Tech Lead, YouTube Shorts Discovery, ML Recommendations

Google Inc.; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Google Inc. is seeking a Tech Lead to own the Shorts Discovery and ML Recommendations for YouTube Shorts. You will lead the Short-form Video Exploration team, shaping the end-to-end recommendation stack from data, modeling, to production systems.

You will drive architecture, collaborate with cross-functional partners, and mentor engineers while delivering scalable, high-impact ML solutions for a global audience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 5 years testing, and launching software products; 3 years in software design and architecture.
• 5 years of experience with ML-related areas (speech/audio, reinforcement learning, ML infrastructure) and model deployment.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance large-scale software solutions.
• Provide technical leadership on high-impact projects; manage priorities, deadlines, and deliverables.
• Facilitate alignment and clarity across teams on goals, outcomes, and timelines; coach distributed engineers.
• Lead design and implementation of solutions in ML areas; optimize ML infrastructure and data processing strategies.

Skills

Software development

Technical leadership

Machine learning

Distributed systems

Decision making

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

Master’s degree or PhD in CS/ML or related field

Tools

Python

ML infrastructure

Data processing frameworks

Job description

Tech Lead, YouTube Shorts Discovery, ML Recommendations

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corporate_fare YouTube place Mountain View, CA, USA

Advanced

Experience owning outcomes and decision making, solving ambiguous problems and influencing stakeholders;deep expertise in domain.

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• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
  
• 8 years of experience in software development.
  
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products, and 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
• 5 years of experience with one or more of the following: Speech/audio (e.g., technology duplicating and responding to the human voice), reinforcement learning (e.g., sequential decision making), ML infrastructure, or specialization in another ML field.
  
• 5 years of experience with ML design and ML infrastructure (e.g., model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, fine tuning).

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, or a related technical field.
• 8 years of experience in data structures and algorithms, with experience building distributed, large-scale machine learning systems.
• 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role, defining technical goals, setting roadmap direction, and mentoring executive engineering teams.
• Experience designing and deploying recommendation systems, personalized ranking models, or retrieval systems.
• Expertise in managing the cold-start problem, reinforcement learning, or exploration/exploitation algorithms.

About the job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

In this role, you will lead the Short-form Video Exploration team and drive the success of YouTube shorts, a top strategic initiative. The Short-form Video team manages the entire ecosystem: from mobile creation tools and effects (text, stickers, filters) to a seamless, full-screen player experience. We also build the backend systems required to create, serve, and recommend these videos across Home, Search, and beyond.
Shorts Exploration is a critical component of our recommendation strategy. Our mission is to identify initial audiences for fresh content, expanding our recommendable corpus and inspiring further creation. To achieve this, we leverage advanced modeling techniques and signals to build these audiences directly within the recommendation stack.

At YouTube, we believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share, and build community through our stories. We work together to give everyone the power to share their story, explore what they love, and connect with one another in the process. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and boundless creativity, we move at the speed of culture with a shared goal to show people the world. We explore new ideas, solve real problems, and have fun — and we do it all together.Individual pay is determined by factors including job‑related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

About the job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

In this role, you will lead the Short-form Video Exploration team and drive the success of YouTube shorts, a top strategic initiative. The Short-form Video team manages the entire ecosystem: from mobile creation tools and effects (text, stickers, filters) to a seamless, full-screen player experience. We also build the backend systems required to create, serve, and recommend these videos across Home, Search, and beyond.
Shorts Exploration is a critical component of our recommendation strategy. Our mission is to identify initial audiences for fresh content, expanding our recommendable corpus and inspiring further creation. To achieve this, we leverage advanced modeling techniques and signals to build these audiences directly within the recommendation stack.

At YouTube, we believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share, and build community through our stories. We work together to give everyone the power to share their story, explore what they love, and connect with one another in the process. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and boundless creativity, we move at the speed of culture with a shared goal to show people the world. We explore new ideas, solve real problems, and have fun — and we do it all together.Individual pay is determined by factors including job‑related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $207000 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

• Design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance large scale software solutions.
  
• Provide technical leadership on high-impact projects. Manage project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables.
  
• Facilitate alignment and clarity across teams on goals, outcomes, and timelines. Influence and coach a distributed team of engineers.
  
• Lead the design and implementation of solutions in specialized ML areas, optimize ML infrastructure, and guide the development of model optimization and data processing strategies.
  

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, and subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.