Spotify

Research Scientist - Personalization

Spotify • $133K — $190K *
New York, NY 10025In-Person
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Master's or PhD in machine learning, AI, or equivalent research experience.
  • Demonstrated expertise through peer-reviewed publications in top-tier conferences.
  • Deep knowledge in large-scale model training, post-training techniques, and reinforcement learning.
  • Experience in experimental design and validation using real-world datasets.
  • A strong interest in understanding user behavior and enhancing user experience in music and talk content.
  • Curiosity and creativity in addressing complex problems.
  • Appreciation for collaborative work and diverse perspectives.

Responsibilities

  • Conduct original research in ML and AI focused on foundation models and generative AI.
  • Develop new methodologies and frameworks for personalization systems.
  • Design and execute experiments to validate research hypotheses.
  • Contribute to academic publications and participate in relevant conferences.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional partners to leverage research for product development.
  • Define and advance Spotify's forward-looking research agenda.
  • Mentor researchers and cultivate a collaborative research culture.

Benefits

  • Health insurance coverage.
  • Six months of paid parental leave.
  • 401(k) retirement savings plan.
  • Monthly meal allowance.
  • 23 paid vacation days.
  • 13 paid flexible holidays.
Full Job Description
What You'll Do

  • Conduct original research in machine learning and AI, with a focus on large-scale foundation models, generative AI, and post-training methods, including reinforcement learning.
  • Develop novel methodologies, models, and evaluation frameworks to advance personalization systems.
  • Design and execute rigorous experiments to explore new ideas and validate research hypotheses.
  • Contribute to the scientific community through publications, talks, and conference participation.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional partners to translate research insights into long-term product opportunities.
  • Help define and evolve a forward-looking research agenda aligned with Spotify's personalization strategy.
  • Mentor others and contribute to a strong, curious, and collaborative research culture.


Who You Are

  • You have a Master's or PhD in machine learning, AI, or a related field, or equivalent research experience.
  • You have demonstrated expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence through peer-reviewed publications at conferences such as NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, KDD, or RecSys.
  • You have deep knowledge of machine learning, with hands-on experience in areas such as post-training and reinforcement learning for large models, reward design, large-scale distributed training, or evaluation of model behavior.
  • You are experienced in designing experiments and working with real-world datasets to validate research ideas.
  • You care about advancing understanding of user behavior and improving experiences across music and talk content.
  • You bring curiosity, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to solving complex, open-ended problems.
  • You value collaboration and actively seek diverse perspectives in your work.


Where You'll Be

  • This role is based in New York City.
  • We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! There will be some in person meetings, but still allows for flexibility to work from home.


The United States base range for this position is $133,194 - $190,278 plus equity. The benefits available for this position include health insurance, six month paid parental leave, 401(k) retirement plan, a monthly meal allowance, 23 paid days off, 13 paid flexible holidays. These ranges may be modified in the future.

About Spotify

Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider, launched in October 2008. The platform is owned by Spotify AB, a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange since April 2018. Spotify's primary business is providing an audio streaming platform, with the company claiming that it had 345 million active monthly users and 155 million paying subscribers as of December 2020. Unlike physical or download sales, which pay artists a fixed price per song or album sold, Spotify pays royalties based on the number of artist streams as a proportion of total songs streamed on the service. Spotify distributes approximately 70% of its total revenue to rights holders, who then pay artists based on their individual agreements. Spotify has faced criticism from artists and producers including Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke, who have argued that it does not fairly compensate musicians. Spotify has also faced criticism from artists and producers including Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke, who have argued that it does not fairly compensate musicians.
Learn more about Spotify
Size
3,456 employees
Industry
Media
Founded
2006
* Ladders Estimates

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