Sr. Applied Scientist

Amazon is hiring a Sr. Applied Scientist in Seattle, United States. It pays $167k-$226k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

Builds AI ●●●● is how Level rates this applied scientist role: the job is building AI systems.
The listed pay starts close to 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

Build state-of-the-art machine learning models and recommendation systems to enhance the Amazon retail customer experience.

TensorFlowscikit-learnPythonJavaCPyTorchSpark

machine-learningdeep-learningrecommendation-systemsapplied-science

How can we improve the customer experience by tailoring what we display on our pages based on available data? How do we build models that help us innovate in different ways to enhance customer experience? What is the relationship between what customers do on the site vs. what they actually buy? How do we do all of this without asking the customer a single question?

Our team's stated missions is to "grow each customer’s relationship with Amazon by leveraging our deep understanding of them to provide relevant and timely product, program, and content recommendations." Recommendations at Amazon is a way to help customers discover products. Our team strives to better understand how customers shop on Amazon (and elsewhere) and build recommendations models to streamline customers' shopping experience by showing the right products at the right time. Understanding the complexities of customers' shopping needs and helping them explore the depth and breadth of Amazon's catalog is a challenge we take on every day.

Using Amazon’s large-scale computing resources, you will ask research questions about customer behavior, build state-of-the-art models to generate recommendations, and run these models directly on the retail website. You will participate in the Amazon ML community and mentor Applied Scientists and software development engineers with a strong interest in and knowledge of ML. Your work will directly benefit customers and the retail business and you will measure the impact using scientific tools. We are looking for a passionate, hard-working, and talented Applied Scientist who has experience building mission critical, high volume applications that customers love. You will have an opportunity to make an enormous impact on the design, architecture, and implementation of cutting edge products used everyday by people you know.

Basic qualifications

- 4+ years of building machine learning models for business application experience
- PhD, or Master's degree and 4+ 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.
- Experience in building machine learning models for business application
- Experience with large scale machine learning systems such as profiling and debugging and understanding of system performance and scalability

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

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, WA, Seattle - 167,100.00 - 226,100.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Sr. Applied Scientist 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 is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $167k-$226k a year.
The role is based in US, WA, Seattle.
The job was posted on April 15, 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

Machine learningDeep learningRecommendation SystemsApplied ScienceTensorFlowscikit-learnPythonJava

Also common in applied scientist jobs at this level

LLM Generative AI NLP Reinforcement learning AWS Computer vision

Pay

This job starts at: $167k
Typical applied scientist job: $169k

This posting starts close to the typical applied scientist job. See applied scientist jobs

Questions you could be asked

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 recommendation systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where applied science was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used TensorFlow in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Machine learning, Deep learning, Recommendation Systems, Applied Science, and TensorFlow. 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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