Principal Machine Learning Engineer

Headspace

Principal Machine Learning Engineer at Headspace leading the development of scalable AI applications for mental healthcare. Driving impactful technology initiatives and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Posted 5/4/2026full-timeCalifornia • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $162,000 - $250,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSDynamoDBPythonPyTorchScikit-LearnTensorflow

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead the development of complex, scalable AI models and applications from inception to production
Drive impactful ML technology initiatives that will shape the delivery of and access to mental healthcare
Partner with cross-functional teams to align technical decisions with organizational goals, ensuring cohesive and impactful solutions
Drive the design, development, and evolution of our internal ML platform, taking it from high-level vision to robust implementation

Requirements

What you’ll need

Master’s of Science degree or higher in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics or a related field OR equivalent experience
8+ years of ML engineering experience in an academic or professional setting, programming in Python
8+ years of experience with any of the following fundamental technologies: vector search, embedding models, recommender systems, supervised, unsupervised machine learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, LLM orchestration, RAG systems.
5+ years of experience with modern NLP tools and machine learning libraries (scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, spaCy)
Experience with unit, integration, and end-to-end testing, version control
Strong problem solving and communication skills and ability to influence across internal organizations
Mentorship of junior engineers and contribution to DEIB initiatives
PhD in relevant field or equivalent experience (preferred)
Professional experience with clinical and/or healthcare applications of machine learning (preferred)
Familiarity with current ML literature including optimization methods and agent-based models (preferred)
Experience with implementation of robust and highly scalable services (preferred)
Experience with AWS, including SageMaker, Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, IAM (preferred)

Benefits

Comp & perks

stock awards
comprehensive healthcare coverage
monthly wellness stipend
retirement savings match
lifetime Headspace membership
generous parental leave

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

machine learningdeep learningreinforcement learningnatural language processingPythonvector searchembedding modelsrecommender systemssupervised learningunsupervised learning

Soft Skills

problem solvingcommunicationinfluencementorshipcollaboration

Certifications

Master’s of Science degreePhD in relevant field