Edtech.com's Summary

Quizlet is hiring a Senior/Staff Applied AI Engineer to advance its AI-driven learning platform by developing personalized and generative AI systems. The role involves building and deploying ML models for personalization, ranking, search, and generative AI features, collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance learner outcomes and product performance.

Highlights

Drive AI strategy and technical roadmap for personalization, ranking, search, recommendations, and generative AI/LLM systems.
Build end-to-end ML systems including candidate sourcing, embedding platforms, multi-stage ranking, and value modeling with fairness safeguards.
Develop and optimize LLM-based features such as RAG pipelines, instruction tuning, prompt engineering, and cost/latency-aware inference.
Create robust "Learner 360" embeddings leveraging behavior signals and conversational context for reuse across applications.
Maintain evaluation infrastructure and integrate offline metrics with online A/B testing for system performance and safety monitoring.
Ensure scalable, reliable systems with training-serving consistency, drift detection, canarying, rollback procedures, and CI/CD pipelines.
Collaborate closely with Product, Design, Legal, and Data Science teams on objectives, tradeoffs, and responsible AI practices.
Required experience includes 5-8+ years in applied ML/AI or ML-heavy software engineering, strong Python/PyTorch skills, and familiarity with MLOps tools.
Hands-on expertise in building ranking/personalization or search systems and experience with LLM/Generative AI data curation, fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and production considerations.
Compensation includes a base salary range of $205,000-$285,000 plus company stock options and comprehensive benefits.

Senior/Staff Applied AI Engineer Full Description

About Quizlet:

At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Our $1B+ learning platform serves tens of millions of students every month, including two-thirds of U.S. high schoolers and half of U.S. college students, powering over 2 billion learning interactions monthly.

We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. Weâre energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.

Letâs Build the Future of Learning

Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential.

About the Team (Applied AI):

Our mission is to invent and deploy the next generation of intelligent, personalized, and adaptive learning experiences. Weâre consolidating AI efforts across the company into a unified portfolio and are accountable for a disproportionate share of Quizletâs growth and product differentiation. Youâll partner closely with Product, Data Science, and the AI & Data Platform to deliver an AIâdriven learning coach thatâs recognized as bestâinâclass.

About the Role:

As an Applied AI Engineer, you will be working at the forefront of our AI strategy, shaping Quizletâs AI develop in one of the two complementary domains:

Personalization & Ranking â retrieval and ranking systems that match learners with the right content, experiences, and monetization moments across surfaces (search, feed, notifications, ads).

Generative AI & Agentic Systems â LLMâpowered tutoring, content understanding/synthesis, and tools that boost learner outcomes and creator productivity.

You will work on a variety of models and modeling systems (from TwoâTower retrieval and multiâtask rankers to RAG/LLM pipelines), ensure robust evaluation and responsible deployment

Weâre happy to share that this is an onsite position in our San Francisco office. To help foster team collaboration, we require that employees be in the office a minimum of three days per week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and as needed by your manager or the company. We believe that this working environment facilitates increased work efficiency, team partnership, and supports growth as an employee and organization.

In this role, you will:

Contribute to the technical roadmap for applied AI across personalization, ranking, search, recommendations, and GenAI/LLM systems; help connect modeling work to business metrics (engaged learners, conversion, retention, revenue)
Build components of endâtoâend ML systems: candidate sourcing, embedding platforms & ANN retrieval, multiâstage ranking (early/late), and value modeling with guardrails for fairness and integrity
Implement LLMâbased features: build RAG pipelines, apply instructionâ/preferenceâtuning techniques (e.g., SFT/DPO), optimize prompts, and improve latency/costâaware inference; contribute to offline evals + humanâinâtheâloop and online success metrics
Help develop "Learner 360" representations by working with behavior signals, explicit inputs, and conversational context to create robust embeddings reused across surfaces
Support evaluation infrastructure: contribute to the eval harness for both ranking and generative systems (offline metrics like NDCG/AUC/BLEU/BERTScore; quality/safety scorecards), and help close the loop with online A/B experiments
Ship reliable systems at scale: ensure trainingâserving consistency, implement drift detection, follow canarying/rollback protocols, participate in onâcall rotation for model services, and maintain strong CI/CD for features & models
Collaborate with and learn from senior ML/SWE teammates; write highâquality code and follow best practices for experimentation rigor and reproducibility
Work closely with Product, Design, Legal, and Data Science on objectives, tradeoffs, and responsible AI practices
Stay current with ML research (RecSys, LLMs, multimodal) and propose new methods that could improve learner outcomes

What you bring to the table:

5-8+ years of industry experience in applied ML/AI or MLâheavy software engineering
BS/MS in CS, ML, or related quantitative field (or equivalent experience)
Experience building ranking/personalization or search systems (retrieval, TwoâTower/dual encoders, multiâtask rankers) and contributing to online metric improvements (e.g., CTR, session depth, retention)
Handsâon experience with LLM/GenAI systems: data curation, fineâtuning (SFT/PEFT, preference optimization), prompt engineering, evaluation, and productionization considerations (latency/cost/safety)
Strong skills in Python/PyTorch, data and feature engineering, distributed training/inference on GPUs, and familiarity with modern MLOps (model registry, feature stores, monitoring, drift)
Solid experiment design (offline/online), metrics literacy, and ability to translate product goals into modeling solutions
Strong collaboration skills and eagerness to learn from senior engineers; some experience mentoring junior teammates is a plus

Bonus points if you have:

EdTech or consumer mobile experience; conversational tutoring or learning scienceâinformed modeling
Publications/openâsource with RecSys/LLMs (e.g., RecSys, KDD, NeurIPS, ICLR, ACL), or contributions to safety/guardrails tooling
Experience building on a modern MLOps stack (feature mgmt, orchestration, streaming, online inference at scale)

Compensation, Benefits & Perks:

Quizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Salary transparency helps to mitigate unfair hiring practices when it comes to discrimination and pay gaps. Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a starting base salary of $205,000 - $285,000, depending on location and experience, as well as company stock options
Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance
20 vacation days that we expect you to take!
Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, Dental, VSP Choice)
Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match
Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, and Wellness benefits
40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice

Why Join Quizlet?

ð Massive reach: 60M+ users, 1B+ interactions per week

ð§ Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI, adaptive learning, cognitive science

ð Strong momentum: Top-tier investors, sustainable business, real traction

ð¯ Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in peopleâs lives

ð¤ Inclusive culture: Committed to equity, diversity, and belonging

We strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome!

We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.

We provide a transparent setting that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!

In Closing:

At Quizlet, weâre excited about passionate people joining our teamâeven if you donât check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative, learning through challenges, and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest, respectful communication, thoughtful collaboration, and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.â

Quizletâs success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!

To All Recruiters and Placement Agencies:

At this time, Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.

Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.

#LI-FT

Original Job Description