Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Agentic AI
Zillow Open · verified Oct 22, 2026 At a glance
Senior Machine Learning Engineering role at Zillow. Remote, United States · full-time.
In listing Machine Learning Engineer salary
aimlroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build reliable multimodal AI agent experiences at scale for customers
- Create agent interaction options, including voice assistance and deep research
- Set up evaluation, tracing and safety systems to keep AI agents trustworthy
- Turn new agent approaches into product features and lead complex work across teams
- Explain research and AI system designs clearly to executives and partner teams
What you bring
- A master's degree or equivalent experience in computer science, electrical engineering or a related field
- At least five years deploying large-scale machine learning models, including recent work on agent-based systems
- Experience building conversational systems with long interactions, context-aware tool choices and compliant responses
- Experience delivering highly available, low-latency AI services that handle very large daily interaction volumes
Who this fits
This principal-level role suits a hands-on technical leader who can connect advanced AI methods with large-scale engineering and influence teams. It is remote within the United States, with employees working from a chosen physical location that must be identified to the company.
From the employer
About the team
The Agentic AI team at Zillow is at the forefront of transforming the real estate industry by helping millions of people use AI assistants to find their next home. We aim to redefine the home shopping and transaction experience by providing an always-on assistant that integrates personalized user insights with Zillow's knowledge. This lean, customer-focused team of engineers independently ships features and has the autonomy to move fast and make decisions.About the role
As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer on the Agentic Artificial Intelligence team, you will get to:
- Develop large-scale, fault-tolerant multimodal agentic experiences that reach millions of customers
- Design and develop multiple agent interaction modes, including Voice AI and Deep Research.
- Pioneer robust evaluation frameworks, tracing systems, and safety guardrails to ensure our highly-visible AI agents remain trustworthy and responsible
- Remain on the cutting edge of emerging agentic paradigms and convert them into tangible product innovation
- Lead complex, multi-team initiatives, bridging the gap between applied research and highly scalable engineering
- Distill complex research findings and AI system architectures into actionable insights for a diverse audience, including executives and cross-functional partner teams
Who you are
As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer, you are a roll-up-the-sleeves and get-it-done technical leader who can marry state-of-the-art technology with large-scale engineering. We are looking for someone who has:
- A master's degree or above, or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with emphasis on building products using frontier multimodal LLMs
- 5+ years of experience with a proven track record of deploying large-scale ML models, with the most recent 2-3 years building agent-based systems, multi-agent collaboration, or similar paradigms
- Experience developing engaging dialogue systems capable of long conversations, context-aware tool selection, and compliant response generation
- Experience building AI services capable of handling hundreds of millions of daily interactions with high availability, low latency, and robust fault tolerance
- Familiarity with various agentic AI frameworks, such as LangGraph, Agents SDK, AutoGen, and production ML infrastructure
- A track record of writing articles, patents, and publishing high-impact research is a strong plus
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to influence technical direction across teams and present to executive leadership
Get to know us
At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., we help people navigate buying, selling, financing and renting with greater ease and confidence. Whether you're working in tech, sales, operations, or design, you’ll be part of a company reshaping an industry and helping more people make home a reality.
How we work is a key part of that transformation. Through Cloud HQ, our strategic approach to distributed work, most employees have the flexibility to work from wherever they’re most productive—enabling us to move fast, stay connected and deliver on our people promise.
Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the U.S. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2026, and included on TIME’s America’s Best Companies 2026 list, reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.
No matter where you sit in the organization, your work will help drive innovation, support our customers, and move the industry—and your career—forward, together.
Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.
Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.