Principal Applied Scientist, Sponsored Products and Brands Off-Search

DESCRIPTION

The Sponsored Products and Brands (SPB) team at Amazon Ads is re-imagining the advertising landscape through state-of-the-art generative AI technologies, revolutionizing how millions of customers discover products and engage with brands across Amazon.com and beyond. We are at the forefront of re-inventing advertising experiences, bridging human creativity with artificial intelligence to transform every aspect of the advertising lifecycle from ad creation and optimization to performance analysis and customer insights. We are a passionate group of innovators dedicated to developing responsible and intelligent AI technologies that balance the needs of advertisers, enhance the shopping experience, and strengthen the marketplace. If you're energized by solving complex challenges and pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI, join us in shaping the future of advertising.

Key job responsibilities
The Principal Applied Scientist will drive transformative innovation in Sponsored Products and Brands (SPB) auction design across non-search surfaces, including product detail pages, the home page, and specialty stores. This role will be pivotal in rethinking how ads contribute to a personalized, relevant, and inspirational shopping experience, with the customer value proposition at the forefront. The key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Auction Mechanics and Optimization: The Principal Scientist will reimagine auction mechanisms to holistically consider business drivers and shopper needs. This involves developing new auction functions that considers ad relevance, order product sales, ads revenue, cost-to-serve, and advertiser demand, while remaining sensitive to seasonality, holidays, and bespoke shopping experiences (e.g., premium or grocery shopping). The scientist will entail the design and testing of auction models and simulations to improve multiple objectives. Specifically, they will estimate how different auction parameters perform under varying shopper cohorts (e.g., first-time versus repeat shoppers), product categories, seller types (e.g., vendors versus sellers), and regional demand profiles, setting the foundation for adaptive auction strategies that maximize value for both shoppers and advertisers.

Ad Inventory Management from a Customer-Centric Perspective: The Principal Scientist will lead initiatives to redefine how we manage ad inventory allocation across non-search pages, focusing on how the amount of ads shown and how ads content blend with organic recommendation align with the intent and needs of shoppers in various contexts. Leveraging large-scale machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLMs), the scientist will design, prototype, and iterate models that predict, measure, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ad inventory allocation that consistently delivers a clear customer value proposition.

Advancing Scientific and Technical Capabilities: As a senior leader, the Principal Scientist will play a critical role in elevating the team’s scientific and technical rigor, identifying and implementing best-in-class algorithms, methodologies, and infrastructure that enable rapid experimentation and scaling. They will establish a long-term vision for continued scientific innovation, setting strategic goals to future-proof the organization’s technical stacks and ML/LLM frameworks to support new and emerging business objectives. Additionally, the scientist will mentor and guide junior scientists and engineers, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous learning to enhance the organization’s ability to solve complex problems in advertising science.

Through his/her work, the Principal Applied Scientist will directly impact key business metrics by improving ad relevance and auction efficiency, ultimately contributing to revenue growth, improved customer satisfaction, and differentiated shopper experiences.

About the team
The Off-Search team within Sponsored Products and Brands (SPB) is focused on building delightful ad experiences across various surfaces beyond Search on Amazon—such as product detail pages, the homepage, and store-in-store pages—to drive monetization. Our vision is to deliver highly personalized, context-aware advertising that adapts to individual shopper preferences, scales across diverse page types, remains relevant to seasonal and event-driven moments, and integrates seamlessly with organic recommendations such as new arrivals, basket-building content, and fast-delivery options. To execute this vision, we work in close partnership with Amazon Stores stakeholders to lead the expansion and growth of advertising across Amazon-owned and -operated pages beyond Search. We operate full stack—from backend ads-retail edge services, ads retrieval, and ad auctions to shopper-facing experiences—all designed to deliver meaningful value.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years of hands-on work in predictive modeling and analysis experience
• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related technical field
• Experience working in predictive modeling and analysis
• Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
• Experience with leading experienced scientists as well as having a record of developing junior members from academia or industry to a career track in a business environment

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of relevant work in industry or academia experience
• Knowledge of problem solving, algorithm design and complexity analysis
• Experience creating novel algorithms and advancing the state of the art
• Have peer-reviewed scientific contributions in premier journals and conferences
• Experience distilling informal customer requirements into problem definitions, dealing with ambiguity and competing objectives

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

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $179,000/year in our lowest geographic market up to $309,400/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.