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Discord

Connects friends through gaming-focused chat

Engineering Manager - Machine Learning, Safety

Full-Time
$272k - $340k/yr+ Equity
Mid, Senior
Remote in USA+1 moreMore locations: San Francisco, CA, USA
Remote
Engineering ManagementEngineering Leadership

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 5 years of experience as a Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, or Applied Scientist.
  • At least 3 years of experience as an Engineering Manager, including successful management of a team of at least 5 engineers.
  • Hands-on depth in at least one of abuse or fraud detection, content classification, behavioral modeling, graph-based modeling, or large language model-based classification systems.
  • Ability to work cross-functionally and communicate effectively.
  • A proven record of shipping machine learning systems to production at scale.
  • Ability to coach and lead engineers while contributing hands-on code when needed.
Responsibilities
  • Build and lead a team of machine learning engineers by hiring, coaching, and instilling ownership and impact.
  • Drive the technical vision and roadmap for Safety Machine Learning in collaboration with partners across Trust & Safety, Product, Policy, Legal, and Data Science.
  • Own the end-to-end lifecycle of production safety models, including defining capabilities, measuring performance, and monitoring operational health.
  • Manage processes and apply technical expertise to improve team performance and delivery.
  • Partner with Trust & Safety on label quality, golden sets, and automating manual investigations.
  • Work with other Engineering Managers to improve the Engineering organization and uphold its workplace philosophy.
  • Develop and oversee real-time and batch models for content understanding, account integrity, and platform abuse.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with new technologies and industry trends relevant to solving technical problems.
  • Experience working in ambiguous environments and developing pragmatic solutions to complex problems.

About the company

Discord runs a voice, video, and text chat platform where friends and gaming communities spend time together before, during, and after play. Its drop-in voice channels let people join an ongoing conversation without placing a call, while screen sharing lets a group watch games and other media together. Users create shared spaces for their communities, exchange messages, customize profiles, and stay connected across computers, phones, and consoles. The basic service is free, with paid Nitro subscriptions for enhanced streaming and customization, plus advertising campaigns that reward users for engaging with brands. Discord launched in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Series H

Total Funding

$979.3M

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2015

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Advertising is widening: September 2026 brought Discord Ads Manager to selected advertisers, ahead of broader access.
  • Desktop app revenue increases Discord's cut: fees rise from 15% to 30% after a developer team's $1 million.
  • Founding roles bring broad ownership: Discord's first Lisbon IT hire will build employee technology operations across EMEA.

What critics are saying

  • Mobile community purchases get pricier: Discord normally adds Apple's 30% first-year iOS server subscription fee to purchaser prices.
  • Lisbon IT work restricts flexibility: Discord's founding role requires five office days weekly and on-call rotations.
  • Safety changes face court deadlines: July 2026's Texas injunction gave Discord 90 days to extend age assurance.

What makes Discord unique

  • Discord reaches gamers specifically: its survey says over 90% of users play video games.
  • Discord extends beyond chat rooms: its integration toolkit embeds free voice and text directly into eligible games.
  • Game purchases stay social: Marvel Rivals players buy and gift in-game items through Discord.

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Benefits

  • Stay healthy - We take care of our team with comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans.
  • Parental perks - Spend some quality time with the next generation with parental leave, fertility, adoption, and surrogacy benefits.
  • Kick back - Stay refreshed with over 19 paid holidays, use-what-you-need sick days, and four weeks of PTO.
  • Commute easy - In a non-COVID world, get up to $270 per month for your commuting and parking needs.
  • The loadout - When we're back in the office, enjoy daily catered lunches and snacks, a desk fund to make your space yours, and whatever you need for your computer setup, including a headphone allowance.
  • Wellness on us - Take advantage of a quarterly wellness allowance for your gym membership or other wellness activities. Virtual yoga every week!
  • Transgender benefits - Discord will reimburse up to $20,000 for any procedure related to transition.
  • Discord HQ - Our office is located in Potrero Hill, a little neighborhood in San Francisco near awesome coffee and food.
  • Relocation - Excellent relocation bonuses for new hires moving to San Francisco (once it's safe to return).

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

2%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

0%
Ars Technica
Sep 30th, 2026
Discord opens self-service ads manager to marketers of all budgets in 2027

Discord has unveiled new advertising tools to attract more companies to its platform. The social media firm announced Discord Ads Manager, a campaign management platform allowing businesses to manage, forecast, and monitor ads in one place. The tool offers "self-service access" to smaller studios and marketers "regardless of their budget", though full access won't arrive until early 2027. Discord is also expanding Video Quests, video ads users can watch for in-game rewards. The format will become "Video Quests Reserve", a premium offering for brand moments. Discord launched ads in 2024 after filing confidentially for an IPO in January. The advertising push aims to boost Discord's value beyond subscriptions and game sales, though some users worry about platform changes.

The Register
Sep 23rd, 2026
Discord rolls out AI age verification with new options to avoid ID scans

Discord has begun rolling out its age verification system after postponing implementation for over six months following user backlash. The platform uses algorithms to analyse account behaviour patterns to estimate whether users are adults or children, with the company maintaining that over 90% of users won't need to manually verify their age. The system examines account metadata, engagement metrics, and social connections through "Discord Entity-Relationship Embeddings" (DERE), without reading message content or voice calls. Users requiring verification can now choose from several methods: AgeKey passkeys stored locally, credit card checks through Stripe, or age ranges from Google or Apple accounts. Accounts identified as teen will face restrictions including filtered friend requests and blocked access to age-restricted content. Discord cofounder Stanislav Vishnevskiy acknowledged the controversy, calling age verification part of a broader trend toward "a more gated internet".

TechCrunch
May 11th, 2026
Discord Nitro subscribers gain free Xbox Game Pass access through new rewards program

Discord has launched Nitro Rewards, giving its Nitro subscribers access to perks from gaming and lifestyle brands at no additional cost. The programme is available for both Nitro Basic ($2.99 monthly) and Nitro ($9.99 monthly) subscribers. At launch, Nitro Rewards includes access to Xbox Game Pass's base tier, offering over 50 PC and Xbox games plus 10 hours of cloud gaming. Subscribers also receive 15-30% discounts on gaming hardware from Logitech G, SteelSeries and KontrolFreak, with more partnerships planned. "This is about doubling down on [Nitro] and providing more value," said co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy. The initiative aims to improve retention by enhancing subscriber value. Nitro is Discord's biggest revenue contributor and has grown steadily year-on-year. Discord now has over 90 million daily active users.

ZoomBangla
Dec 3rd, 2025
Discord launches in-game purchases with Marvel Rivals ahead of potential IPO

Discord has launched in-game purchasing tools, allowing users to buy digital game items directly within the app. The move comes as the company reportedly prepares for an initial public offering. Marvel Rivals is the first partner for the new shop feature, with its Discord server hosting over four million members. Players can purchase bundles, costumes and emotes without leaving Discord. The feature includes wishlist functionality, enabling users to gift in-game items via direct message. Currently available only on Discord's desktop app in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Oceania, the commerce layer represents a significant revenue diversification strategy. The feature provides game developers with an additional sales channel whilst keeping users engaged within Discord's ecosystem.

The Information
May 4th, 2023
Discord’s Revenue Growth Slows to 44% in 2022

Many tech firms saw meager revenue growth, or even a decline, last year as the digital ad market stalled and businesses cut back spending on software. Messaging startup Discord was an exception. Discord, which makes money from subscription fees, lifted revenue 44% to $445 million last year, ...