Lead AI Optimization Scientist for Real-Time Ads

Yahoo Holdings Inc.; Mountain View (CA); Hybrid; USD 161,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid work

Job summary

Yahoo DSP Optimization team seeks a Principal Research Scientist to drive next‑gen budget control, pacing, and bidding algorithms at scale. You will lead AI‑augmented development loops and sophisticated optimization architectures.

Strong publication and production track record required, with a focus on safety, accuracy, and performance. You will mentor senior scientists, collaborate with product and engineering, and help shape long‑term DSP strategy while delivering measurable improvements in

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a quantitative field required with deep theory in optimization or ML.
• 8+ years designing and deploying large-scale optimization or ML in production.
• Strong foundation in probability, convex/stochastic optimization, and control theory.
• Production programming experience in Python/Java/C++/SQL or Spark.
• Hands-on experience with AI pair-programming and developer automation tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead research, design, and production deployment of large-scale budget/pacing algorithms.
• Architect agentic AI workflows and accelerated research-to-production pipelines.
• Set technical strategy and long-term vision for DSP optimization.
• Apply control theory and ML to real-time marketplace dynamics with uncertainty.
• Direct AI-assisted code refactoring and automated testing; mentor staff.

Skills

Advanced optimization

Probability & statistics

Control theory

Machine learning

AI pair-programming

Strong communication

Education

Ph.D. in CS/EE/OR/Math

Tools

Python

Java

C++

SQL

Spark

GitHub Copilot

Cursor

Claude

Codex

Job description

Yahoo DSP Optimization team seeks a Principal Research Scientist to drive next‑gen budget control, pacing, and bidding algorithms at scale. You will lead AI‑augmented development loops and sophisticated optimization architectures.

Strong publication and production track record required, with a focus on safety, accuracy, and performance. You will mentor senior scientists, collaborate with product and engineering, and help shape long‑term DSP strategy while delivering measurable improvements in