Principal Data Scientist, AI-Driven Search & Browse

Relha LLC; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 168,000 - 356,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k)

Paid time off

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Target is seeking a Principal Data Scientist for Search and Browse to shape AI-native discovery. You will define long-term vision for retrieval, semantic search, and GenAI systems and lead large-scale architecture strategy.

You will work in Sunnyvale, CA, with a Hybrid/Flex schedule, collaborating across Product, Engineering, and Applied Science to deliver measurable business impact through ML innovation while balancing latency, scalability, and cost.

Qualifications

• PhD or MS in Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Physics or related quantitative discipline
• 8+ years of industry experience building and scaling ML systems for Search, Recommendation, Personalization, Ads, or AI platforms
• Strong experience with semantic retrieval, vector search, RAG systems, conversational search or agentic AI systems
• Deep expertise in retrieval/ranking architectures, NLP/LLMs, experimentation and ML infrastructure (VertexAI)
• Demonstrated Python programming and technical ML problem-solving skills

Responsibilities

• Define the long-term technical vision and organizational roadmap for Search, Browse, and AI-driven discovery systems
• Lead architecture strategy for large-scale retrieval, ranking, semantic search, and GenAI systems operating at massive scale
• Drive innovation across transformers, LLMs, RAG architectures, multi-stage ranking systems, personalization, conversational commerce, and agentic AI
• Architect search and retrieval systems for external LLM and agentic search ecosystem integration
• Balance customer experience, business impact, system reliability, latency, scalability, and infrastructure cost at enterprise scale
• Mentor Lead scientists and technical leaders across the organization
• Represent the organization in executive reviews and drive alignment on major technical and product decisions

Skills

NLP

Vector search

LLMs

Python

ML systems

Education

PhD in Computer Science

MS in Computer Science

Tools

Vertex AI

Job description

Target is seeking a Principal Data Scientist for Search and Browse to shape AI-native discovery. You will define long-term vision for retrieval, semantic search, and GenAI systems and lead large-scale architecture strategy.

You will work in Sunnyvale, CA, with a Hybrid/Flex schedule, collaborating across Product, Engineering, and Applied Science to deliver measurable business impact through ML innovation while balancing latency, scalability, and cost.