Senior Applied Machine Learning Engineer - Search & Recommendatio…
UpworkSalary not specified
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Technology, Digital MediaIndustries
Requirements
- Expertise in designing, building, and optimizing ML systems that scale to millions of users
- Experience across the ML lifecycle: data ingestion, model training, deployment, and monitoring
- Ability to create fast, reliable, and cost-efficient pipelines
- Proficiency in building large-scale data ingestion, transformation, and validation pipelines on Databricks
- Skills in training, evaluating, and deploying ML models (including generative models) to production using internal platforms and industry-standard frameworks
- Experience designing and running A/B and N-way experiments
- Strong cross-functional collaboration with product managers, data scientists, analysts, engineering, and analytics teams
- Familiarity with Go, Python, and Ruby for services powering recommendation and personalization pipelines
- Background in recommendations, search, generative AI, or related areas
- GRIT: set and achieve Goals, achieve Results, contribute Innovative ideas, positively influence Team
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with engineering and analytics teams to build large-scale ingestion, transformation, and validation pipelines on Databricks
- Train, evaluate, and deploy ML models (including generative models) to production using Scribd’s internal platform and industry-standard frameworks
- Design and run A/B and N-way experiments to measure the impact of model and feature changes
- Partner with product managers, data scientists, and analysts on cross-functional initiatives
- Prototype 0→1 solutions in collaboration with product and engineering teams
- Build and maintain end-to-end, production-grade ML systems for recommendations, search, and generative AI features
- Develop and operate services in Go, Python, and Ruby that power high-traffic recommendation and personalization pipelines
- Run large-scale A/B and multivariate experiments to validate models and feature improvements
- Transform massive, diverse datasets into actionable insights driving business impact
- Explore and implement generative AI for conversational recommendations, document understanding, and advanced search capabilities
Skills
Key technologies and capabilities for this role
Questions & Answers
Common questions about this position
What is the work arrangement or location policy for this role?
Scribd offers Scribd Flex, allowing employees to choose their daily work-style in partnership with their manager, balancing flexibility with community connections. Occasional in-person attendance is required for all employees to build collaboration, culture, and connection, regardless of location.
What skills and technologies are required for this Senior Machine Learning Engineer role?
The role involves building and operating services in Go, Python, and Ruby, developing production-grade ML systems for recommendations, search, and generative AI, running large-scale A/B experiments, and working with massive datasets.
What is Scribd's company culture like?
Scribd supports a culture where employees can be real and bold, debate and commit while embracing plot twists, and are empowered to take action prioritizing the customer. They hire for GRIT, emphasizing Goals, Results, Innovation, and Team collaboration.
What is the structure of the Recommendations team?
The team is a blend of frontend, backend, and ML engineers who partner closely with product managers, data scientists, and analysts to power personalized discovery across Scribd’s products.
What makes a strong candidate for this position?
Strong candidates demonstrate GRIT by setting and achieving Goals, delivering Results, contributing Innovative ideas and solutions, and positively influencing the Team through collaboration and attitude.
Scribd
Digital library and e-book subscription service
About Scribd
Scribd is a digital library and e-book subscription service that provides users with access to a wide variety of reading materials, including e-books, audiobooks, magazines, and documents. Users pay a monthly subscription fee to enjoy unlimited access to this extensive library, which features bestsellers, classic literature, and academic papers. Scribd stands out from competitors like Amazon's Kindle Unlimited and Audible by offering a more diverse range of content types and a user-friendly interface that enhances the reading experience. Additionally, Scribd fosters community engagement through features like ScribdChat, allowing interaction between authors and readers, as well as curated reading lists that highlight relevant content. The company's goal is to serve a broad audience of readers, from casual readers to professionals, by providing a rich and varied digital content library.
San Francisco, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2007Year Founded
$102.9MTotal Funding
LATE_VCCompany Stage
Consumer Software, EntertainmentIndustries
201-500Employees
Benefits
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - A robust Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program that includes company-wide training, equitable hiring best practices, Employee Resource Groups, and company-wide goals.
Scribd flex - We embrace flexibility as a key principle and will allow employees, in partnership with their manager, to choose the workstyle that best suits their individual needs and preferences.
Health, Dental, Vision, Life & Disability - We offer comprehensive healthcare plans and cover premiums for employees at 100%. PPO, HMO, and High Deductible Health Plans are available so you can choose whichever coverage supports your lifestyle best.
Matching 401(k) - Easily save for retirement with our 401(k) plan and take advantage of up to 3% company match with no waiting period.
Paid Time Off - A generous paid time off program that includes vacation time, personal days, sabbaticals, volunteer time, winter break, sick time, and more.
Paid parental leave - We provide paid time away from work for our new biological, adoptive, or foster parents.
Wellbeing - Resources, workshops & events to support your wellbeing journey: Mind, Body & Soul.
Curated Career Paths and Continuous Learning - The power to explore career paths & possibilities, and the tools to support your growth. From continuing education, degrees, or certifications, we support our employee’s career journeys.
Risks
Credit-based model may alienate users preferring unlimited access.
Spotify's competitive pricing could draw subscribers away from Scribd.
New CEO may disrupt Scribd's current business model and market position.
Differentiation
Scribd offers a diverse range of content types beyond just e-books.
The platform includes features like ScribdChat for author-reader interaction.
Scribd's user-friendly interface enhances the overall reading experience.
Upsides
Tony Grimminck's appointment as CEO suggests potential strategic expansions.
The credit-based model could attract users seeking flexible content access.
Growing audiobook demand presents a market opportunity for Scribd.
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