Principal Engineer, Applied Science (AI/ML)

Role overview

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join:

We connect Airbnb’s community with the right information, in the right place, at the right time. We tailor Messaging & Notifications so hosts on Airbnb can streamline their operations, and travelers get just the information they need to enjoy their stay worry-free.

Additionally, we are building new connections within our community to help enrich the experience of hosting & traveling on Airbnb: easing the process of hosting, and adding meaning to our guest’s trips.

The Difference You Will Make:

We believe our current customer experiences in these domains are only scratching the surface of the innovations that are possible, and that science is at the heart of delivering a step-function change for our Guest and Host on Airbnb.

You will architect and implement advanced machine learning solutions—including recommendation engines, ranking systems, intent detection models, and the integration of intelligence into existing platforms. Additionally, you’ll lead efforts to harness the power of Large Language Models (LLMs) to create transformative AI experiences.

Many of the initiatives you’ll tackle are in their early conceptual stages. You will have the opportunity to shape these ideas from inception to production, turning visionary concepts into impactful realities. You will be leading ML, Data and Product engineers to drive ML applications.

A core focus of your work will be spearheading Machine Learning applications in Messaging and Notification—a high-impact area with significant potential to enhance guest and host experiences at Airbnb.

A Typical Day:

• Envision, champion, and support the development of novel ML systems, product integrations, and performance optimizations to solve real-world problems
• Lead, mentor, challenge and grow enthusiastic, collaborative software engineers and applied scientists across the organization
• Raise the AI/ML skillset within the organization. A passion for teaching/mentoring is important.

Your Expertise:

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, with 2+ years of experience in a Principal or Senior Staff Engineer role having ownership responsibility over large-scale software systems
• Background in the design and development of scalable AI and ML systems and services, and a deep passion for building ML-powered products
• You’re an inspiring colleague, a coach and mentor with experience owning and fostering engineering maturity in multiple organizations.
• You’re a builder, and implementer, who seeks out high impact work, and who is: proactive, curious, and an excellent communicator