Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.
In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from 0to~1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.
Why join Handshake now:
Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
About the Role
Handshake is hiring a Machine Learning Engineer I for the Growth Relevance team. AI is transforming how students navigate their careers, and we're committed to providing innovative, responsible AI-powered solutions that guide students from educational aspirations to meaningful career opportunities. In this role, you will contribute directly to this mission by developing, deploying, and enhancing machine learning systems focused on lifecycle optimization, personalized notifications, and monetization strategies.
You'll join a high-impact team leveraging cutting-edge ML infrastructure, including embedding-based retrieval, Graph Neural Networks, and multi-stage rankers built upon a robust data platform with billions of data points. Your work will drive critical marketplace metrics, enhance user engagement, and contribute to responsible AI practices around explainability, fairness, and quality.
What You'll Do
Innovator: Develop and iterate on machine learning models and features that directly influence user experience across lifecycle, notifications, and monetization — with guidance from senior engineers.
Collaborator: Partner with senior engineers, data scientists, and product managers to develop and iterate on machine learning models that improve product features and user experience.
Learner: Grow your technical depth by working alongside experienced ML practitioners, picking up best practices in model development, experimentation, and production deployment.
Desired Capabilities
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field
1-3 years of experience in machine learning, data science, or a related area
Proficient in Python, with hands-on experience in frameworks such as scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow
Experience with deploying and evaluating agentic workflows
Strong foundation in core ML concepts, including classification, regression, ranking, and model evaluation
Extra Credit
Master’s degree or currently pursuing an advanced degree in a relevant field
Exposure to areas such as recommendations, personalization, NLP, deep learning, LLMs, or explainable AI
Familiarity with the ML lifecycle (e.g., experiment tracking, model monitoring, feature pipelines)
Experience with cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, or Azure)
Clear communicator, able to translate technical work for diverse audiences
Collaborative mindset with experience working cross-functionally with product, analytics, and engineering teams
Perks
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field
- 1-3 years of experience in machine learning, data science, or a related area
- Proficiency in Python
- Hands-on experience with scikit-learn, PyTorch, or TensorFlow
- Experience deploying and evaluating agentic workflows
- Strong foundation in classification, regression, ranking, and model evaluation
- Master's degree or pursuit of an advanced degree in a relevant field
- Exposure to recommendations, personalization, NLP, deep learning, LLMs, or explainable AI
- Familiarity with experiment tracking, model monitoring, or feature pipelines
- Experience with GCP, AWS, or Azure
- Clear communication skills for translating technical work to diverse audiences
- Cross-functional collaboration with product, analytics, and engineering teams
Handshake Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Handshake and has not been reviewed or approved by Handshake.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off practices include flexible/unlimited PTO, companywide recharge weeks in summer and winter, plus additional volunteer and personal holiday time. Feedback suggests sabbaticals and coordinated breaks help people actually use rest time.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave is described as extended for primary and secondary caregivers, and family-oriented policies are highlighted. Fertility and family-support resources are referenced in public materials.
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Healthcare Strength — Core coverage spans medical, dental, and vision, with added mental-health resources and wellness programming. Feedback suggests these supports contribute meaningfully to overall wellbeing.
Handshake Insights
What We Do
Handshake is the #1 place to launch a career with no connections, experience, or luck required. The platform connects up-and-coming talent with 650,000+ employers - from Fortune 500 companies like Google, Nike, and Target to thousands of public school districts, healthcare systems, and nonprofits. Earlier this year, we announced our $200M Series F funding round. This Series F fundraise and new valuation of $3.5B will fuel Handshake’s next phase of growth and propel our mission to help more people start, restart, and jumpstart their careers.
Why Work With Us
How someone builds their career is foundational. We believe in working with the higher education community to help students build meaningful careers. We are at the nexus of universities, students and employers— and we’re able to connect the very best pieces of each side. We’re proud to create a community where students can be more successful.
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