Machine Learning Engineer, YouTube Live Discovery

Mountain View, CA, US Until 8/21/2026 First posted March 31, 2026 Last posted March 31, 2026
Job description

About the Job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

At YouTube, we believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share, and build community through our stories. We work together to give everyone the power to share their story, explore what they love, and connect with one another in the process. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and boundless creativity, we move at the speed of culture with a shared goal to show people the world. We explore new ideas, solve real problems, and have fun — and we do it all together.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $207,000-$300,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

  • Work on improving ML algorithms and end-to-end solutions to empower live recommendations and to grow live ecosystems responsibly.
  • Set up growth metrics and goals, do the analysis and research to identify the growth areas and lead a team of engineers to iterate multiple experiments.
  • Communicate across multiple YouTube engineering teams and lead to align with the design direction and future plan of your projects.
  • Work closely with the YouTube discovery teams (Home/WatchNext/Notifications/Living Room/etc), Live infra and experience teams, collaborate closely with Google Deepmind teams, YouTube knowledge and YouTube (TnS) Trust and Safety.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
  • 8 years of experience with software development in one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, C, C++, Java, JavaScript).
  • 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role.

Preferred qualifications:

  • Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science or related technical field.
  • 3 years of experience working in a complex, matrixed organization.
  • 3 years of experience with ML classification systems, ranking and recommendation systems or similar.
  • Experience in computer vision/NLP/ML/data mining areas.
About this role

Summary

Develop and improve ML algorithms for YouTube Live recommendations, lead projects, collaborate with teams.

Job title

Machine Learning Engineer, YouTube Live Discovery

Experience level

8+ years

Industry

software

Location requirements

Mountain View, CA, USA, remote work not specified

Salary

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $207,000-$300,000 + bonus + equity + benefits.

Management role

Yes

Skills & keywords

Required skills

PythonC++3 years in ML systemsprogramming languagesleadership experience

Preferred skills

ML classification systemsranking systemsrecommendation systemscomputer visionNLP

Specializations

artificial intelligencenatural language processingrecommendation systemsdata miningcomputer vision
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Mountain View, CA, USA

Work arrangement unknown City