Spotify
Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Personalization at Spotify
$184,049–$262,928 / year
Apply for this positionRole overview
An at-a-glance view of the facts included with this Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Personalization at Spotify listing.
- Company
- Spotify
- Location
- Remote, United States
- Work arrangement
- Remote
- Employment type
- Full-time
- Compensation
- $184,049–$262,928 / year
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Role overview
This job description has been rewritten in fresh language using the facts in the listing. Source credit and original listing details are available below.
Spotify is hiring a full-time Senior Machine Learning Engineer for its Personalization team, within Growlithe in the Conversation Product Area. The team develops emerging Search and agentic experiences, including personalized Search, music video discovery and ranking, audiobook Search expansion, and early work on more social Search. Its broader aim is to help listeners find music, podcasts, and other content through relevant recommendations and discovery features.
You’ll develop and improve machine learning models, ranking, and backend retrieval systems, taking ideas from experimentation through production. The role combines machine learning, personalization, and product development, with work on conversational and AI-driven Search as well as scalable infrastructure. You’ll collaborate with engineers, product managers, designers, and researchers, and use experiments, analysis, and performance measures to guide improvements and technical decisions.
The position is listed as remote in the United States and is based in Eastern Standard Time. Spotify offers flexibility to work from home, with some in-person meetings. The stated U.S. base salary range is $184,049–$262,928 per year, plus equity. Benefits listed include health insurance, six months of paid parental leave, a 401(k), a monthly meal allowance, 23 paid days off, paid flexible holidays, and paid sick leave; the compensation range may change.
Role at a glance: Spotify seeks a full-time Senior Machine Learning Engineer for Search personalization, based in Eastern Standard Time, with a U.S. base salary of $184,049–$262,928 plus equity.
Responsibilities mentioned in the listing
- Build and refine machine learning models to improve Search relevance, personalization, and engagement.
- Develop and optimize ranking and backend retrieval systems for music, video, audiobooks, and other content.
- Explore AI and agentic methods for more intuitive, conversational Search.
- Design, implement, and evaluate machine learning solutions from early experiments through production.
- Work with engineering, product, design, and research colleagues to identify opportunities and improve Search.
- Analyze experiments, data, and performance metrics to assess models, test hypotheses, and improve listener experiences.
- Contribute to scalable machine learning infrastructure and reliable Search engineering practices.
Qualifications stated in the listing
- Experience building, deploying, and improving production machine learning systems.
- Strong knowledge of machine learning for information retrieval, Search ranking, recommendations, or personalization.
- Proficiency in Python and familiarity with modern machine learning frameworks and data-processing tools.
- Experience with backend engineering and interest in working at Spotify scale.
- Ability to design and evaluate experiments, interpret model performance, and turn findings into product improvements.
- Experience with large-scale datasets and an understanding of building reliable, scalable machine learning systems.
- Curiosity about emerging AI, including large language models and agentic systems, and their use in discovery.
- Ability to collaborate across disciplines, communicate technical concepts clearly, and learn from varied perspectives.
Full details from the source listing
The Personalization team makes deciding what to play next easier and more enjoyable for every listener. From Blend to Discover Weekly, we’re behind some of Spotify’s most-loved features. We built them by understanding the world of music and podcasts better than anyone else. Join us and you’ll keep millions of users listening by making great recommendations to each and every one of them.
Growlithe is a fast-moving squad within Spotify's Conversation Product Area, focused on bringing emerging Search and agentic experiences to life. We explore, define, build, validate, and optimize new ideas to help listeners discover the content they love. Our work spans personalized Search, music video discovery and ranking, audiobook Search expansion, and the foundations of more social Search experiences.
We're looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to help shape the next generation of Search at Spotify. You'll work at the intersection of machine learning, personalization, and product development, turning complex challenges into intuitive discovery experiences for millions of listeners.
What You'll Do
- Build and improve machine learning models that make Spotify Search more relevant, personalized, and engaging for listeners.
- Develop and optimize ranking and backend retrieval systems that help listeners discover music, videos, audiobooks, and other content.
- Explore emerging AI and agentic approaches to create more intuitive and conversational Search experiences.
- Design, implement, and evaluate machine learning solutions, taking ideas from early experimentation through production.
- Partner with engineers, product managers, designers, and researchers to identify opportunities and deliver meaningful improvements to Search.
- Use experimentation, data analysis, and performance metrics to understand model behavior, validate hypotheses, and improve the listener experience.
- Contribute to scalable machine learning infrastructure and engineering practices that support reliable, high-quality Search experiences.
- Share knowledge, challenge assumptions constructively, and help shape the technical direction of machine learning within the squad.
Who You Are
- You have experience building, deploying, and improving machine learning systems in production environments.
- You have a strong understanding of machine learning approaches for information retrieval, search ranking, recommendation systems, or personalization.
- You are proficient in Python and comfortable working with modern machine learning frameworks and data processing tools.
- You have experience and a desire to lean into backend engineering at Spotify scale.
- You understand how to design and evaluate experiments, interpret model performance, and translate technical findings into product improvements.
- You have experience working with large-scale datasets and understand the challenges of building reliable, scalable machine learning systems.
- You are curious about emerging AI technologies, including large language models and agentic systems, and interested in their potential to improve discovery experiences.
- You enjoy working across disciplines, communicating technical ideas clearly, and learning from different perspectives.
- You are comfortable navigating ambiguity, taking ownership of complex challenges, and balancing experimentation with practical delivery.
Where You'll Be
- This role is based in Eastern Standard Time
- 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.
Compensation
Additional Information
The United States base range for this position is 184,049–262,928 USD, 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, paid flexible holidays, and paid sick leave. These ranges may be modified in the future.
Spotify is an equal opportunity employer. You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones. Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be forward-thinking! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens.
At Spotify, we are passionate about inclusivity and making sure our entire recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We have ways to request reasonable accommodations during the interview process and help assist in what you need. If you need accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know - we’re here to support you in any way we can.
