Staff Data Scientist, Search & Personalization

Engine; United States; Remote; USD 210,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech company is seeking a Staff Data Scientist focused on transforming how business travelers discover and book trips. This role involves building personalization engines and optimizing search conversion rates. The ideal candidate has 7+ years in data science with expertise in ML and personalization systems. This is a remote position with a competitive salary ranging from $210,000 to $245,000 USD.

Benefits

Competitive base salary

Opportunities for bonuses, commissions, and equity

Hybrid working model

Qualifications

• 7+ years of industry experience in data science/ML engineering.
• Experience building search, ranking, and personalization systems at scale.
• Proficient in modern ML infrastructure and Python programming.

Responsibilities

• Architect and build personalization engine.
• Drive search conversion optimization.
• Lead the development of user embedding systems.

Skills

Machine Learning

Personalization Systems

Recommendation Systems

Deep Learning

Python

Education

MS/PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Spark

Job description

Staff Data Scientist, Search & Personalization

Remote - USA

Overview

Be a Founding Member of Our Search Intelligence Team. We're building a world-class data science team focused on transforming how millions of business travelers discover and book their perfect trips. As a founding member, you'll architect the search and personalization systems that power Engine's core user experience. This is a unique opportunity to build sophisticated ML systems from the ground up, directly impacting conversion rates and customer satisfaction at scale.

Responsibilities

• Architect and build Engine's personalization engine from the ground up, implementing state-of-the-art recommendation systems, collaborative filtering, and deep learning models to deliver hyper-relevant search results and travel recommendations.
• Drive search conversion optimization through advanced ranking algorithms, query understanding, and real-time personalization, directly impacting Engine's core business metrics.
• Lead the development of user embedding and preference modeling systems that capture complex traveler behaviors, corporate policies, and contextual signals to power personalized experiences across the platform.
• Build and mentor a world-class data science team as a founding member, establishing best practices, technical standards, and a culture of experimentation and innovation.
• Partner with product, engineering, and business leaders to define the search and personalization roadmap, translating business objectives into sophisticated ML solutions.
• Design and implement A/B testing frameworks and experimentation infrastructure to rapidly iterate on personalization strategies and measure impact.
• Develop real-time inference systems that deliver personalized results at scale with sub-second latency requirements.

What You’ll Bring to Engine

• Experience: 7+ years of industry experience in data science/ML engineering, with at least 4+ years specifically focused on search, ranking, and personalization systems at scale.
• Personalization Expertise: Deep hands-on experience with recommendation systems (collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, hybrid approaches) and modern deep learning techniques (neural collaborative filtering, transformer-based models, two-tower architectures).
• Search & Ranking Knowledge: Proven track record building learning-to-rank models, query understanding systems, and search relevance optimization in production.
• Technical Excellence: Proficiency in Python (PyTorch/TensorFlow), distributed computing (Spark), and modern ML infrastructure. Experience with real-time serving systems and vector databases.
• Leadership & Vision: Experience as a technical lead or founding member of a data science team, balancing hands-on work with strategic thinking and team building.
• Business Impact: Proven success improving key metrics (conversion, engagement, retention) through personalization, with ability to communicate complex concepts to executives.
• Education: MS/PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or related field, or equivalent industry experience building production ML systems.

Bonus Points

• Experience in travel, e-commerce, or marketplace platforms
• Publications or patents in personalization, recommendation systems, or information retrieval
• Experience with multi-objective optimization and contextual bandits
• Knowledge of privacy-preserving personalization techniques

Compensation

Our compensation packages are based on several factors, including your experience, expertise, and location. In addition to a competitive base salary, total compensation may include equity and/or variable pay (OTE). Your recruiter will share your complete compensation package as you move through the process.

Base Pay Range

$210,000 - $245,000 USD

The Engine Edge: Perks & Benefits

• Compensation: Competitive base pay tied to role and experience, with opportunities for bonuses, commissions, and equity.
• Environments for Success: Different roles have different needs in terms of the environments that drive success, which is why we have a hybrid-hub model. Whether you are in one of our offices or fully remote, we’ll support your needs to succeed.

Ready to Build the Future of Work Travel?

Join us on our mission to transform how work travel works—for businesses, for travelers, and for the industry. Apply now and let’s make travel simpler, smarter, and more enjoyable—together.