to building a more connected, human-centered team—one that’s redefining how mental health care supports people today and for generations to come.

Why You’ll Love Working Here:

A mission that matters—with impact you can see and feel

A culture that’s collaborative, inclusive, and grounded in our values

The chance to shape what mental health care looks like next

Competitive pay and benefits that support your whole self

How we feel about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging:

Headspace is committed to bringing together humans from different backgrounds and perspectives, providing employees with a safe and welcoming work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We strive to create a diverse & inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, feel a sense of belonging, and do impactful work together. 

As an equal opportunity employer, we prohibit any unlawful discrimination against a job applicant on the basis of their race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, family or parental status, disability*, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We respect the laws enforced by the EEOC and are dedicated to going above and beyond in fostering diversity across our workplace. 

*Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on Headspace. Please inform our Talent team by filling out this form if you need any assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application or interview process.

Headspace participates in the E-Verify Program.

Privacy Statement

All member records are protected according to our Privacy Policy. Further, while employees of Headspace (formerly Ginger) cannot access Headspace products/services, they will be offered benefits according to the company's benefit plan. To ensure we are adhering to best practice and ethical guidelines in the field of mental health, we take care to avoid dual relationships. A dual relationship occurs when a mental health care provider has a second, significantly different relationship with their client in addition to the traditional client-therapist relationship—including, for example, a managerial relationship.

As such, Headspace requests that individuals who have received coaching or clinical services at Headspace wait until their care with Headspace is complete before applying for a position. If someone with a Headspace account is hired for a position, please note their account will be deactivated and they will not be able to use Headspace services for the duration of their employment. 

Further, if Headspace cannot find a role that fails to resolve an ethical issue associated with a dual relationship, Headspace may need to take steps to ensure ethical obligations are being adhered to, including a delayed start date or a potential leave of absence. Such steps would be taken to protect both the former member, as well as any relevant individuals from their care team, from impairment, risk of exploitation, or harm.

For how how we will use the personal information you provide as part of the application process, please see: https://www.headspace.com/applicant-notice