Senior Principal Machine Learning Engineer

<div><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">SoundCloud empowers artists and fans to connect and share through music. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud is an artist-first platform empowering artists to build and grow their careers by providing them with the most progressive tools, services, and resources. With over 400+ million tracks from 40 million artists, the future of music is SoundCloud.</span></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">SoundCloud is&nbsp;</span>seeking a Machine Learning leader to architect the next era of Musical Intelligence at SoundCloud. As a Senior Principal Engineer, you will combine deep technical expertise with strategic vision and people leadership to drive the development of large-scale recommendation, personalization, and search systems. The mission is clear: architect systems to extract high-fidelity insights from user interactions with the world’s largest audio dataset to connect artists and fans through music. You will define the technical North Star for ML across engineering, delivering impactful data-driven products while leading and growing a high-performing team of Engineers and Scientists. This role reports directly to the Chief Technology Officer and will work in lockstep with the Music Intelligence, Content, and Recommendations teams. You will also be part of a small group leading the charge in architecting the agentic workflows and LLM-assisted systems that will allow us to ship Musical Intelligence at 10x the speed of traditional teams.</span></div> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>Key Responsibilities:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Lead the technical strategy and execution for SoundCloud’s ML systems (e.g., recommendation, ranking, personalization), including model development, deployment, and scaling</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Lead the exploration of advanced modeling techniques including Deep Neural Networks, LLMs, large recommender systems, multi-modal embeddings and transformer-based architectures to create unique and impactful listening experiences</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Define and drive the overall technical direction for ML in SoundCloud including model architecture, feature engineering, training and serving infrastructure at scale, feature stores, pipeline orchestration, and model registry and versioning all aimed at accelerating our ability to bring ML-powered features to market</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Own short- and long-term objectives, ensuring ML investments deliver measurable user and business impact</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Lead, mentor, and grow ML Engineers and Scientists across SoundCloud</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Be a strategic partner to the CTO in bringing an “ML Everywhere” strategy to all surfaces in the product (both Creator and Fan), and helping to lead the charge on AI-native engineering</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Stay current with industry trends and advancements in machine learning, identifying opportunities to apply them at SoundCloud</span></li> <li style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lead the leveraging of agentic workflows and AI-assisted engineering as a force multiplier to work at 10x the speed of traditional methods</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>Experience and Background:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">10+ years of experience in ML engineering, plus 3+ years in search or recommendations in an internet scale service with the reach of tens of millions of daily active users. Experience in a music streaming environment is a bonus</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Proven track record of defining technical strategy and driving execution for large-scale ML systems, particularly in recommendation, personalization, or search</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Experience setting technical roadmaps, influencing cross-functional priorities, and balancing business, product, and engineering trade-offs at an organizational level</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Experience leading and scaling teams of ML Engineers and Scientists, including hiring, mentoring, and developing high-performing talent</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Deep expertise in delivering data-driven products and ML solutions at scale on cloud-based platforms, with strong understanding of infrastructure and lifecycle management</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Hands-on familiarity with modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) and data processing pipelines, combined with strong software engineering foundations</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Thought leadership in ML and data science, with a track record of driving technical innovation and applying emerging industry trends</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Exceptional communication, strategic influence, and cross-functional leadership skills across senior stakeholders and global teams</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The salary range for this role is $280,000 - $325,000 annually. The final salary offered will be determined based on relative experience, skills, internal equity, and location. We also offer a generous total rewards program - read more about additional benefits and perks below! </span></em></span></p> <h4><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>About us:</strong></span></h4> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We are a multinational company with offices in the US (New York and Los Angeles), Germany (Berlin), and the UK (London)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We provide a flexible work culture that offers the opportunity to collaborate and connect in person at our offices as well as accommodating work from home</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We are deeply committed to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of our organization and fostering a community where everyone’s voice, perspective and experience is respected and heard</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We believe a strong team is made by investing in employees through mentorship, workshops and enrichment opportunities</span></li> </ul> <h4><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>Benefits:</strong></span></h4> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Comprehensive health benefits including medical, dental, and vision plans, as well as mental health resources</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Robust 401k program</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Employee <span style="font-weight: 400;">Equity</span> Plan</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Generous professional development allowance</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Interested in a gym membership, photography course or book? We have a Creativity and Wellness benefit!</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Flexible vacation and public holiday policy where you can take up to 35 days of PTO annually</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">16 paid weeks for all parents (birthing and non-birthing), regardless of gender, to welcome newborns, adopted and foster children</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Various snacks, goodies, and 2 free lunches weekly when at the office</span></li> </ul> <h4><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><strong>Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at SoundCloud</strong></span></h4> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><em>SoundCloud is for everyone.&nbsp;Diversity and open expression are fundamental to our organization; they help us lead what’s next in music by&nbsp;understanding and empowering our creators and fans, no matter their identity. We acknowledge the challenges in the music industry, and strive to&nbsp;influence an inclusive culture where everyone can contribute respectfully and thrive, especially the historically marginalized communities that many of our creators, fans and SoundClouders identify with. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment at SoundCloud for everyone, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, migration background, national origin, age, disability status, or care-giver status.</em></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">At SoundCloud you can find your community or elevate your allyship by joining a Diversity Resource Group. Diversity Resource Groups are employee-organized groups focused on supporting and promoting the interests of a particular underrepresented community in order to build a more inclusive culture at SoundCloud. Anyone can join, whether you share the identity or strive to be an ally.</span></em></span></p>