Spotify

Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Personalization, Rewards

Spotify$184K — $262K *
New York, NY 10025Remote in New York, NY
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Strong background in machine learning applications
  • Expertise in Reinforcement Learning (RL), particularly for recommendations
  • Proficiency in statistics and optimization techniques
  • Experience with sequential models and transformer architectures
  • Familiarity with generative AI and fine-tuning large language models (LLMs)

Responsibilities

  • Design and develop reward signals for recommendation systems using hands-on machine learning techniques
  • Collaborate with multiple teams within PZN to integrate and A/B test mid-term reward signals
  • Establish and advocate for best practices in machine learning system development both technically and organization-wide
  • Prototype, build, and scale models while launching A/B tests for personalized generative recommendations in the initial six months

Benefits

  • Health insurance coverage
  • Six months paid parental leave
  • 401(k) retirement plan
  • Monthly meal allowance
  • 23 paid days off annually
  • 13 paid flexible holidays
  • Paid sick leave
Full Job Description
The Rewards team in Personalization (PZN) is defining the next generation of large-scale personalization at Spotify by pioneering novel Reinforcement Learning (RL) methods for Large Language Models (LLMs). We drive massive impact across all recommendations discovery surfaces by moving beyond simple clicks to model and optimize for true long-term user satisfaction. Our core mission is to bridge discovery with lasting listening habits by developing and deploying sophisticated, mid-term behavioral reward signals-such as retention and habit formation metrics-that directly shape the LLM-powered recommendation experience.

We are looking for a Machine Learning Engineer to make impactful changes to our recommendations and discovery algorithms. As an integral part of the squad, you will collaborate with research scientists, data scientists, and other engineers across PZN in prototyping and productizing state-of-the-art ML at the intersection of recommendations and long-term user satisfaction.

What You'll Do

  • Contribute to designing, scaling/building, evaluating, integrating, shipping, and refining reward signals for recommendations by hands-on ML development.
  • Lead collaborations and align across PZN to integrate and A/B test mid-term signals in various recommendation and discovery systems.
  • Promote and role-model best practices of ML systems development, testing, and evaluation throughout the organization.
  • In your first 6 months, you will be responsible for ML development: prototyping models, building pipelines, productizing/scaling models, and launching A/B tests for personalized generative recommendations at Spotify.


Who You Are

  • You have a strong background in machine learning and enjoy applying theory to develop real-world applications.
  • Reinforcement Learning (RL) expertise is key, and experience in RL for recommendations is a must have.
  • Expertise in statistics and optimization, especially in sequential models, transformers, generative AI, large language models (LLMs are a plus), and relevant fine-tuning processes.


Where You'll Be

  • This role is based in New York
  • 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 $184,050- $262,928 plus equity. The benefits available for this position include health insurance, six month paid parental leave, 401(k) retirement plan, monthly meal allowance, 23 paid days off, 13 paid flexible holidays, paid sick leave. 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
Founded
2006

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