Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Recommendation & AI Platform
Company: NewsBreak
Location: Mountain View
Posted on: February 21, 2026
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Job Description:
Job Description Job Description About NewsBreak Founded in 2015,
NewsBreak is the Content Intelligence platform shaping the future
content economy. With over 40 million monthly active users, our
flagship platform delivers highly personalized local news and
information powered by advanced AI, recommendation systems, and
adtech. Recognized by Fast Company as 32 on the Top Workplaces for
Innovators, we're proud to be Great Place to Work® certified and
home to a dynamic team of technologists, product innovators, and
business leaders who are passionate about solving meaningful
challenges at scale. Together, we reached unicorn status in 2021,
and we remain committed to continuing this high-growth trajectory
with the right team to fulfill our mission: building the
infrastructure layer for content intelligence. If you're inspired
to dream big, innovate fast, and make a difference, we'd love to
hear from you! For more information, visit www.newsbreak.com/about
About the Role We are seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to
provide technical leadership for our recommendation systems and AI
initiatives. In this role, you will define technical direction for
large-scale personalization systems , lead complex projects across
teams, and drive the adoption of AI / LLM technologies in both
product capabilities and engineering workflows. This role is ideal
for engineers who enjoy system-level thinking , mentoring others,
and turning ambiguous problems into scalable solutions. What You'll
Work On Technical Leadership & Architecture Lead the design of
next-generation recommendation system architectures at scale. Drive
best practices for model lifecycle management , experimentation,
and system reliability. Partner with product, infra, and data teams
to align technical strategy with business goals. Advanced
Recommendation & AI Systems Own complex initiatives across
retrieval, ranking, re-ranking, and multi-objective optimization .
Lead the application of LLMs and foundation models in
recommendation, content intelligence, and user modeling. Evaluate
emerging AI technologies and guide their adoption into production
systems. AI-Native Engineering Champion AI-native development
practices , including LLM-assisted coding, experimentation, and
analysis. Help establish standards and shared tooling for AI-driven
engineering. 0 ? 1 Innovation & Scaling Lead 0–1 AI initiatives ,
from ideation and technical validation to production rollout and
scaling. Ensure successful prototypes evolve into maintainable,
scalable platforms. What We're Looking For Minimum Qualifications -
8 years of industry experience building large-scale ML or
recommendation systems. - Deep expertise in recommendation systems
and applied machine learning in production environments. - Strong
system design skills and the ability to influence architecture
across teams. - Proven track record of technical leadership and
cross-team collaboration. Bonus / Plus Qualifications -
Demonstrated success applying LLMs or foundation models to
recommendation or content systems in production. - Experience
leading 0 ? 1 AI platform or product initiatives . - Passion for
improving engineering velocity through AI-assisted development
workflows . Benefits We offer a competitive benefits package:
Health, dental, and vision care for you and your family Top-tier
401(K) plan with company matching Paid time off and paid holidays
Paid parental leave FSA and commuter benefits programs Team
activity budget The US base salary range for this full-time
position is listed below. Pay may vary based on a number of factors
including job-related skills, level, experience, geographic
location and relevant education or training. At NewsBreak, we
design our overall rewards package to attract top talents.
Depending on the position, the role may also be eligible for
discretionary bonus and options. Your recruiter can share more
details during the hiring process. Annual Base Pay Range
$230,000—$300,000 USD CPRA Privacy Notice for California
Candidates
Keywords: NewsBreak, Merced , Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Recommendation & AI Platform, Engineering , Mountain View, California
