Jobs / United States / Thrive Market INC
Principal Machine Learning Engineer
Thrive Market INC · 🇺🇸 Playa Vista, CA or Remote · Remote
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 9 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 2 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 Thrive Market INC paid sponsored hires in similar roles3 certified filings for “Lead Software Engineer, iOS” (Software Developers) in CA: $177k–$225k, median $215k. Most were filed at wage level IV (67%) — 4 lottery entries, ≈61% 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 — Thrive Market INC
The US Department of Labor certified 9 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 2 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 Thrive Market INC →
About the role
ABOUT THRIVE MARKET Thrive Market was founded in 2014 with a mission to make healthy and sustainable living easy and affordable for everyone. As an online, membership-based market, we deliver the highest quality healthy, and sustainable products at member-only prices, while matching every paid membership with a free one for someone in need. Every day, we leverage innovative technology and member-first thinking to help our over 1,700,000+ members find better products, support better brands, and build a better world in the process. We are also a Certified B Corporation, a Public Benefit Corporation, and a Climate Neutral Certified company. Join us as we bring healthy and sustainable living to millions of Americans in the years to come. THE ROLE As Principal Machine Learning Engineer, you'll bridge hands-on MLOps execution with research-level thinking, a combination that spans everything from infrastructure to publication-grade experimentation. You'll read and implement cutting-edge ML papers, debate architecture and statistical methodology with the engineering team, and translate model results into clear business impact at company All Hands. Given how much large language models have reshaped what's possible, you'll also help shape Thrive Market's long-term vision for search and discovery. It's a role that runs the full arc from research to production to business outcomes, with real latitude to define how that work gets done. RESPONSIBILITIES: • Build new ML systems from the ground up, close data gaps as they arise, and maintain and improve the existing ML pipeline. • Read and implement ML papers on alternative model architectures, then run training experiments to benchmark results against current production models. From your scope help define the long-term search vision, especially given how LLMs have shifted what's possible • Stand up and manage infrastructure, such as a Redis cluster, to support ML workloads. • Weigh in on and help drive architecture decisions and statistical methodology alongside the broader engineering team. • Help shape Thrive Market's long-term vision for search and discovery, informed by how large language models have changed what's possible to build. From your scope help define the long-term search vision, especially given how LLMs have shifted what's possible • Present model results and roadmap, including business and revenue impact QUALIFICATIONS: • 8+ years of machine learning engineering spanning both MLOps and research-oriented work, with demonstrated principal-level impact across the full loop from research paper to production implementation to business impact presentation • Hands-on experience reading and implementing ML papers, and running comparative training experiments to evaluate new model architectures against production baselines • Experience building and operating ML infrastructure and pipelines, such as standing up a Redis cluster • Experience with, or an informed perspective on, search and discovery systems, particularly how large language models have changed what's feasible to build in house versus buy • Comfortable operating as a cross-functional driver, not just an individual contributor, able to debate architecture and statistical methodology across teams • Experience presenting technical results and roadmaps, including business and revenue impact, to broad or executive audiences PREFERRED: • Hands-on experience with search, personalization, recommendations, ranking, or lifecycle modeling. • Experience with MLOps best practices, including model versioning, CI/CD for ML, monitoring, and operating models in containerized and orchestrated environments (Docker, Kubernetes). • Experience in e-commerce, marketplace, or subscription-based businesses. • Familiarity with wo