Jobs / United States / Databricks
Senior Applied ML Engineer - ML4Sys
Databricks · 🇺🇸 San Francisco, California
Sponsorship verdict
Sponsorship possible
One solid signal, not two — worth applying, and worth asking about sponsorship early.
- Employer is on a government sponsor recordThe US Department of Labor certified 445 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 78 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
- The posting doesn’t mention sponsorshipSilence isn’t a refusal — ask the recruiter before investing much time.
- No salary bar for this routeH-1B has no fixed salary bar: the employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and area. Cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level. Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b, rules effective 2026-02-27.
- What Databricks paid sponsored hires in similar roles103 certified filings for “Software Engineer” (Software Developers) in CA: $158k–$191k, median $188k. Most were filed at wage level II (47%) — 2 lottery entries, ≈31% projected selection odds for cap-subject employers. Source: US Department of Labor LCA disclosure data (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026).
- Confirmed live todayWhen a source last listed this job as open.
US H-1B: cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level — Level I gets 1 entry, Level IV gets 4 (DHS projected selection odds ≈15% at Level I to ≈61% at Level IV). Universities and non-profit research employers are cap-exempt. The $100,000 fee for new petitions from abroad is currently blocked by a court order (appeal pending).
A verdict summarises public evidence; it is not legal advice and never a guarantee — the employer and the immigration authority decide. Sign in to factor in where you can already work.
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Sponsor Radar — Databricks
The US Department of Labor certified 445 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 78 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
Past sponsorship or register membership never guarantees sponsorship for this vacancy or for you. Full Sponsor Radar for Databricks →
About the role
RDQ127R59 Summary As a Senior Applied ML Engineer on the Applied AI team at Databricks, you will use machine learning, scheduling, and optimization algorithms to maximize the efficiency and performance of our infrastructure. Your work will span the entire stack—from cluster management down to query compilation. You will solve complex, high-impact engineering problems to deliver highly optimized, cost-effective workloads for our customers. Impact You Will Have • Accelerate Serverless Growth: Drive the scaling and efficiency of Databricks serverless compute products through advanced optimization techniques. • Build Systems: Design end-to-end ML4Sys solutions from the ground up within a lean team of domain experts to support • Shape Strategy: Define the roadmap for applied ML investments by collaborating with engineering and product leaders across Databricks. • Drive Deployment: Architect, train, and deploy state-of-the-art models that directly improve product performance and cost efficiency. • Scale Infrastructure: Build robust ML pipelines, data processing layers, model serving components, and production monitoring systems to help scale • Innovate: Research and implement novel modeling techniques tailored specifically to computer systems and distributed environments. Minimum Qualifications • Education: Background in Computer Science and Master's degree in Machine Learning, Data Science, or a related computational field (AI, Bioinformatics, EE, Physics, etc). • ML Experience: Strong background in building, training, and deploying machine learning models in production. • Infrastructure Knowledge: Practical familiarity with cloud computing, distributed systems, and modern data processing frameworks. • Core Coding: Proficiency in Python, Scala, or Java. Preferred Skills • Advanced Education: PhD in AI, Data Science, or a related technical discipline. • Industry Experience: 4+ years of machine learning engineering experience in high-velocity, high-growth environment. • Systems Domain: Strong understanding of computer architecture, distributed computing, cloud compute, database internals, or networking. • Optimization: Experience with operations research, forecasting, markov decision processes, or other optimization algorithms for sequential decision making. • Scale: Proven track record of optimizing large-scale distributed systems or cloud infrastructure via data-driven approaches. Pay Range Transparency Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here . Local Pay Range $166,000 — $210,250 USD About Databricks Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow