The Amazon Search Mission Understanding (SMU) team is at the forefront of revolutionizing the online shopping experience through the Amazon search page. Our ambition extends beyond facilitating a seamless shopping journey; we are committed to creating the next generation of intelligent shopping assistants. Leveraging cutting-edge Large Language Models (LLMs), we aim to redefine navigation and decision-making in e-commerce by deeply understanding our users' shopping missions, preferences, and goals. By developing responsive and scalable solutions, we not only accomplish the shopping mission but also foster unparalleled trust among our customers. Through our advanced technology, we generate valuable insights, providing a guided navigation system into various search missions, ensuring a comprehensive and holistic shopping experience. Our dedication to continuous improvement through constant measurement and enhancement of the shopper experience is crucial, as we strategically navigate the balance between immediate results and long-term business growth.

We are seeking an Applied Scientist who is not just adept in the theoretical aspects of Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Large Language Models (LLMs) but also possesses a pragmatic, hands-on approach to navigating the complexities of innovation. The ideal candidate will have a profound expertise in developing, deploying, and contributing to the next-generation shopping search engine, including but not limited to Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models, specifically tailored towards enhancing the Rufus application—an integral part of our mission to revolutionize shopping assistance. You will take the lead in conceptualizing, building, and launching groundbreaking models that significantly improve our understanding of and capabilities in enhancing the search experience. A successful applicant will display a comprehensive skill set across machine learning model development, implementation, and optimization. This includes a strong foundation in data management, software engineering best practices, and a keen awareness of the latest developments in distributed systems technology. We are looking for individuals who are determined, analytically rigorous, passionate about applied sciences, creative, and possess strong logical reasoning abilities.

Join the Search Mission Understanding team, a group of pioneering ML scientists and engineers dedicated to building core ML models and developing the infrastructure for model innovation. As part of Amazon Search, you will experience the dynamic, innovative culture of a startup, backed by the extensive resources of Amazon.com (AMZN), a global leader in internet services. Our collaborative, customer-centric work environment spans across our offices in Palo Alto, CA, and Seattle, WA, offering a unique blend of opportunities for professional growth and innovation.

Key job responsibilities
In this role you will leverage your engineering background and expertise to help build the next generation of our mission understanding models and data collection framework. On a day-to-day basis, you will:

* Interface with Applied Scientists, Product Managers, and Program Managers to determine requirements for production systems
* Analyze log data to determine future system design and configure parameters
Build scalable and production-ready data pipelines to extract features from petabytes of raw data
Integrate models and algorithms in complex, real-time production systems on immense scale
* Design and execute experiments to determine the impact of models and algorithms you intend to deploy in production
* Run analysis reports of web-experiments to identify benefits and risk of launching the models and algorithms
* Serve as a liaison to our customer/seller-facing partner teams in case of escalations
Project manage cross-functional Machine Learning initiatives

- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- 3+ years of building machine learning models for business application experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience with Large Language Models

- Experience with large scale distributed systems such as Hadoop, Spark etc.
- Experience with conducting research in a corporate setting

Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, 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 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 $150,400/year in our lowest geographic market up to $260,000/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 This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.