About The Company
Zillow is a leading real estate and home-related marketplace dedicated to transforming the way people buy, sell, finance, and rent homes. As the most-visited real estate platform in the United States, Zillow leverages innovative technology and data-driven insights to empower consumers and industry professionals alike. Recognized for its commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace, Zillow has been honored among the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® and TIME's America's Best Companies list. The company fosters a culture of innovation, collaboration, and growth, supporting employees through flexible work arrangements and a focus on continuous development. Zillow's mission is to make home-related transactions more accessible, transparent, and efficient, ultimately helping millions of people turn their homeownership dreams into reality.
About The Role
We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Machine Learning Engineer to join the Agentic AI team at Zillow. In this strategic role, you will lead the development of large-scale, fault-tolerant multimodal AI experiences that directly impact millions of users. You will be responsible for designing and implementing multiple modes of agent interactions, including Voice AI and Deep Research, to enhance user engagement and satisfaction. Your expertise will drive the creation of robust evaluation frameworks, tracing systems, and safety protocols to ensure our AI agents operate reliably, ethically, and responsibly. This role offers the opportunity to stay at the forefront of emerging agentic paradigms, transforming cutting-edge research into innovative product features. You will lead complex initiatives across multiple teams, bridging the gap between applied research and scalable engineering solutions. Additionally, you will communicate complex AI architectures and research findings to diverse audiences, including executive leadership and cross-functional teams. This role is classified as remote, offering flexibility to work from any approved location within the United States, subject to regional pay ranges and company policies.
Qualifications
- A master's degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with a focus on multimodal large language models (LLMs) or equivalent experience.
- Minimum of 5+ years of experience deploying large-scale machine learning models, with recent 2-3 years focused on building agent-based systems, multi-agent collaboration, or similar paradigms.
- Proven experience developing engaging dialogue systems capable of long conversations, context-aware tool selection, and compliant response generation.
- Expertise in building AI services capable of handling hundreds of millions of daily interactions with high availability, low latency, and fault tolerance.
- Familiarity with agentic AI frameworks such as LangGraph, Agents SDK, AutoGen, and production ML infrastructure.
- Strong publication record, including articles, patents, or high-impact research in relevant fields (a plus).
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence technical direction and present complex concepts to diverse audiences, including executives.
Responsibilities
- Lead the development of large-scale, multimodal AI agent experiences that serve millions of users reliably and efficiently.
- Design and implement multiple interaction modes, including Voice AI and Deep Research, to enhance user engagement.
- Establish and maintain robust evaluation frameworks, tracing systems, and safety guardrails to ensure AI trustworthiness and responsibility.
- Pioneer innovative approaches by staying updated on emerging agentic paradigms and translating them into tangible product features.
- Lead and coordinate complex projects across multiple teams, ensuring seamless integration of research and engineering efforts.
- Translate complex research findings and AI system architectures into clear, actionable insights for stakeholders at all levels.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align AI development with product goals and user needs.
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to the continuous improvement of AI engineering practices.
Benefits
- Competitive salary commensurate with experience and location.
- Eligible for equity awards based on performance, experience, and geographic location.
- Flexible remote work arrangements, promoting work-life balance and autonomy.
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
- Generous paid time off and holiday leave policies.
- Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning.
- Inclusive and innovative company culture that values diversity and employee well-being.
Equal Opportunity
Zillow is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are dedicated to providing accommodations for individuals with disabilities or special needs throughout the hiring process. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.