Careers at MediaAlpha

MediaAlpha is a customer acquisition solutions provider powered by technology and data science. The company provides industry-leading solutions designed to reach consumers shopping within high-consideration categories such as property and casualty insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and more. Hybrid role: 3 days/week in office Role Overview As a Principal Software Engineer at MediaAlpha, you will be a technical leader accountable at the ecosystem level. You own the architecture, health, and strategic technical direction across large and complex systems that span multiple teams—ensuring sound design, operational excellence, and alignment with business needs across the ecosystem. You will shape broad architecture, partner with engineering and business leaders to define roadmaps, and drive technical standards that the organization builds on. Principal Engineers are hands-on technical leaders. You write code, make architectural decisions, and solve the hardest technical problems in the ecosystem. Your work sets the standard for engineering quality and shapes how systems evolve. The difference at this level is that your technical contributions have ecosystem-wide impact—you define the patterns, frameworks, and architectural direction that other engineers build within. Everything we build, decide, and deliver is measured against four pillars: Fast, Flexible, Robust, and Transparent. Principal Engineers serve these pillars through architectural clarity that eliminates wasted motion, systems designed for change and adaptability, patterns and standards that ensure long-term health, and active ambassadorship that makes technical direction visible across the organization. The ideal candidate is a masterful engineer who operates at ecosystem scope—driving technical strategy across teams and groups, shaping architecture that spans organizational boundaries, and developing senior technical leaders. You operate effectively across organizational boundaries, mentor and lead engineers throughout the organization, and drive technical excellence at ecosystem scale. We are an intentionally small organization, designed for agility, speed, collaboration, and workability, where Principal Engineers serve as the technical authorities and go-to leaders across multiple teams and groups. Responsibilities Ecosystem Architecture & Technical Ownership Own large and complex systems end to end with accountability at the ecosystem level—ensuring sound requirements, design, architecture, coding, processes, and operations for holistically complete solutions Shape broad architecture by leading projects involving multiple large components, complex libraries, or major pieces of application infrastructure, with multi-quarter strategic vision Proactively monitor and maintain the health of all systems within your area of accountability, identifying and driving high-risk, long-term tradeoff decisions at the ecosystem level Engineering Standards & Technical Strategy Define new patterns and advanced methodologies that ensure all engineering work maintains standards for maintainability, scalability, security, reliability, privacy, and compliance at ecosystem scale Partner with technical leaders to establish and evangelize standards for architecture, code quality, and system design across the engineering organization Identify and proactively tackle system-wide and organizational technical debt, driving measurable improvements in platform health and engineering effectiveness Leadership & Cross-Organizational Influence Lead at the group level as a role model; actively mentor engineers throughout the organization and guide senior technical leaders in decision-making at the feature and component level Develop senior technical leaders toward broader impact—growing their ability to own systems, set standards, and influence architecture beyond their immediate team Engage cross-team and cross-organizational stakeholders to define strategy, principles, goals, and requirements that align technical direction with business needs Represent groups and ecosystems to the broader company; be accountable for ecosystem infrastructure, design, and architecture and serve as the go-to technical authority across teams Requirements 10+ years experience in software development with a track record of increasing technical scope and organizational influence Demonstrated ability to own and drive ecosystem-level technical initiatives spanning multiple teams and multiple quarters from conception through completion Track record of defining architectural patterns, engineering standards, and frameworks that are adopted and referenced across an organization Experience mentoring and developing engineers at multiple levels, including guiding senior technical decision-making Proven ability to shape broad architecture and lead complex, multi-component projects that span organizational boundaries Strong understanding of software engineering methodologies, system design, and architecture at the ecosystem level Strong SQL skills and understanding of database and query optimizations Excellent communication skills with the ability to represent technical strategy and architectural direction to both engineering and business audiences Ability to identify and drive high-risk, long-term tradeoff decisions with sound judgment and clear rationale A self-starter, comfortable with ambiguity, who creates clarity and structure for others B.S. in a technical discipline preferred; equivalent experience and a proven track record of results will be valued equally The Bottom Line The measure of a Principal Engineer’s success is the health and trajectory of the ecosystems they own. The best Principal Engineers define the architectural direction that guides technical decisions across teams, set engineering standards that raise the bar for the entire organization, solve the problems no one else can, and develop the engineers around them into stronger technical leaders. Compensation & Benefits We are excited to offer a competitive base pay range of $200,000 to $350,000 per year for this position, based on experience and qualifications. But that's not all - as a valued member of our team, you will also have access to an array of top-notch benefits, including: Annual bonus program and participation in our Restricted Stock Unit program 100% Employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for you, your dependents, and spouse or registered domestic partner 100% Employer paid long term disability, and life insurance 401(k) retirement plan with matching contributions to help you plan for your future Open Paid Time Off policy with a Brthday Hookie day off, 13 holiday, and 5 Recharge days Professional development reimbursement along with a subscription to LinkedIn Learning Cell Phone, Wellness, and Internet expense reimbursement, along with a subscription to the Calm App 100% fully paid parental leave for team members up to 22 weeks for the primary caregiver and 12 weeks for the secondary caregiver Dog-friendly offices (LA and AZ) along with a $300 pet adoption reimbursement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion MediaAlpha is committed to fostering, cultivating, and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our philosophy and actions are built on the premise that as an employer and citizens of our communities, we can create opportunities for lasting change. Fair Chance MediaAlpha will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local "Fair Chance" laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans in our application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at peopleops@mediaalpha.com or (213) 316-6256.

MediaAlpha is a customer acquisition solutions provider powered by technology and data science. The company provides industry-leading solutions designed to reach consumers shopping within high-consideration categories such as property and casualty insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and more. Hybrid role: 3 days/week in office Role Overview As a Senior Applied AI Engineer at MediaAlpha, you will be a key contributor building LLM-powered applications for our internal teams and ad serving platform. You will implement features end-to-end: integration, deployment, and operational health. You will work alongside engineering, product, and business stakeholders to deliver features that solve real business problems. The ideal candidate is a strong software engineer with hands-on experience building LLM-powered features in production, who works well across organizational boundaries and improves the conditions of any area they are in. We are an intentionally small organization, designed for agility, speed, and workability. Responsibilities Own the full software development lifecycle of implementing LLM-powered features, from integration through production deployment and operational health. Design and build MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that expose internal data and tools to LLM applications. Design, implement, and maintain retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, including vector search, tool-use patterns, and multi-step agent workflows. Integrate LLM-based services into MediaAlpha's products, internal tools, and data ecosystem. Write and iterate on prompts, and build the harnesses needed to test and evaluate them. Be part of the team that maintains and supports our live production AI features. Be a champion of instilling excellence in coding, testing, and quality into the team and culture. Work directly with stakeholders in defining product capabilities and developing and testing new features and integrations. Requirements Minimum of 5 years of experience in software development. B.S. required, preferably in a technical discipline (e.g., computer science). Strong programming skills, including software engineering methodologies and best practices. Strong SQL skills and understanding of database and query optimizations. Hands-on experience building LLM-powered features in production. Familiarity with common AI implementation patterns: MCP server design, RAG, vector search, function calling/tool use, agent orchestration, and structured output extraction. Practical prompt engineering skills with demonstrated ability to iterate and evaluate quality. Experience integrating with APIs and building services that call external or internal LLM endpoints. Familiarity with cloud environments (AWS preferred: EC2, S3, Bedrock). Ability to work independently with minimal supervision. A self-starter, comfortable with ambiguity and ability to problem solve while paying careful attention to detail. Experience working with engineers and non-technical stakeholders. Ability to articulate and communicate clearly, concisely, and thoughtfully. Compensation & Benefits We are excited to offer a total base compensation of $150,000 to $210,000 per year for this position based on experience and qualifications. But that's not all - as a valued member of our team, you will also have access to an array of top-notch benefits, including: Annual bonus program and participation in our Restricted Stock Unit program 100% Employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for you, your dependents, and spouse or registered domestic partner 100% Employer paid long term disability, and life insurance 401(k) retirement plan with matching contributions to help you plan for your future Open Paid Time Off policy with a Birthday Hookie day off, 13 holidays, and 5 Recharge days Professional development reimbursement along with a subscription to LinkedIn Learning Cell Phone, Wellness, and Internet expense reimbursement, along with a subscription to the Calm App 100% fully paid parental leave for team members up to 22 weeks for the primary caregiver and 12 weeks for the secondary caregiver Dog-friendly offices (LA and AZ) along with a $300 pet adoption reimbursement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion MediaAlpha is committed to fostering, cultivating, and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our philosophy and actions are built on the premise that as an employer and citizens of our communities, we can create opportunities for lasting change. Fair Chance MediaAlpha will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local "Fair Chance" laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans in our application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at peopleops@mediaalpha.com or (213) 316-6256.

MediaAlpha is a customer acquisition solutions provider powered by technology and data science. The company provides industry-leading solutions designed to reach consumers shopping within high-consideration categories such as property and casualty insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and more. Hybrid role: 3 days/week in office, Tuesday through Thursday Role Overview We are looking for a talented Software Engineer to join our technology team. As a Software Engineer at MediaAlpha, you will take part in all aspects of the software development lifecycle. This includes working with stakeholders to fix and improve our MediaAlpha Exchange Product and testing new features and integrations. The ideal candidate will enjoy designing, implementing, and scaling systems that process tens of thousands of high-value transactions a day, while also producing elegant and readable code. Responsibilities Own the full software development lifecycle of implementing high-performance ad serving software. Integrate our products with our partners. Perl code development in a Linux environment, on Amazon EC2, leveraging also S3, CloudFront and Route 53. Work as a member of the team, jumping in to help out and resolve routine issues. Be part of a team that maintains and supports our live MediaAlpha Exchange product. Requirements 3+ years experience in software development. B.S. required, preferably in a technical discipline (e.g., computer science). Development experience in Unix/Linux operating environments. Experience using web APIs. Strong software engineering core including software engineering methodologies and best practices. Ability to write elegant and readable code. Organized and self motivated. A self-starter, comfortable with ambiguity and ability to problem solve, while paying careful attention to detail. Ability to articulate and communicate clearly, concisely, and thoughtfully. Amazon EC2 experience is a bonus. Experience working with MySQL or other RDBMS is a bonus. Experience with Perl and/or scripting languages is a bonus. Experience with accountability for production systems is a bonus. Experience working on a team with engineers. Experience working with non-technical stakeholders is a bonus. Compensation & Benefits We are excited to offer a competitive base pay range of $100,000 to $130,000 per year for this position, based on experience and qualifications. But that's not all - as a valued member of our team, you will also have access to an array of top-notch benefits, including: Annual bonus program and participation in our Restricted Stock Unit program 100% Employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for you, your dependents, and spouse or registered domestic partner 100% Employer paid long term disability, and life insurance 401(k) retirement plan with matching contributions to help you plan for your future Open Paid Time Off policy with a Brthday Hookie day off, 13 holiday, and 5 Recharge days Professional development reimbursement along with a subscription to LinkedIn Learning Cell Phone, Wellness, and Internet expense reimbursement, along with a subscription to the Calm App 100% fully paid parental leave for team members up to 22 weeks for the primary caregiver and 12 weeks for the secondary caregiver Dog-friendly offices (LA and AZ) along with a $300 pet adoption reimbursement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion MediaAlpha is committed to fostering, cultivating, and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our philosophy and actions are built on the premise that as an employer and citizens of our communities, we can create opportunities for lasting change. Fair Chance MediaAlpha will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local "Fair Chance" laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans in our application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at peopleops@mediaalpha.com or (213) 316-6256.

MediaAlpha is a customer acquisition solutions provider powered by technology and data science. The company provides industry-leading solutions designed to reach consumers shopping within high-consideration categories such as property and casualty insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and more. Hybrid role: 3 days/week in office Role Overview As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer at MediaAlpha, you will lead the design and development of LLM-powered applications for our internal teams and ad serving platform. You will be accountable for end-to-end systems: owning strategy, architecture, implementation, and operations. You will collaborate with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to deliver intelligent systems that solve real business problems. The ideal candidate is a strong engineer with hands-on experience building LLM-powered applications in production, who works well across organizational boundaries and improves the conditions of any area they are in. We are an intentionally small organization, designed for agility, speed, and workability. Responsibilities Own the full software development lifecycle of LLM-powered systems, from requirements through production deployment and operational health. Design and implement retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems, tool-use patterns, and multi-step reasoning workflows. Integrate LLM-based services into MediaAlpha's products, internal tools, and data ecosystem. Drive architectural decisions balancing capability, cost, latency, and maintainability. Establish evaluation frameworks and metrics to measure application quality and business impact. Work directly with stakeholders to define product capabilities and develop new features and integrations. Be a champion of instilling excellence in coding, testing, and quality into the team and culture. Mentor engineers on LLM application development patterns and best practices. Requirements 9+ years of experience in software development. Experience designing and owning systems end-to-end, including 3-tier architectures, data flows, APIs, deployments, and operational health. Strong programming skills in Python, including software engineering methodologies and best practices. Hands-on experience building LLM-powered features in production. Experience with RAG architectures, including vector databases, embedding models, and retrieval strategies. Practical prompt engineering skills with demonstrated ability to iterate and evaluate quality. Familiarity with core ML concepts (classification, evaluation metrics, embeddings) and the judgment to know when traditional ML approaches outperform LLM-based solutions. Experience with agent frameworks and tool-use patterns (MCP, function calling, etc.). Familiarity with cloud environments (AWS preferred: EC2, S3, Bedrock). A self-starter who works independently, is comfortable with ambiguity, and pays careful attention to detail. Experience collaborating with engineers and non-technical stakeholders. Ability to articulate and communicate clearly, concisely, and thoughtfully. Organized and self-motivated. B.S. required, preferably in a technical discipline (e.g., computer science). Compensation & Benefits We are excited to offer a total base compensation of $170,000 to $260,000 per year for this position based on experience and qualifications. But that's not all - as a valued member of our team, you will also have access to an array of top-notch benefits, including: Annual bonus program and participation in our Restricted Stock Unit program 100% Employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for you, your dependents, and spouse or registered domestic partner 100% Employer paid long term disability, and life insurance 401(k) retirement plan with matching contributions to help you plan for your future Open Paid Time Off policy with a Birthday Hookie day off, 13 holidays, and 5 Recharge days Professional development reimbursement along with a subscription to LinkedIn Learning Cell Phone, Wellness, and Internet expense reimbursement, along with a subscription to the Calm App 100% fully paid parental leave for team members up to 22 weeks for the primary caregiver and 12 weeks for the secondary caregiver Dog-friendly offices (LA and AZ) along with a $300 pet adoption reimbursement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion MediaAlpha is committed to fostering, cultivating, and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our philosophy and actions are built on the premise that as an employer and citizens of our communities, we can create opportunities for lasting change. Fair Chance MediaAlpha will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local "Fair Chance" laws. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans in our application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at peopleops@mediaalpha.com or (213) 316-6256.