Software Engineer III, AI/ML, Keywordless Search Ads
Google · Mountain View, CA
$147,000–$211,000from the description
Jul 9, 2026
Mountain View, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role sits on the team responsible for Google's keywordless Search Ads automation, which powers products like Dynamic Search Ads and Performance Max. Day-to-day work involves building and deploying ML and large language models to improve ad relevance and query understanding, debugging large-scale system issues, and contributing to model optimization and data pipelines. It suits a mid-level engineer with hands-on ML experience, particularly in generative AI, reinforcement learning, or related specializations.
Mid level · 2+ years · San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 2,200 people in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 1,650–3,400
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $217,796 (middle half $177,469–$231,052). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
The title 'Software Engineer III' maps to a Mid-level band at Google (III is the standard mid-level IC grade there), consistent with the posting's own 'Mid' label and the relatively low experience minimums (2 years programming, 1 year ML).
Python and C++ are listed as alternatives — the JD requires 2 years in one or the other, not both.
The ML specialization requirement (1 year) accepts any one of: generative AI, reinforcement learning, large language modeling, model processing, or another ML field — captured as alternatives on the generative AI skill.
A Master's or PhD in CS is listed under Preferred qualifications only, so the degree requirement is set to None (a Bachelor's or equivalent practical experience satisfies the hard gate).
The alt SOC 15-2051 (Data Scientists) is noted because the role has a strong ML/model-development focus, but the primary framing — product code, system development, end-to-end deployment — aligns more closely with Software Developers.
Compensation is $147,000–$211,000/year plus a 15% bonus target and equity; the figures above reflect base salary only as quoted.
Read the full posting
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