Machine Learning Engineer Visa Sponsorship Jobs in California
California is the center of machine learning engineering in the United States, with major hiring concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Companies like Google, Meta, Apple, and a dense ecosystem of AI startups regularly sponsor H-1B visa and O-1 visas for ML engineers with strong research or production experience.
Find Machine Learning Engineer JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 1,870+ Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in California with Visa Sponsorship
Have you applied for this role?
Have you applied for this role?
Have you applied for this role?
Have you applied for this role?
Have you applied for this role?
See all 1,870+ Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in California with Visa Sponsorship
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in California with Visa Sponsorship.
Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Genies is an AI avatar technology company powering the visual and embodiment layer for AI. Through the Genies SDK, their proprietary avatar framework brings AI to life as fully realized AI personas that look, think, behave, and play like living identities. Genies powers AI companion, NPC, and agent use cases across enterprise, consumer, creator, entertainment, and gaming. Genies has raised $200M from Silver Lake, BOND, and Bob Iger. Genies is built on the belief that every website, app, game, brand, and human will have an AI persona.
Genies is looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to join our Avatar Technology team, focused on building the next generation of AI-driven animation systems. This role is focused on integrating machine learning systems into production animation pipelines and realtime environments, while also owning the applied ML work required to make these systems effective in practice. You will work across data, modeling, and runtime systems to ensure ML-driven animation performs reliably and at high quality in production.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Integrate machine learning models into realtime animation systems across mobile and web environments.
- Develop systems that translate inputs such as audio, text, and intent into responsive avatar motion in production.
- Work with generative models (e.g., diffusion, transformer-based systems) and adapt them for specific use cases such as facial animation, gesture generation, and character behavior.
- Collect, process, and manage animation datasets (mocap, facial capture, simulation data) for training, fine-tuning, and evaluation.
- Build data pipelines for extraction, preprocessing, and validation of motion data.
- Fine-tune and adapt existing models to improve quality, stability, and performance in production environments.
- Collaborate with Behavior and LLM teams to integrate predictive motion systems into state machines and character logic.
- Design and build tools and workflows that enable Technical Artists to work effectively with ML-driven animation systems.
- Develop pipelines that connect DCC tools (Maya, Blender) with ML systems and runtime engines.
- Debug, profile, and optimize runtime performance across CPU, GPU, and memory constraints.
- Develop automation and validation systems to support asset quality and iteration speed.
What You Should Have:
- 7+ years of experience in machine learning, animation systems, or related technical roles in games, VFX, or interactive media.
- Experience developing and shipping ML systems in production environments.
- Strong programming skills in Python, along with C++ and/or C#.
- Experience working with animation systems, including skeletal animation, rigging, or simulation pipelines.
- Familiarity with ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
- Experience working with datasets and building data processing pipelines.
- Experience integrating systems into realtime engines such as Unity, Unreal, or web-based runtimes.
- Strong understanding of performance constraints, including latency, memory, and scalability.
- Experience building tools or workflows for Technical Artists or content teams.
Who You Are:
- You are comfortable working across machine learning, animation systems, and realtime applications.
- You can take models from prototype to production and understand the tradeoffs involved.
- You care about animation quality and user experience, not just model outputs.
- You work well with cross-functional teams across ML, engineering, and content.
- You are proactive, detail-oriented, and comfortable owning systems end-to-end.
- You communicate clearly and can translate technical concepts across disciplines.
How Genies will support you
- Competitive salary and equity packages
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO
- Parental leave
- Hybrid work structure (minimum 4 days in office weekly)
- Monthly wellness reimbursement
Genies is a well-funded, fast-growing start-up that values innovation, creativity, and ownership. Our roles and their responsibilities are created with a breadth of scope that introduces each employee to exciting new challenges and opportunities that a growing start-up encounters. The actual base pay is dependent upon a number of factors, including: professional background, training, transferable skills, work experience, education, location, business and product needs, and market demand. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.
These are for our full time, benefits eligible positions.
INTRODUCTION
Genies is an AI avatar technology company powering the visual and embodiment layer for AI. Through the Genies SDK, their proprietary avatar framework brings AI to life as fully realized AI personas that look, think, behave, and play like living identities. Genies powers AI companion, NPC, and agent use cases across enterprise, consumer, creator, entertainment, and gaming. Genies has raised $200M from Silver Lake, BOND, and Bob Iger. Genies is built on the belief that every website, app, game, brand, and human will have an AI persona.
Genies is looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to join our Avatar Technology team, focused on building the next generation of AI-driven animation systems. This role is focused on integrating machine learning systems into production animation pipelines and realtime environments, while also owning the applied ML work required to make these systems effective in practice. You will work across data, modeling, and runtime systems to ensure ML-driven animation performs reliably and at high quality in production.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Integrate machine learning models into realtime animation systems across mobile and web environments.
- Develop systems that translate inputs such as audio, text, and intent into responsive avatar motion in production.
- Work with generative models (e.g., diffusion, transformer-based systems) and adapt them for specific use cases such as facial animation, gesture generation, and character behavior.
- Collect, process, and manage animation datasets (mocap, facial capture, simulation data) for training, fine-tuning, and evaluation.
- Build data pipelines for extraction, preprocessing, and validation of motion data.
- Fine-tune and adapt existing models to improve quality, stability, and performance in production environments.
- Collaborate with Behavior and LLM teams to integrate predictive motion systems into state machines and character logic.
- Design and build tools and workflows that enable Technical Artists to work effectively with ML-driven animation systems.
- Develop pipelines that connect DCC tools (Maya, Blender) with ML systems and runtime engines.
- Debug, profile, and optimize runtime performance across CPU, GPU, and memory constraints.
- Develop automation and validation systems to support asset quality and iteration speed.
What You Should Have:
- 7+ years of experience in machine learning, animation systems, or related technical roles in games, VFX, or interactive media.
- Experience developing and shipping ML systems in production environments.
- Strong programming skills in Python, along with C++ and/or C#.
- Experience working with animation systems, including skeletal animation, rigging, or simulation pipelines.
- Familiarity with ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
- Experience working with datasets and building data processing pipelines.
- Experience integrating systems into realtime engines such as Unity, Unreal, or web-based runtimes.
- Strong understanding of performance constraints, including latency, memory, and scalability.
- Experience building tools or workflows for Technical Artists or content teams.
Who You Are:
- You are comfortable working across machine learning, animation systems, and realtime applications.
- You can take models from prototype to production and understand the tradeoffs involved.
- You care about animation quality and user experience, not just model outputs.
- You work well with cross-functional teams across ML, engineering, and content.
- You are proactive, detail-oriented, and comfortable owning systems end-to-end.
- You communicate clearly and can translate technical concepts across disciplines.
How Genies will support you
- Competitive salary and equity packages
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO
- Parental leave
- Hybrid work structure (minimum 4 days in office weekly)
- Monthly wellness reimbursement
Genies is a well-funded, fast-growing start-up that values innovation, creativity, and ownership. Our roles and their responsibilities are created with a breadth of scope that introduces each employee to exciting new challenges and opportunities that a growing start-up encounters. The actual base pay is dependent upon a number of factors, including: professional background, training, transferable skills, work experience, education, location, business and product needs, and market demand. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.
These are for our full time, benefits eligible positions.
Machine Learning Engineer Job Roles in California
See all 1,870+ Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in California
Sign up for free to filter by visa type, set job alerts, and find employers with verified sponsorship history.
Search Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in CaliforniaMachine Learning Engineer Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies sponsor visas for machine learning engineers in California?
Large technology companies are the most consistent sponsors. Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Nvidia all have significant California operations and established visa sponsorship programs for machine learning engineers. Beyond big tech, AI-focused companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI, as well as semiconductor and autonomous vehicle firms, regularly file H-1B petitions for ML roles in the state.
Which visa types are most common for machine learning engineer roles in California?
The H-1B is the most common visa category for machine learning engineers in California, given that ML roles typically require at least a bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, or a related field. Candidates with exceptional research records, publications, or competitive awards may qualify for the O-1A. Australians can pursue the E-3 visa as a lower-competition alternative for roles that meet specialty occupation requirements.
Which cities in California have the most machine learning engineer sponsorship jobs?
The San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose, Mountain View, Menlo Park, and San Francisco itself, accounts for the largest share of ML engineering sponsorship roles in California. Los Angeles has a growing AI and entertainment-tech sector with active hiring. San Diego also sees demand from biotech, defense contractors, and research institutions like UC San Diego that feed into commercial ML roles.
How to find machine learning engineer visa sponsorship jobs in California?
Migrate Mate filters job listings specifically by visa sponsorship availability, making it straightforward to search for machine learning engineer roles in California without sorting through positions that do not sponsor. You can filter by location and role type to surface verified sponsoring employers across the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Creating a profile on Migrate Mate also helps match your background to relevant openings.
Are there any state-specific considerations for machine learning engineers seeking sponsorship in California?
California's concentration of H-1B-dependent employers means some companies must meet additional attestation requirements under DOL rules, which can affect hiring timelines. The state's university pipeline, particularly from Stanford, UC Berkeley, Caltech, and UCLA, creates significant competition for sponsored roles. ML engineers with specialized skills in large language models, computer vision, or MLOps tend to have stronger positioning with sponsors in the current California hiring market.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored machine learning engineer jobs in California?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.