Machine Learning Engineer Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Machine learning engineers who build the infrastructure to train, deploy, and monitor ML models at scale are critically needed by US companies operationalizing their data science investments. This role sits at the intersection of software engineering and data science - requiring expertise in feature engineering, model serving, distributed training, and monitoring - which makes it a strong specialty occupation for visa sponsorship. Employers ranging from FAANG to fintech to healthcare AI companies sponsor machine learning engineers because reliable ML infrastructure is what turns experimental models into revenue-generating products. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., Raleigh, London, and Amsterdam.
We are the Fraud Data team within Plaid's Fraud organization. We leverage relationships and activity across Plaid’s network to develop machine learning models that help customers detect and prevent fraud while minimizing friction for legitimate users. Our team owns the full model lifecycle, from data processing and experimentation to feature pipelines, model serving, and monitoring. In this research role, you’ll partner closely with Machine Learning Engineers and Data Scientists to uncover new signals, explore and evaluate innovative modeling approaches, and translate promising research into production-ready solutions that strengthen fraud detection across Plaid’s network.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As a Senior Research Scientist, you will lead applied research to develop next-generation fraud detection models across relational graphs, sequential events, images, and video data. You’ll design rigorous experiments and evaluation methodologies that reflect real-world fraud dynamics, while exploring state-of-the-art approaches such as Graph Neural Networks and Transformer-based foundation models. In close partnership with Machine Learning Engineers, you’ll translate promising research into production-ready solutions and communicate your findings internally and externally to advance the technical bar for fraud machine learning at Plaid.
- Research and prototype state-of-the-art approaches across graph machine learning, sequential modeling, and multimodal learning to build next-generation fraud detection capabilities.
- Own and execute a research roadmap that translates innovative ideas and prototypes into production solutions with measurable product and customer impact.
- Publish and share applied research while collaborating with a highly skilled, cross-functional team across Data, Product, and Engineering.
- Leverage Plaid’s network-level financial data to uncover insights and develop solutions that help hundreds of millions of consumers achieve greater financial freedom.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field strongly preferred. Candidates without a PhD may be considered with equivalent research experience, such as significant publications, patents, or widely adopted research contributions in relevant fields.
- 2–4+ years of relevant industry or research lab experience, ideally post-PhD, with demonstrated research leadership and a track record of translating innovative research into measurable product or business impact.
- Demonstrated scientific rigor, with strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to clearly communicate complex research findings.
- Strong proficiency in Python and experience building high-quality research prototypes that can inform or transition into production systems.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in fraud detection, security, risk, or abuse prevention.
- Experience with large-scale training, graph systems, and sequential modeling.
Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!
Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com.
Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.
Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.
COMPENSATION
- Compensation Range: $228,960 - $315,360
INTRODUCTION
We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., Raleigh, London, and Amsterdam.
We are the Fraud Data team within Plaid's Fraud organization. We leverage relationships and activity across Plaid’s network to develop machine learning models that help customers detect and prevent fraud while minimizing friction for legitimate users. Our team owns the full model lifecycle, from data processing and experimentation to feature pipelines, model serving, and monitoring. In this research role, you’ll partner closely with Machine Learning Engineers and Data Scientists to uncover new signals, explore and evaluate innovative modeling approaches, and translate promising research into production-ready solutions that strengthen fraud detection across Plaid’s network.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As a Senior Research Scientist, you will lead applied research to develop next-generation fraud detection models across relational graphs, sequential events, images, and video data. You’ll design rigorous experiments and evaluation methodologies that reflect real-world fraud dynamics, while exploring state-of-the-art approaches such as Graph Neural Networks and Transformer-based foundation models. In close partnership with Machine Learning Engineers, you’ll translate promising research into production-ready solutions and communicate your findings internally and externally to advance the technical bar for fraud machine learning at Plaid.
- Research and prototype state-of-the-art approaches across graph machine learning, sequential modeling, and multimodal learning to build next-generation fraud detection capabilities.
- Own and execute a research roadmap that translates innovative ideas and prototypes into production solutions with measurable product and customer impact.
- Publish and share applied research while collaborating with a highly skilled, cross-functional team across Data, Product, and Engineering.
- Leverage Plaid’s network-level financial data to uncover insights and develop solutions that help hundreds of millions of consumers achieve greater financial freedom.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a closely related field strongly preferred. Candidates without a PhD may be considered with equivalent research experience, such as significant publications, patents, or widely adopted research contributions in relevant fields.
- 2–4+ years of relevant industry or research lab experience, ideally post-PhD, with demonstrated research leadership and a track record of translating innovative research into measurable product or business impact.
- Demonstrated scientific rigor, with strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to clearly communicate complex research findings.
- Strong proficiency in Python and experience building high-quality research prototypes that can inform or transition into production systems.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in fraud detection, security, risk, or abuse prevention.
- Experience with large-scale training, graph systems, and sequential modeling.
Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!
Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com.
Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.
Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.
COMPENSATION
- Compensation Range: $228,960 - $315,360
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Visa Sponsorship as a Machine Learning Engineer
Emphasize production engineering over research
MLE roles focus on deploying, scaling, and monitoring models in production - not just training them. Highlight experience with model serving frameworks like TensorFlow Serving, TorchServe, or Triton Inference Server to stand out.
Target companies with mature ML infrastructure teams
Google, Meta, Netflix, Uber, and Spotify have dedicated MLE teams that build and maintain production ML systems. These companies sponsor H-1B petitions under SOC 15-1252 and understand the engineering nature of the role.
Leverage your dual skill set in interviews
The MLE role bridges data science and software engineering, and that's your selling point. Strong candidates can discuss both model optimization and system design, which is rare and makes employers more willing to invest in sponsorship.
Build MLOps expertise to increase your value
Feature stores, experiment tracking, model monitoring, and automated retraining pipelines are critical MLE skills. Companies building serious ML products need engineers who can operationalize models, not just build prototypes.
Use STEM OPT to prove production reliability
With a STEM-eligible degree, you get up to 3 years of work authorization through OPT. ML systems require deep institutional knowledge to maintain - use that time to become indispensable to your team's production stack.
File under the right SOC code for engineering
MLE roles typically file under SOC 15-1252 (Software Developers), emphasizing the engineering and systems side of the work. This classification has strong precedent for H-1B approval - ensure your job description reflects the production engineering focus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ML infrastructure skills are most valued by employers sponsoring machine learning engineers?
Experience with distributed training frameworks (PyTorch Distributed, DeepSpeed), model serving platforms (TensorFlow Serving, NVIDIA Triton, ONNX Runtime), and feature engineering tools (Feast, Tecton) are the most sought-after skills. Knowledge of GPU cluster management, inference cost optimization, and monitoring for data drift also carries significant weight. These specific technical requirements are exactly what make the visa petition strong, because they show the role requires specialized knowledge beyond general software engineering.
Do machine learning engineers need a PhD, or is a master's degree sufficient for sponsorship?
A master's degree is sufficient for the vast majority of ML engineering roles, and many positions only require a bachelor's in computer science or a related field. A PhD is more commonly expected for research-focused ML positions, not engineering roles focused on production systems. That said, a master's degree qualifies you for the additional 20,000 H-1B visa cap exemption slots reserved for U.S. advanced degree holders, which improves your lottery odds.
I have a research background but want to move into ML engineering. How does this affect sponsorship?
The transition is common and does not create visa issues. Your research background demonstrates the theoretical knowledge needed to make sound infrastructure decisions, while any production-adjacent work from your research (deploying models, building data pipelines, optimizing training runs) shows practical engineering capability. If you have a PhD, you benefit from the advanced degree H-1B exemption. The combination of theoretical depth from research and hands-on engineering skills can actually strengthen your petition.
How to find Machine Learning Engineer jobs with visa sponsorship?
To find Machine Learning Engineer jobs with visa sponsorship, use Migrate Mate, which specializes in connecting international talent with sponsoring employers. Focus on tech companies, startups, and research institutions that commonly hire ML engineers on H-1B, O-1 visa, or other work visas. These employers often need specialized AI/ML expertise and are willing to sponsor qualified candidates with relevant experience in data science, neural networks, and algorithm development.
Which companies sponsor machine learning engineers most actively?
Companies operationalizing ML at scale are the most active sponsors. This includes large tech firms (Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft), ML-first product companies (Spotify, Netflix, Uber, Stripe), and AI infrastructure startups (Databricks, Anyscale, Weights & Biases). Fintech and healthcare AI companies are also growing sponsors. Look for employers whose products depend on reliable ML systems in production, as they are most motivated to invest in sponsorship for engineers who can bridge the gap between a trained model and a live product.
What prevailing wage levels typically apply to ML engineering roles?
ML engineering salaries typically place candidates at Level 3 or Level 4 of the Department of Labor prevailing wage system, which is favorable for visa petitions. Higher wage levels signal to USCIS that the role is senior and specialized, reducing the risk of a Request for Evidence. If an employer offers a salary at Level 1, that is a red flag for both immigration risk and fair compensation. You can check prevailing wages for your role and location on the DOL's Foreign Labor Certification Data Center.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Machine Learning Engineer jobs?
When a U.S. employer sponsors a foreign worker for a work visa, they are legally required to pay at least the "prevailing wage", the average wage paid to workers in the same occupation, in the same geographic area, with similar experience. This is set by the Department of Labor to prevent employers from hiring foreign workers at below-market rates. The prevailing wage varies significantly by role, location, and experience level. For example, a machine learning engineer in California will have a different prevailing wage than the same role in a smaller state. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search Page.