Full-Time
Principal Machine Learning Engineer
Matching and Recommendations
Bumble
1,001-5,000 employees
Online dating and social networking platform
Compensation Overview
$345k - $410k/yr
Austin, TX, USA
Hybrid
 AI & Machine Learning (1) |
|---|
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- Typically requires 10–15 years of experience, though we welcome candidates with alternative backgrounds that demonstrate equivalent skills.
- Deep expertise in machine learning, with hands-on experience building and deploying large-scale systems in production environments.
- Strong proficiency in Python and at least one major machine learning framework (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow), with experience in areas such as recommendation systems, ranking models, or NLP.
- Expertise in prompting and fine-tuning Large Language Models (LLMs) and building production AI Agents.
- Proven experience designing scalable data and ML pipelines using tools such as Spark, Airflow, or similar distributed systems.
- Demonstrated ability to operate as a senior individual contributor, influencing technical strategy and decision-making without direct authority.
- Experience partnering effectively across functions, collaborating with purpose and taking ownership of outcomes in complex organisational environments.
- A track record of mentoring and uplifting others, role modelling Respect and Excellence while building inclusive, high-performing teams.
- Strong AI fluency, with the ability to independently design, evaluate, and optimise ML systems, and guide others in the responsible and effective application of AI.
- Define and lead the technical strategy for AI and Machine Learning systems that power recommendations, ranking, and personalization across Bumble products, delivering measurable improvements in user engagement and safety
- Design, develop, and deploy production-grade models using modern ML frameworks such as PyTorch, ensuring scalability and reliability in high-traffic environments
- Build and deploy production AI Agents using raw and fine-tuned foundational Large Language Models (LLMs), along with sub-agents, tools, and MCP integrations
- Architect end-to-end ML pipelines, integrating data processing (e.g. Spark, Airflow) with model training, evaluation, and deployment workflows
- Drive experimentation frameworks, including A/B testing and offline evaluation, to continuously improve model performance and product outcomes
- Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Data leadership to translate business challenges into impactful ML solutions, collaborating with purpose and influencing at senior levels
- Mentor and elevate senior individual contributors, fostering a culture of Excellence, Curiosity, and continuous learning across the ML community
- Take ownership of complex, ambiguous problem spaces, seeing initiatives through from insight to impact while adapting approaches with an agile mindset
- Champion responsible AI practices, ensuring fairness, transparency, and user safety are embedded into all machine learning systems
Bumble is a tech platform that offers three connected apps for dating, friendship, and professional networking: Bumble Date, Bumble BFF, and Bumble Bizz. It works on a freemium model where users can download and use core features for free and pay for premium options such as advanced filters, seeing who has liked you, and extending matches. A key design choice is that women must make the first move in conversations, creating a more balanced starting point and safer environment. The app also emphasizes safety with features like photo verification to reduce fake profiles. Compared to competitors, Bumble differentiates itself by prioritizing women-initiated conversations, a focus on respectful interactions, and a clear division of features across dating, friendship, and professional networking. The goal is to help people form meaningful connections—romantic, platonic, or professional—while growing its user base and revenue through subscriptions and in-app purchases.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Austin, Texas
Founded
2014
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Q2 2026 revenue reached $210.5 million, beating estimates despite a 15.2% decline.
- Bumble tested one-message openings in 12 markets, lifting chat initiation and mutual chats.
- The August 2026 rollout of free 'Liked You' access can convert more payers.
What critics are saying
- Reuters on August 5, 2026 said Bumble explored a sale after slowing growth.
- Q2 2026 paying users fell 16.4% to 3.2 million amid product overhaul.
- A January 2026 breach sparked a Texas class action over names, SSNs, and chats.
What makes Bumble unique
- Bumble still brands women-first trust, safety, and intentional dating around Whitney Wolfe Herd’s vision.
- Plans and BFF extend Bumble beyond romance into groups, friendship, and offline meetups.
- Bee uses AI matching under the hood, improving profiles without becoming chatbot dating.
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Benefits
Remote Work Options
Flexible Work Hours
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -1%1 year growth
↓ -3%2 year growth
↓ -4%Bumble reported Q2 revenue of $210.5 million, meeting analyst expectations but representing a 15.2% year-on-year decline. The online dating app's non-GAAP earnings of $0.48 per share significantly exceeded the $0.23 consensus estimate. However, Q3 revenue guidance of $209 million came in 2.4% below analyst expectations of $214.1 million. Paying users fell to 3.16 million, down 620,000 year on year. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd attributed the results to an ongoing quality reset and technical platform transformation. A delay in data migration extended the timeline for new product rollouts. Management said algorithmic and interaction improvements have begun showing early signs of stronger engagement. The company plans to accelerate product innovation and increase brand marketing investment once its technology migration completes, targeting younger users with new features including group-based social offerings.
Bumble has scrapped its signature women-message-first rule, allowing anyone in a match to initiate conversation. The dating app also extended response time from 24 to 72 hours. The change marks a significant departure for the platform, which launched in 2014 positioning itself as a woman-controlled alternative to Tinder. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd framed the update as an evolution, citing survey data showing 66% of women prefer men to send the first message. The move comes as Bumble struggles financially. Second-quarter revenue dropped 15.2% year-over-year to $210.5 million, with paying customers expected to decline further. The company is exploring additional changes, including a potential swipe-free experience and AI features, to combat user fatigue in the struggling online dating market.
Bumble teases a swipe-free future as it doubles down on IRL meetups. Bumble says it's moving beyond swiping and deeper into real-world social experiences as it courts Gen Z users. Tinder isn't the only major dating app turning away from the swipe and toward real-world events to attract Gen Z users who've grown tired of traditional online dating. On Wednesday, Bumble touted the early success of its newest app, Plans, designed to connect people "IRL" in low-pressure group settings, and spoke of what comes next for Bumble's flagship app after the "swipe" is dead. On its second-quarter earnings call with investors, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said Plans showed "promising results" in early tests over the past few months, and the company would "lean more into real-life experiences" going forward. Combined with Tinder's news this week that it, too, is doubling down on in-person events, it's clear there's a major shift happening in online dating. Simply put, the swipe era is coming to an end. "I am a firm believer that the future of meeting people in groups will become more important. People love to come together in groups and see who they naturally share chemistry with once they have met," Wolfe Herd told analysts on the call. "Group socializing is a real part of how Gen Z prefers to meet, and we believe Bumble represents a natural bridge from meeting to socializing to then dating." The company first experimented with real-world, platonic connections with Bumble BFF, an app for making friends, which has shown some traction with Gen Z women. With Plans, however, the idea is to give young people a way to meet up with others in their community to develop friendships over small group drinks and dinners at local spots, the company said when announcing the app last month. These meetups could later lead to deeper friendships or romantic connections, Bumble believes. By not being primarily focused on dating, it can take the pressure off these first-time encounters. In addition, users on Plans can continue their chats on Bumble's app without having to swipe or give out their phone number. In other words, Bumble is promoting "no swiping" as a plus here, suggesting that this format for finding matches is no longer desired among younger users. Wolfe Herd also teased that Bumble is working on a new interaction model to replace the swipe entirely. "The core idea is a shift away from optimizing for swipe speed and velocity towards something more intentional, fewer, better, more considered signals," she said, saying the shift to the "swipe-free" model would happen gradually so as not to disrupt the ecosystem. "What will replace the swipe? I will be keeping under wraps a bit longer for competitive purposes, but it is designed to generate more immediate interactions and, most importantly, better outcomes, mimicking real life and eliminating the friction and delay that exists in [the] current dating app model," she added. The company also plans to leverage more AI tools under the hood to help deliver improved results, but cautioned this would not mean Bumble was becoming an "AI-driven experience." Though Bumble beat on earnings in Q2, it's still in a turnaround phase. The company's revenue was down 15.2% to $210.5 million year-over-year, and its stock suffered over its Q3 forecast, which shows a decline in paying customers.
Bumble is moving away from swiping and towards in-person meetups to attract Gen Z users tired of traditional online dating. CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd announced on the company's Q2 earnings call that its new app Plans, which connects people in low-pressure group settings, has shown "promising results" in early tests. Wolfe Herd said Bumble is developing a new interaction model to replace swiping entirely, focusing on "more intentional, fewer, better, more considered signals" that mimic real-life interactions. The exact replacement remains undisclosed for competitive reasons. This shift mirrors similar moves by Tinder, signalling a major industry trend. However, Bumble remains in turnaround mode, with Q2 revenue down 15.2% year-over-year to $210.5 million, despite beating earnings expectations.
'What won't be replaced by AI?' Bumble's CEO answer hinges on A tool. Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd described Bee, Bumble's artificial intelligence assistant, as "simply the intelligence under the hood," not a product built to take over the swipe. Read Time: 3 mins "Bee is not replacing the swipe. We are not aiming for an AI driven experience," Wolfe Herd said. Bumble's artificial intelligence assistant, called Bee, moved from an onboarding experiment to active use in matching this quarter, according to the company's post-Q2 earnings conference call. Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd described it as "simply the intelligence under the hood," not a product built to take over the swipe. "Bee is not replacing the swipe. We are not aiming for an AI driven experience," Wolfe Herd said. She added that Bumble is being "very deliberate" about how the tool gets deployed, because "trust is paramount." Bee produces what she calls "a more complete and authentic view of the individual member." Members using the tool have seen more relevant matches, which she attributed to the richer signal Bee captures during onboarding. Wolfe Herd also said that as AI progresses, she finds herself asking, "what won't be replaced by AI? And the answer is very clear. The need for real love, friendship and connection in the real world with other humans, because we are better together." The bots warning from Q1. That framing is softer than what Wolfe Herd said three months earlier. On Bumble's first-quarter call, she directly addressed the growing market of AI companion apps, warning against a future where people substitute chatbots for human relationships. "For those of you that have been following and watching people fall in love with AI bots, I mean this is not the future we want for ourselves or the next generation," she said then, adding that "AI should never replace human authenticity or human connection." Match Group's quieter AI. Match Group, which reported results a day earlier, mentioned AI around five times on its own call, all from CEO Spencer Rascoff, and never gave it a name, just a functional mention. AI "accelerated execution across product development life cycles," helped one team ship a new feature "from idea to final product in just a few weeks," and powers an early-stage recommendation model at Hinge meant to become "a broader personalization layer" over time. The two companies converge on the actual aim of the apps. Bumble is testing Plans, a standalone app for curated real-world group meetups. Match Group's Tinder Events has scaled to ten cities with a target of 75 by year end. Both dating app companies frame AI as the thing meant to get members out from behind the screen faster, whether that's Bee sharpening a match before a first message, or Match Group's AI-assisted development shipping features like Missed Connections in weeks instead of months. Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories - On NDTV Profit.