Senior ML Engineer Jobs in California
Senior ML Engineer jobs in California are among the most active in the country, concentrated in technology, cloud infrastructure, autonomous systems, and biotech across a seniority range from mid-level engineers through distinguished principal roles. The largest hiring metros are the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego, where employers such as Google, Apple, and Qualcomm maintain deep and ongoing ML engineering teams. The most in-demand specialties right now are large language model fine-tuning, MLOps and model deployment, and computer vision. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 758+ Senior ML Engineer jobs
Key Responsibilities
- Develop machine learning methods for representing and inferring evolving states in multi-party human-AI interactions.
- Model linguistic, acoustic, visual, or behavioral signals from interactions involving three or more participants, exploring multimodal integration where relevant.
- Develop models to infer or predict interaction transitions, such as participation shifts, coordination difficulties, or group adaptation.
- Depending on the research focus, develop multi-agent simulations to complement modeling and evaluation with recorded multimodal group interactions.
Minimum Qualifications
- Current Ph.D. student in Computer Science or a related field.
- Experience in machine learning and at least one relevant area, such as natural language processing, speech processing, computer vision, or human behavioral modeling.
- Interest in group interaction and human-AI collaboration.
- Strong ability to communicate research ideas and collaborate in an interdisciplinary environment.
Bonus Qualifications
- Publications on group dynamics, social norms, or human-AI interactions in top-tier conferences.
- Experience applying machine learning to multi-party interaction and group behavior.
- Experience in interdisciplinary research involving human-computer interaction, cognitive science, or computational social science.
Natural Language Processing, Speech Processing, Human-AI Teaming,
Machine Learning, Multi-Agent Simulation
Key Responsibilities
- Develop machine learning methods for representing and inferring evolving states in multi-party human-AI interactions.
- Model linguistic, acoustic, visual, or behavioral signals from interactions involving three or more participants, exploring multimodal integration where relevant.
- Develop models to infer or predict interaction transitions, such as participation shifts, coordination difficulties, or group adaptation.
- Depending on the research focus, develop multi-agent simulations to complement modeling and evaluation with recorded multimodal group interactions.
Minimum Qualifications
- Current Ph.D. student in Computer Science or a related field.
- Experience in machine learning and at least one relevant area, such as natural language processing, speech processing, computer vision, or human behavioral modeling.
- Interest in group interaction and human-AI collaboration.
- Strong ability to communicate research ideas and collaborate in an interdisciplinary environment.
Bonus Qualifications
- Publications on group dynamics, social norms, or human-AI interactions in top-tier conferences.
- Experience applying machine learning to multi-party interaction and group behavior.
- Experience in interdisciplinary research involving human-computer interaction, cognitive science, or computational social science.
Natural Language Processing, Speech Processing, Human-AI Teaming,
Machine Learning, Multi-Agent Simulation
See All 758+ Senior ML Engineer Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Senior ML Engineer JobsSenior ML Engineer Jobs by City in California
Where California roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Senior ML Engineer Job Market in California
A snapshot from current California openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- TikTok101
- Uber27
- Amazon Web Services24
- ByteDance21
- ServiceNow21
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software127
- Electronics & Hardware18
- Artificial Intelligence16
- Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals15
- Science & Research11
What California Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in senior ML engineer jobs across California.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, statistics, or a related quantitative field
- Proficiency in Python and core ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow
- Demonstrated experience designing and shipping production ML systems at scale
- Familiarity with cloud ML infrastructure on AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure
- Experience with MLOps tooling including experiment tracking, model versioning, and deployment pipelines
- Strong background in one or more specialty areas such as NLP, computer vision, or recommendation systems
Senior ML Engineer Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a senior ml engineer in California?
Becoming a senior ml engineer in California typically requires a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, applied mathematics, or a closely related field, followed by several years of hands-on experience building and deploying ML systems. California employers expect a portfolio of shipped production work alongside proficiency in frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow. No state-issued license applies to this role, so advancement comes through demonstrated technical depth and, increasingly, specialization in areas like LLMs or MLOps.
How much do senior ML engineers make in California?
Senior ML engineers in California earn a median of about $134,440 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $58,340 for the lowest 10% to over $222,690 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire senior ml engineers in California?
Employers hiring senior ml engineers in California right now include TikTok, Uber, and Amazon Web Services, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. California's concentration of major technology headquarters, defense contractors, and life-sciences companies makes it one of the densest senior-level ML hiring markets in the world.
Which California cities have the most senior ml engineer jobs?
San Francisco, San Jose, and Sunnyvale have the most senior ml engineer openings in California. The Bay Area leads because of the density of major tech headquarters and venture-backed AI startups headquartered there, while Los Angeles is driven by media-tech, fintech, and aerospace employers, and San Diego draws demand from its large defense and biotech sectors.
Are there remote senior ml engineer jobs in California?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 53% of senior ml engineer openings tied to California are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how naturally the work translates to distributed environments. Research, modeling, and experimentation phases are most commonly fully remote, while roles involving on-premise compute clusters or embedded systems teams tend to require regular on-site presence.
How can I get hired as a senior ml engineer in California with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is through a machine learning or data science internship or a junior data scientist role at a California technology company, then building toward ML engineering responsibilities over time. Large California employers such as Google, Meta, and Salesforce run structured early-career programs and rotational engineering tracks that accept candidates from master's programs. Building a public project portfolio on GitHub featuring end-to-end model training and deployment is the credential that most consistently moves candidates from adjacent roles like data analyst or software engineer into ML engineering.
Where can I find and apply to senior ml engineer jobs in California?
You can find and apply to senior ml engineer jobs in California on Migrate Mate, which lists current California openings across industries and metros. Find roles that match your experience and specialty, then apply directly through each listing.
See All 758+ Senior ML Engineer Jobs in California
Find roles in California that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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