Principal Applied Scientist, Prime Video Personalization & Discovery

Amazon; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 228,700 - 309,400; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Mental health support

Job summary

A leading technology company is seeking a Principal Applied Scientist in San Francisco to lead the development of innovative AI solutions within Prime Video. This role involves collaborating with engineers and product managers, conducting A/B tests, and mentoring teams. Candidates should have a PhD or extensive experience in machine learning, strong programming skills, and a background in recommendation systems. The position offers an annual salary range of $228,700 to $309,400, along with comprehensive benefits including health insurance and 401(k) matching.

Qualifications

• 8+ years experience designing, building, and deploying ML models for real-world business applications.
• Proven leadership in driving cross-functional ML/AI initiatives.
• Strong programming skills in Python, Java, or C++.

Responsibilities

• Invent and prototype large-scale AI solutions across Prime Video’s ecosystem.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and stakeholders.
• Design and lead A/B tests and data analyses.

Skills

Machine Learning

Python

Java

C++

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Deep Learning

Generative AI

Reinforcement Learning

Recommendation Systems

Education

PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Statistics, or related field

Master's with 10+ years of applied experience

Tools

Hadoop

Spark

Job description

Prime Video’s technology teams are redefining the digital video experience at scale. As a Principal Applied Scientist at Prime Video, you will be a technical and strategic leader responsible for inventing, developing, and deploying groundbreaking AI solutions that power personalized, relevant, and delightful experiences for millions of global customers.

Key Responsibilities

• Invent, prototype, and productionize large-scale AI solutions across Prime Video’s personalization and discovery ecosystem using deep learning, generative AI, reinforcement learning, and optimization techniques.
• Provide technical leadership and influence product vision by collaborating closely with engineers, product managers, and senior stakeholders.
• Design and lead high‑impact A/B tests and data analyses to validate hypotheses and guide product direction.
• Drive technical bar‑raising across science and engineering teams through mentorship, design reviews, and collaboration.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging research; leverage them to evolve long‑term strategy and architecture.
• Publish impactful research internally and externally (e.g., top‑tier conferences and journals).

Basic Qualifications

• PhD (or Master’s with 10+ years of applied experience) in machine learning, computer science, statistics, or a related field.
• 8+ years experience designing, building, and deploying ML models for real‑world business applications at scale.
• Proven leadership in driving cross‑functional ML/AI initiatives from ideation through production.
• Strong programming skills in Python, Java, or C++, and experience with ML frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch.
• Deep expertise in recommendation systems, search relevance, or large‑scale personalization systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong publication record in top‑tier conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, KDD, RecSys, SIGIR).
• Experience with large‑scale distributed systems (e.g., Hadoop, Spark).
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical roadmaps and mentor other scientists and engineers.
• Experience defining and delivering strategic AI vision for consumer‑facing products.

Location: Sunnyvale, CA, USA – Salary range: $228,700.00 – $309,400.00 USD annually.

Amazon offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, and prescription), basic life & AD&D insurance, EAP, mental health support, flexible spending accounts, and 401(k) matching, among others.

Amazon is an equal‑opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.