Senior Applied Scientist , Amazon Ads

About the Role

You've spent years mastering machine learning. Now imagine applying that expertise where it actually reaches billions of people — every single day. At Amazon Ads, we're re-inventing the entire advertising experience using generative AI, large language models, and next-generation ML. From the moment a brand crafts a campaign to the instant a customer discovers something they love — your science powers it all. Billions of impressions, millions of clicks, and petabytes of data await you at the center of it.

Why This Role Excites You

• Unmatched scale and resources: Access to computational power and datasets most scientists only dream about. Build solutions that work at planet scale.
• Breadth that keeps you sharp: Work across real-time bidding systems, creative AI, ranking, personalization, NLP, computer vision, and LLMs.
• Your ideas ship: Take models from concept to production, run A/B experiments, and see your work move metrics that matter for advertisers, customers, and the business.
• People who push you forward: Collaborate with world-class engineers, scientists, and product leaders passionate about solving hard problems.

Responsibilities

• Research and build next-generation ML solutions — including generative AI and LLM applications — that transform how advertising works.
• Own end-to-end projects: from messy, ambiguous problems to deployed, production-grade models.
• Design experiments that validate your hypotheses and measure real business impact.
• Build models that balance what's best for customers and advertisers — ensuring great advertising feels helpful, not intrusive.
• Work cross-functionally with engineers, PMs, and fellow scientists to ship fast and iterate faster.
• Develop scalable ML pipelines that optimize monetization without sacrificing customer experience.

Career Growth

• Lead high-visibility technical initiatives as a Technical IC or grow into people leadership.
• Mentor and grow other scientists while shaping strategy alongside senior leadership.
• Build a reputation in a community that values scientific excellence, with work impacting millions of customers and advertisers worldwide.

Watch Scientists at Amazon Ads Talk About Their Work.

Learn more about Amazon Ads.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years building ML models for real business applications.
• PhD, or Master's degree + 6 years of applied research experience.
• Strong programming skills in Python, Java, C++, or similar.
• Hands-on experience with deep learning and neural network methods.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with tools like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Spark MLLib, MxNet, numpy, scipy.
• Experience with large-scale distributed systems (Hadoop, Spark, etc.).

Pay

• USA, CA, Palo Alto: $192,200 - $260,000 USD annually
• USA, CA, Santa Monica: $167,100 - $226,100 USD annually
• USA, CA, Sunnyvale: $192,200 - $260,000 USD annually
• USA, MA, Boston: $167,100 - $226,100 USD annually
• USA, MD, Washington DC: $167,100 - $226,100 USD annually
• USA, NY, New York: $183,800 - $248,700 USD annually
• USA, NY, New York City: $183,800 - $248,700 USD annually
• USA, VA, Arlington: $167,100 - $226,100 USD annually
• USA, WA, Bellevue: $167,100 - $226,100 USD annually
• USA, WA, Seattle: $167,100 - $226,100 USD annually

Your Amazon package includes sign-on payments, restricted stock units (RSUs), and comprehensive benefits such as health insurance, 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits.