[david-gpu]

I work at NVidia as a GPU architect doing ML applied research. I'm not a hiring manager, but I have interviewed a bunch of people.

1) Having a PhD will make it easier to get an interview, but it is not necessary. Relevant experience counts just as much. I only have an MSc.

2) That will vary a ton from one team to another and from one position to another. The interviewers are not going to change their questions depending on your education.

3) The same requirement as for PhDs. It will depend on the role, but in general I expect people value hands-on experience more than theory.

Except for some particular hiring managers with strong opinions, a PhD is not going to be a hard requirement for nearly any job. However, a PhD in a relevant area is going to be useful, just like any other relevant experience you may have.

[seanmcdirmid]

The best machine learning researcher I know has a MsC in EE. This is at a research lab that begins with an M.

[copperx]

MIT Media Lab, obviously.