Staff Scientist of Applied ML, Search

Candidates for this position are preferred to be based in Mountain View, CA and will be expected to comply with their team's hybrid work schedule requirements.

Who we are:
The Search and Recommendations Machine Learning (ML) team is at Wayfair is at the forefront of designing and implementing algorithms that define our global search experience. Using cutting-edge machine learning approaches—including advanced NLP, semantic search, and multi-modal technologies—we aim to deliver fast, accurate, and personalized search results for over 22 million active customers. Our mission is to make the search experience intuitive and efficient, helping customers discover exactly what they need in a vast and diverse product catalog.

Hiring Leader : Patrick Phelps - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phphelps/

What You’ll Do:

• Enhance search relevance: Design and implement scalable ML models that improve the relevance, ranking, and personalization of search results across Wayfair’s platforms.
• Optimize retrieval systems: Develop and fine-tune search retrieval techniques to improve performance and scalability in handling web-scale customer queries.
• Advance query understanding: Apply advanced NLP techniques to enhance query parsing, intent recognition, and semantic understanding for diverse user inputs.
• Innovate search experiences: Explore and implement graph-based learning, semantic embeddings, and multi-modal techniques to power next-generation search systems.
• Collaborate cross-functionally: Work closely with product managers, engineers, and data scientists to ensure alignment of search system improvements with business goals.
• Solve unique search challenges: Address search-specific issues such as cold-start problems, long-tail queries, and real-time search performance optimization.
• Contribute to the community: Share expertise through internal forums, author technical documentation, and represent Wayfair at leading ML conferences such as NeurIPS.

We Are a Match Because You Have:

• Expertise in search technologies, including retrieval, ranking systems, and query understanding.
• Strong proficiency in Python and/or Java for building and deploying ML-driven search systems.
• Deep understanding of NLP techniques, semantic search, and embedding-based retrieval.
• Proven ability to execute and deliver large-scale search-related ML projects, including roadmap development and implementation.
• Strong knowledge of statistical modeling, experimental design, hypothesis testing, or optimization.
• Experience with cloud-native technologies; familiarity with GCP and Vertex AI is a plus.
• Advanced problem-solving skills focused on tackling search-specific challenges like personalization, scalability, and accuracy.

Why You'll Love Wayfair

• Time Off:
  • Paid Holidays
  • Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Health & Wellness:
  • Full Health Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA/FSA)
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Protection (Short Term & Long Term Disability) 
  • Global Wellbeing: Gym/Fitness discounts (including US Peloton, Global ClassPass, and various regional gym memberships)
  • Mental Health Support (Global Mental Health, Global Wayhealthy Recordings)
  • Caregiver Services
• Financial Growth & Security:
  • 401K Matching (Employee Matching Program)
  • Tuition Reimbursement 
  • Financial Health Education (Knowledge of Financial Education - KOFE)
  • Tax Advantaged Accounts
• Family Support:
  • Family Planning Support
  • Parental Leave
  • Global Surrogacy & Adoption Policy
• Professional Development & Recognition:
  • Rewards & Recognition 
  • Global Employee Anniversary Awards 
  • Paid Volunteer Work 
• Unique Perks:
  • Employee Discount 
  • U.S. Bluebikes Membership
  • Global Pod Outings
• Work/Life Balance:
  • Emphasizing a supportive & flexible work environment that encourages a balance between personal and professional commitments 

The salary range for this position is $207,000 - $230,000* however, base pay offered may vary depending on location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Restricted stock units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. This information is provided per individual states’ pay transparency laws.

We are looking forward to your application!