Principal Applied Scientist, Prime Video Personalization & Discovery

Are you interested in shaping the future of entertainment through cutting-edge AI? Prime Video’s technology teams are redefining the digital video experience at scale.

As a Principal Applied Scientist at Prime Video, you will be a technical and strategic leader responsible for inventing, developing, and deploying groundbreaking AI solutions that power personalized, relevant, and delightful experiences for millions of global customers. You will help shape the vision and direction of key ML systems that support Prime Video’s mission to deliver AI-powered customer experiences.

This role demands a unique blend of deep technical expertise in machine learning and recommendation systems, industry leadership, and strong collaboration skills. You will guide the development of high-impact systems end-to-end - leading innovation from foundational research through production deployment - while mentoring scientists and influencing product and engineering roadmaps.

We are looking for a thought leader who brings a strong track record of delivering ML innovations at scale, along with the curiosity and drive to push boundaries. This is a rare opportunity to drive meaningful impact at one of the largest streaming services in the world.

Key job responsibilities

• Invent, prototype, and productionize large-scale AI solutions across Prime Video’s personalization and discovery ecosystem using deep learning, generative AI, reinforcement learning, and optimization techniques;
• Provide technical leadership and influence product vision by collaborating closely with engineers, product managers, and senior stakeholders;
• Design and lead high-impact A/B tests and data analyses to validate hypotheses and guide product direction;
• Drive technical bar-raising across science and engineering teams through mentorship, design reviews, and collaboration;
• Stay ahead of industry trends and emerging research; leverage them to evolve long-term strategy and architecture;
• Publish impactful research internally and externally (e.g. top-tier conferences and journals).

About the team

Prime Video Personalization and Discovery (PVPD) is dedicated to creating a highly personalized content discovery experience that not only delights our customers but also drives both short-and long-term business goals. Our scope includes personalized recommendations, search, marketing, and the advanced machine learning technology and infrastructure that underpins these experiences. Our mission is to automate and enhance customer engagement through personalization, using ML and Generative AI.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD (or Master’s with 10+ years of applied experience) in machine learning, computer science, statistics, or a related field
• 8+ years experience designing, building, and deploying ML models for real-world business applications at scale
• Proven leadership in driving cross-functional ML/AI initiatives from ideation through production
• in Python, Java, or C++, and experience with ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• Deep expertise in recommendation systems, search relevance, or large-scale personalization systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong publication record in top-tier conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, KDD, RecSys, SIGIR)
• Experience with large-scale distributed systems (e.g. Hadoop, Spark)
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical roadmaps and mentor other scientists and engineers
• Experience defining and delivering strategic AI vision for consumer-facing products

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.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, CA, Sunnyvale - 228,700.00 - 309,400.00 USD annually