October 7, 2025

Software Engineer Tech Lead, Machine learning, YouTube Notifications

Senior • On-site

$197,000 - $291,000/yr

San Bruno, CA

Minimum qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
  • 8 years of experience in software development.
  • 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products, and 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
  • 5 years of experience with Machine Learning (ML) design and ML infrastructure (e.g., model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, fine tuning).
  • Experience with Machine Learning models and algorithms to drive impact via improved personalization of user-facing products (e.g., Data Processing and Analysis, Machine Learning, Recommender Systems, Personalization, A/B Testing).

Preferred qualifications:

  • Experience with data analysis, preferably using common Google tools.
  • Experience improving notifications by enabling timely sending opportunities.
  • Familiarity with Google/YouTube ML infrastructure.
  • Excellent communication and teamwork skills, especially about ML concepts and applications.

About the job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

The Notifications Quality team is responsible for generating personalized notifications sent to YouTube users in various states on multiple surfaces (e.g., mobile, inbox, etc.). We maintain pipelines and serving systems that initiate notification requests and generate recommendations. We develop sophisticated ML models and algorithms to effectively personalize notifications, which are critical to the YouTube ecosystem and user satisfaction.

The team aims to identify request times that optimize send opportunities for timely engagement while minimizing negative user and system cost. This involves identifying when the system should attempt to send and what content to send among eligible candidates. There are several ways to initiate algorithmic notifications today, both personalized-time {server scheduling, mobile client} and event-time (e.g., upload) fanout.
At YouTube, we believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share, and build community through our stories. We work together to give everyone the power to share their story, explore what they love, and connect with one another in the process. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and boundless creativity, we move at the speed of culture with a shared goal to show people the world. We explore new ideas, solve real problems, and have fun — and we do it all together.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $197,000-$291,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

  • Focus on driving notification-initiated visits and timeliness to ensure that YouTube users receive notifications aligned with a positive user experience.
  • Improve the timing, frequency, and content of notifications through innovative ML applications. 
  • Transform the way that notifications are generated for users today. 
  • Develop and optimize ML models, collaborate across teams, analyze user and system behaviors, and change the ways that users experience notifications.