Distinguished Scientist (AI)

TL;DR

Distinguished Scientist (AI): Defining the scientific direction and long-term vision for personalization capabilities across the global travel ecosystem with an accent on large-scale recommendation systems, foundation models, and multi-objective optimization. Focus on translating complex business goals into production-grade AI solutions while driving applied research in causal inference, bandits, and high-fidelity experimentation.

Location: Must be based in or commute to Austin, Seattle, or San Francisco (Hybrid)

Salary: $296,000 – $452,500

Company

A global leader in travel technology, powering a diverse portfolio of travel brands through an integrated, data-driven platform.

What you will do

• Define the scientific agenda and long-term roadmap for personalization across traveler discovery, shopping, and servicing experiences.
• Act as a strategic partner to product and engineering leadership to ensure personalization directly improves business outcomes like CVR and LTV.
• Drive innovation in recommender systems, foundation models, and bandit-based exploration strategies.
• Lead end-to-end development of ML projects from concept to production-level service operations.
• Champion rigorous success frameworks, instrumentation, and experimentation best practices across the organization.
• Represent the company as an authority in the AI/ML community through thought leadership and technical publications.

Requirements

• 15+ years of experience in applied ML/AI roles at scale.
• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field.
• Deep expertise in large-scale personalization, recommendation systems, and ranking architectures.
• Proven track record of shipping complex, business-critical ML systems to production.
• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with large-scale data pipelines and deployment practices.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States.

Nice to have

• Experience in e-commerce or two-sided marketplaces.
• Track record of impactful open-source contributions or patent filings.
• Experience designing real-time, streaming decision services at scale.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Flexible hybrid work model and generous paid time off.
• Travel-focused perks including wellness reimbursements and travel discounts.
• Parental leave and career development resources.
• Inclusive, values-driven environment with a focus on work-life balance.