[Remote] Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Query Intelligence

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Airbnb is a global platform connecting hosts and guests through stays and experiences. The Senior Machine Learning Engineer will develop and operate scalable machine learning models and pipelines for query understanding, including autocomplete, query tagging, query expansion, intent modeling, and natural-language search powered by NLP and large language models.

Responsibilities

• Work with large scale structured and unstructured data, build and continuously improve cutting edge Machine Learning models for Airbnb product, business and operational use cases, with a focus on query understanding
• Develop query understanding capabilities — autocomplete and smart compose, query tagging (sequence tagging / NER), query expansion, and query/user intent modeling — and natural-language ("search in your own words") search experiences powered by modern NLP and LLMs
• Work collaboratively with cross-functional partners including software engineers, product managers, operations and data scientists, identify opportunities for business impact, understand, refine, and prioritize requirements for machine learning models, drive engineering decisions, and quantify impact
• Hands-on develop, productionize, and operate Machine Learning models and pipelines at scale, including both batch and real-time use cases
• Leverage third-party and in-house Machine Learning tools & infrastructure to develop reusable, highly differentiating and high-performing Machine Learning systems, enable fast model development, low-latency serving and ease of model quality upkeep
• Example projects include: smart compose and language generation for search, LLM-based sequence taggers, LLM-driven query/location expansion, intent classification, and user-intent sequence modeling

Skills

• * 5+ years of industry experience in applied Machine Learning, inclusive MS or PhD in relevant fields
• * Strong programming (Scala / Python / Java / C++ or equivalent) and data engineering skills
• * Deep understanding of Machine Learning best practices (eg. training/serving skew minimization, A/B test, feature engineering, feature/model selection), algorithms (eg. neural networks/deep learning, optimization) and domains (eg. natural language processing, personalization, search and recommendation, marketplace optimization)
• * Experience with 3 or more of these technologies: Tensorflow, PyTorch, Kubernetes, Spark, Airflow (or equivalent), Kafka (or equivalent), data warehouse (eg. Hive)
• * Industry experience building end-to-end Machine Learning models
• * Experience applying large language models and modern NLP — e.g., sequence tagging/NER, text generation, intent classification, or embedding/representation learning
• * Exposure to architectural patterns of large, high-scale software applications (e.g., well-designed APIs, high volume data pipelines, efficient algorithms, models)
• This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. [Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list.](https://careers.airbnb.com/) If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from
• * Familiarity with building natural-language, AI-native and agentic search experiences is a plus

Benefits

• This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.
• This position is US - Remote Eligible.

Company Overview

• Airbnb is an online community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book accommodations through mobile phones or the Internet. It was founded in 2008, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, with a workforce of 5001-10000 employees. Its website is https://www.airbnb.com.

Company H1B Sponsorship

• Airbnb has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 59 in 2026, 234 in 2025, 176 in 2024, 160 in 2023, 270 in 2022, 250 in 2021, 274 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.