Sr. Applied Scientist, Amazon Music - Search Science

Amazon is hiring a Sr. Applied Scientist, Amazon Music - Search Science in Sunnyvale, United States. It pays $192k-$260k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this applied scientist role is Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
The listed pay starts 12% above the typical applied scientist posting on Level.
Tools and skills the posting cites include TensorFlow, scikit-learn and Python.
Level classifies it as a senior role.
Level lists 20,000+ other open roles at Amazon.

AI in this role

Design and implement machine learning, deep learning, LLM, and agentic AI models for Amazon Music search and recommendation systems.

tensorflowscikit-learnpythonpytorchllms

nlpmachine-learningdeep-learningrecommender-systemsapplied-research

Amazon Music is an immersive audio entertainment service that deepens connections between fans, artists, and creators. From personalized music playlists to exclusive podcasts, concert livestreams to artist merch, Amazon Music is innovating at some of the most exciting intersections of music and culture. We offer experiences that serve all listeners with our different tiers of service: Prime members get access to all the music in shuffle mode, and top ad-free podcasts, included with their membership; customers can upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited for unlimited, on-demand access to 100 million songs, including millions in HD, Ultra HD, and spatial audio; and anyone can listen for free by downloading the Amazon Music app or via Alexa-enabled devices. Join us for the opportunity to influence how Amazon Music engages fans, artists, and creators on a global scale.

Amazon Music Search Science team is seeking an experienced Applied Scientist who will join a team of experts in the field of machine learning, and work together to break new ground in the world of understanding and classifying different forms of music, and creating interactive experiences to help users find the music they are in the mood for. We work on machine learning problems for music classification, recommender systems, dialogue systems, NLP, and music information retrieval. You'll work in a collaborative environment where you can pursue applied research, with many peta-bytes of data, work on problems that haven’t been solved before, quickly implement and deploy your algorithmic ideas at scale, understand whether they succeed via statistically relevant experiments across millions of customers, and publish your research. You'll see the work you do directly improve the experience of Amazon Music customers on Alexa/Echo, mobile, and web.

Key job responsibilities
- Use machine learning, deep learning, LLMs and Agentic AI techniques to create scalable solutions for business problems
- Analyze and extract relevant information from large amounts of Amazon's data to help automate and optimize key processes
- Design, development and evaluation of AI models for predictive learning
- Work closely with software engineering teams to drive model implementations and new feature creations
- Establish scalable, efficient, automated processes for large scale data analyses, model development, model validation and model implementation
- Research and implement novel machine learning and statistical approaches

About the team
Everyone on our team has a meaningful impact on product features, new directions in music streaming, and customer engagement. We are looking for new team members across a variety of job functions including software engineering/development, marketing, design, ops and more. Come join us as we make history by launching exciting new projects in the coming year.Our team is focused on building a personalized, curated, and seamless music experience. We want to help our customers discover up-and-coming artists, while also having access to their favorite established musicians. We build systems that are distributed on a large scale, spanning our music apps, web player, and voice-forward audio engagement on mobile and Amazon Echo devices, powered by Alexa to support our customer base. Amazon Music offerings are available in countries around the world, and our applications support our mission of delivering music to customers in new and exciting ways that enhance their day-to-day lives.

Basic qualifications

- 3+ years of building machine learning models for business application experience
- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience with neural deep learning methods and machine learning

Preferred qualifications

- Experience with modeling tools such as R, scikit-learn, Spark MLLib, MxNet, Tensorflow, numpy, scipy etc.
- Experience with large scale distributed systems such as Hadoop, Spark etc.

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, Sunnyvale - 192,200.00 - 260,000.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Sr. Applied Scientist, Amazon Music - Search Science at Amazon rates 95 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.

Classification

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.

Key facts

Sr. Applied Scientist, Amazon Music - Search Science is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $192k-$260k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Sunnyvale.
The job was posted on June 23, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by Amazon. Apply on Amazon

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

NLPMachine learningDeep learningRecommender SystemsApplied ResearchTensorFlowscikit-learnPython

Also common in applied scientist jobs at this level

Generative AI Reinforcement learning AWS Computer vision PyTorch Fine-tuning

Pay

This job starts at: $192k
Typical applied scientist job: $172k

This posting starts 12% above the typical applied scientist job. See applied scientist jobs

Questions you could be asked

What NLP problem have you worked on, and how did you measure whether it actually worked?
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?
Tell me about a project where recommender systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where applied research was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: NLP, Machine learning, Deep learning, Recommender Systems, and Applied Research. 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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