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Role Description

We are seeking a Machine Learning Engineer to build out our simulation and AI capabilities. You'll design and implement systems that model the CTV advertising ecosystem — auction dynamics, bidding strategies, campaign outcomes, and counterfactual scenarios — and develop AI-driven tools that accelerate how we build, test, and deploy ML systems.

• Design and build simulation environments that model CTV auction mechanics, inventory supply, and advertiser competition
• Develop counterfactual and what-if frameworks for evaluating bidding strategies, budget allocation, and pacing algorithms offline
• Build AI agents that explore strategy spaces, generate hypotheses, and automate experimentation within simulated environments
• Use LLMs and generative AI to accelerate internal ML workflows — synthetic data generation, code generation, automated analysis, and rapid prototyping
• Use simulation to de-risk ML model deployments — validate new bidding and optimization strategies before they touch live traffic
• Define the technical direction for simulation and AI infrastructure and mentor engineers on the team

Qualifications

• Strong production Python skills and experience building simulation or modeling systems
• Deep understanding of probabilistic modeling, stochastic processes, or agent-based simulation
• Hands-on experience with modern AI tools: LLMs, code generation, agentic workflows — and good judgment about when they help vs. when they don't
• Adtech experience: you understand auction theory, RTB mechanics, and the dynamics of programmatic advertising
• Ability to translate business questions ("what happens if we change our bid strategy?") into rigorous simulation frameworks
• Clear written communication: you'll be defining new technical directions and need to bring others along
• Ownership: you scope, design, and ship systems end-to-end with minimal direction

Requirements

• Causal inference — uplift modeling, synthetic controls, difference-in-differences, or incrementality testing
• Experience with discrete event simulation, Monte Carlo methods, or digital twins
• Reinforcement learning — using simulated environments for policy learning and evaluation
• Experience building agentic AI systems or multi-agent simulations
• Big data experience with Scala and Spark
• Systems programming experience in Zig or similar (C, C++, Rust)
• MLOps experience — model deployment, monitoring, and pipeline orchestration on AWS

In-Office Requirement Statement

We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day-to-day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role.

Relocation Statement

This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.

Salary Information

At Pinterest we believe the workplace should be equitable, inclusive, and inspiring for every employee. In an effort to provide greater transparency, we are sharing the base salary range for this position. The position is also eligible for equity. Final salary is based on a number of factors including location, travel, relevant prior experience, or particular skills and expertise.

US based applicants only

$123,696 — $254,667 USD