Software Engineer III, Machine Learning (Engagement & Growth)

Our Mission

Launched in 2012, Tinder® revolutionized how people meet, growing from 1 match to one billion matches in just two years. This rapid growth demonstrates its ability to fulfill a fundamental human need: real connection. Today, the app has been downloaded over 630 million times, leading to over 97 billion matches, serving approximately 50 million users per month in 190 countries and 45+ languages - a scale unmatched by any other app in the category. In 2024, Tinder won four Effie Awards for its first-ever global brand campaign, “It Starts with a Swipe”™"

Our Values

One Team, One Dream

We work hand-in-hand, building Tinder for our members. We succeed together when we work collaboratively across functions, teams, and time zones, and think outside the box to achieve our company vision and mission.

Own It

We take accountability and strive to make a positive impact in all aspects of our business, through ownership, innovation, and a commitment to excellence.

Never Stop Learning

We cultivate a culture where it’s safe to take risks. We seek out input, share honest feedback, celebrate our wins, and learn from our mistakes in order to continue improving.

Spark Solutions

We’re problem solvers, focusing on how to best move forward when faced with obstacles. We don’t dwell on the past or on the issues at hand, but instead look at how to stay agile and overcome hurdles to achieve our goals.

Embrace Our Differences

We are intentional about building a workplace that reflects the rich diversity of our members. By leveraging different perspectives and other ways of thinking, we build better experiences for our members and our team.

The Team

The Engineering team is responsible for building innovative features and resilient systems that bring people together. We're always experimenting with new features to engage with our members. Although we are a high-scale tech company, the member-to-engineer ratio is very high—making the level of impact each engineer gets to have at Tinder enormous.

The Engagement & Growth ML team builds personalization systems that connect members with the right product experiences at the right time. We power Tinder’s growth through intelligent notifications, personalized CRM campaigns, and optimized lifecycle journeys that enhance engagement and retention. Our models and algorithms directly influence how millions of users experience Tinder daily, ensuring that their interactions are meaningful, timely, and rewarding.

About the Role:

As a Software Engineer focused on Machine Learning for Engagement & Growth, you will play a pivotal role in shaping how users experience Tinder beyond swipes and matches. You’ll design, implement, and scale machine learning systems that personalize outreach, optimize notifications products, and maximize long-term retention. You’ll work on cutting-edge ML techniques — spanning deep learning, reinforcement learning, ranking models and causal inference — to deliver the right messaging to the right user at the right time.

Where you’ll work:

This is a hybrid role and requires in-office collaboration three times per week. This position is located in Palo Alto, CA.

In this role, you will:

• Drive ML modeling efforts for Tinder’s engagement and growth experiences.
• Personalize notifications, CRM campaigns, and lifecycle journeys to improve member experience and retention.
• Apply advanced ML methods, including deep learning, reinforcement learning, ranking models and causal inference.
• Develop large-scale ML systems that serve recommendations with low latency and high reliability.
• Collaborate with product managers, ML engineers, and backend engineers to integrate models into user-facing experiences.
• Work with big data pipelines to improve the accuracy, efficiency, and long-term business impact of ML models.

You’ll need:

• 2+ years of hands-on machine learning experience, with a track record of delivering impactful solutions at scale.
• BS, MS or PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field.
• Strong expertise in deep learning, ranking/retrieval models, or reinforcement learning.
• Proficiency in ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Proficiency in Python, Java, Scala, or similar programming languages.

Nice to have:

• Hands-on experience in engagement, growth, or lifecycle personalization domains.
• Demonstrated experience designing causal inference driven systems to optimize interventions.
• Experience building and serving large-scale ML systems with low-latency requirements.
• A strong publication record at top ML conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, KDD, RecSys).

As a full-time employee, you’ll enjoy:

• Unlimited PTO (with no waiting period), 10 annual Wellness Days
• Time off to volunteer and charitable donations matched up to $15,000 annually
• Comprehensive health, vision, and dental coverage
• 100% 401(k) employer match up to 10%, Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• 100% paid parental leave (including for non-birthing parents), family forming benefits, and Milk Stork, which provides access to breast milk shipping for business travel, surrogacy, and employee relocation
• Investment in your development: mentorship through our MentorMatch program, access to 6,000+ online courses through Udemy, and an annual $3,000 stipend for your professional development
• Investment in your wellness: access to mental health support via Modern Health, BetterHelp, and Insight Timer; paid concierge medical membership, pet insurance, fitness membership subsidy, and commuter subsidy
• Free subscription to Tinder Gold

The salary range for this position is $180,000 - $210000. Factors such as scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience, education/training, job-related skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and business considerations may influence base pay offered. This salary range is reflective of a position based in Palo Alto, CA. This salary will be subject to a geographic adjustment (according to a specific city and state), if an authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.

Commitment to Inclusion

At Tinder, we don’t just accept difference, we celebrate it. We strive to build a workplace that reflects the rich diversity of our members around the world, and we value unique perspectives and backgrounds. Even if you don’t meet all the listed qualifications, we invite you to apply and show us how your skills could transfer. Tinder is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace where we welcome people of all sexes, gender identities, races, ethnicities, disabilities, and other lived experiences. Learn more here: https://www.lifeattinder.com/dei

If you require reasonable accommodation to complete a job application, pre-employment testing, or a job interview or to otherwise participate in the hiring process, please speak to your Talent Acquisition Partner directly.

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