Machine Learning Engineer I at CNN is a full-time hybrid opportunity for professionals with experience building and deploying production machine learning systems. Based in New York or Atlanta, the role offers a salary range of $99,400–$184,600 per year and focuses on personalization, search, recommendations, content understanding, Python, MLOps and large-scale AI systems.
Machine Learning Engineer I at CNN
CNN, part of Warner Bros. Discovery, is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer I to join its CNN Digital ML/AI team. The position is designed for a technically strong professional interested in developing production machine learning systems that support personalization, search, recommendations and content understanding across CNN’s digital platforms.
The role is available as a full-time hybrid position in New York, New York, or Atlanta, Georgia, providing an opportunity to work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital media, journalism and user experience.
According to the vacancy information provided, the position carries a base salary range of $99,400 to $184,600 per year, although actual compensation can vary depending on factors such as location, skills, experience, performance and internal equity.
Background & Job Description
CNN Digital reaches millions of users through web, mobile and connected television platforms. Its ML/AI team develops technology intended to help users discover and engage with relevant news and information.
The Machine Learning Engineer I will contribute to systems supporting these experiences. The position involves working across the complete machine learning lifecycle, from data preparation and feature engineering to model training, evaluation, deployment and monitoring.
The successful candidate will collaborate with software engineers, data scientists, product managers, platform teams and editorial stakeholders. This makes the position particularly relevant to professionals who want to apply machine learning to a large-scale consumer-facing product.
The role also provides exposure to areas such as recommendation systems, search, natural language processing, information retrieval, experimentation and generative AI.
Key Responsibilities
The Machine Learning Engineer I will be expected to contribute to the development and operation of production ML systems.
Key responsibilities include:
- Building and deploying full-lifecycle machine learning systems using Python.
- Developing solutions for personalization, search, recommendations and content understanding.
- Maintaining production machine learning pipelines.
- Performing data preprocessing and feature engineering.
- Training and evaluating machine learning models.
- Supporting model-serving and deployment infrastructure.
- Implementing experimentation and A/B testing frameworks.
- Evaluating model performance and measuring product impact.
- Optimizing ML systems for real-time and web-scale applications.
- Supporting systems serving millions of users.
- Working with platform and infrastructure teams to maintain reliability and scalability.
- Participating in code reviews and documentation.
- Sharing technical knowledge with colleagues and collaborating across teams.
The role therefore goes beyond theoretical machine learning. Candidates should be comfortable working with systems that need to operate reliably in a real production environment.
Qualifications
Education and Certification
Applicants are required to have a graduate degree, such as an MS or PhD, in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering or another related quantitative discipline.
The vacancy does not specify a particular professional certification as a mandatory requirement. Instead, the emphasis is on postgraduate education, practical machine learning experience and technical competence.
Experience
Candidates should have at least one year of professional experience building and deploying machine learning systems in production environments.
Applicants should also demonstrate:
- Strong Python programming skills.
- Experience with scikit-learn or a similar machine learning framework.
- Knowledge of the full ML lifecycle.
- Experience with data preprocessing and feature engineering.
- Experience with model training and evaluation.
- Understanding of model deployment.
- Knowledge of software engineering best practices.
- Familiarity with version control.
- Experience with testing and CI/CD.
- Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Preferred Experience
CNN identifies several additional skills that could strengthen an application.
Preferred experience includes working with large-scale consumer internet products such as social platforms, streaming services, e-commerce or media.
Experience with recommendation systems, search, NLP or information retrieval is also desirable.
Candidates may benefit from familiarity with:
- Data pipelines
- Feature stores
- Embedding infrastructure
- Experimentation platforms
- A/B testing
- Experimentation analysis
- AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Generative AI
- Media and news technology
Technical Skills
The position specifically highlights several technologies and technical areas.
Programming: Python and SQL
Machine Learning: scikit-learn or comparable ML frameworks
Development and MLOps: Git and MLflow or similar tools
Data: Large datasets, distributed processing and feature engineering
Deployment: REST APIs, model serving, monitoring and observability
This combination shows that the position is aimed at candidates who can connect machine learning development with software engineering and production infrastructure.
Salary and Benefits
The advertised salary range for the Machine Learning Engineer I position is:
$99,400–$184,600 per year
Warner Bros. Discovery states that actual compensation may depend on several factors, including location, market conditions, internal equity, qualifications, skills, experience and performance.
The broader compensation package may also include annual bonuses, short- and long-term incentives and program-specific awards.
Benefits listed in the vacancy include health insurance coverage, an employee wellness programme, life and disability insurance, retirement savings, paid holidays, sick time and vacation.
Applicants should review the official vacancy for the latest information concerning compensation and benefits.
Where Is the Job Based?
The Machine Learning Engineer I position is listed as hybrid and is available in two locations:
- New York, New York, United States
- Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Candidates should confirm the specific location and hybrid-working expectations during the application process.
Why This Machine Learning Opportunity Stands Out
This position offers an opportunity to work on machine learning applications that have direct exposure to a large digital audience.
Rather than focusing exclusively on research, the position involves developing systems for personalization, recommendations, search and content understanding. These are important applications of machine learning in digital media.
The role may also provide valuable experience in experimentation, scalable infrastructure, MLOps, cloud technologies and generative AI.
For early-career machine learning professionals with postgraduate qualifications and production experience, the position could represent an opportunity to develop expertise in large-scale consumer AI systems.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should review the official Warner Bros. Discovery careers listing for Machine Learning Engineer I, Job ID R000100421, and confirm the current application status, location requirements and complete vacancy details before submitting an application.
View the official Warner Bros. Discovery careers site
Applicants should ensure their CV clearly demonstrates relevant machine learning projects, production experience, Python expertise, ML frameworks, data engineering exposure and software development practices.
It can also be useful to highlight measurable achievements rather than simply listing technologies. For example, candidates can describe improvements in model performance, system reliability, processing efficiency or product outcomes where those achievements are supported by their professional experience.
Additional Information
Warner Bros. Discovery states that it is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants based on merit without discrimination across protected characteristics.
The company also provides an accommodation process for qualified candidates with disabilities who require adjustments during recruitment.
The vacancy does not provide a closing date in the information supplied here, so prospective applicants should check the official careers page for current availability before applying.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the salary for the CNN Machine Learning Engineer I job?
The advertised base salary range is $99,400 to $184,600 per year. Actual compensation can vary according to location, experience, skills and other factors.
Where is the CNN Machine Learning Engineer I position located?
The position is available in New York, New York, and Atlanta, Georgia, and is listed as hybrid.
What degree is required?
A graduate degree, such as an MS or PhD, in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering or a related quantitative field is required.
How much professional experience is required?
The vacancy specifies at least one year of professional experience building and deploying machine learning systems in production.
What programming language is required?
Python is required, while SQL is also listed among the technical skills.
What machine learning experience is preferred?
Experience with recommendation systems, search, NLP, information retrieval, data pipelines, feature stores, experimentation platforms, cloud platforms and generative AI can strengthen an application.
Is this a remote job?
No. The position is described as hybrid, with locations in New York and Atlanta.
Final Thoughts
The Machine Learning Engineer I at CNN opportunity combines machine learning engineering, software development, experimentation and large-scale digital products. With a listed salary range of $99,400–$184,600 annually, the role may be particularly attractive to candidates with postgraduate quantitative qualifications and hands-on production ML experience.
Professionals applying should focus on demonstrating their ability to build reliable machine learning systems, work with large datasets, collaborate across technical and non-technical teams and deploy models into real-world environments.
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