AmazonApplied Scientist, Machine Learning Accelerator
Amazon is hiring an Applied Scientist, Machine Learning Accelerator in San Diego, United States. It pays $143k-$193k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this applied scientist role Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
- The posting mentions Python, Java and C among its tools and skills.
- Level classes it as a senior role.
- Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.
AI in this role
Build advanced machine learning and generative AI models to enhance the seller and customer experience across Amazon platforms.
Do you want to build advanced algorithmic systems that help manage the trust and safety of millions of customer interactions every day? Are you excited by the prospect of analyzing and modeling terabytes of data and creating state-of-the-art algorithms to solve real world problems? Are you excited by the opportunity to leverage GenAI and innovate on top of the state-of-the-art large language models to improve customer and seller experience?
Do you like to build end-to-end business solutions and directly impact the profitability of the company? Do you like to innovate and create solutions that have cross-organizational impacts?
If yes, then you may be a great fit to join the Machine Learning Accelerator team.
Key job responsibilities
The scope of an Applied Scientist in the Machine Learning Accelerator (MLA) team is to research and prototype AI and Machine Learning applications that solve strategic business problems across Selling Partner Experience (SPX) domains. Additionally, the scientist collaborates with engineers and business partners to design and implement solutions at scale that are of broad benefit to SPX organizations. They develop large-scale solutions for high impact projects, introduce tools and other techniques that can be used to solve problems from various perspectives, and show depth and competence in more than one area. They influence the team’s technical strategy by making insightful contributions to the team’s priorities, approach and planning. They develop and introduce tools and practices that streamline the work of the team, and they mentor junior team members and participate in hiring
Basic qualifications
- PhD, or Master's degree and 4+ years of CS, CE, ML or related field experience
- 3+ years of building machine learning models or developing algorithms for business application experience
- Experience in patents or publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience in any of the following areas: algorithms and data structures, parsing, numerical optimization, data mining, parallel and distributed computing, high-performance computing
- Experience with Machine Learning and Large Language Model fundamentals, including architecture, training/inference lifecycles, and optimization of model execution, or experience in developing and deploying LLMs in production on GPUs, Neuron, TPU or other AI acceleration hardware
Preferred qualifications
- Experience using Unix/Linux
- Experience in state-of-the-art deep learning models architecture design and deep learning training and optimization and model pruning
- Experience with LLM fine-tuning, in-context learning, or model evaluation
- Hands-on experience designing reward models or RL post-training pipelines (PPO/GRPO, DPO) for LLMs or agents, including preference-data collection and evaluation
- Experience building agentic AI systems — tool use, planning, retrieval-augmented generation, or multi-agent workflows
- Experience with researching and developing neuro-symbolic solutions and applications
- Publications at top ML/AI venues
- Experience partnering with product/engineering teams to deliver ML in large-scale production system
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, San Diego - 142,800.00 - 193,200.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Applied Scientist, Machine Learning Accelerator at Amazon rates 90 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Also common in applied scientist jobs at this level
Pay
- This job starts at
- $143k
- Typical applied scientist job
- $167k
This posting starts 15% below the typical applied scientist job. See applied scientist jobs
Questions you could be asked
- How would you design a retrieval step so the model answers from real data instead of guessing?
- Walk me through fine-tuning a model: what data did you use, and how did you check the result?
- How do you decide that one model's output is better than another's for a given task?
- Tell me about a project where machine learning was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where deep learning was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: RAG, Fine-tuning, AI Evaluation, Machine learning, and Deep learning. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.
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