Sr. Applied Scientist, Special Projects

Amazon is hiring a Sr. Applied Scientist, Special Projects in New York, United States. 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

Lead and execute complex machine learning and AI research projects from ideation to production deployment at Amazon.

PythonJavaCDreamerPlanetJepaNvidia Cosmos

machine-learningartificial-intelligenceapplied-researchoptimizationdistributed-systems

Innovators wanted! Are you an entrepreneur? A builder? A dreamer? This role is part of an Amazon Special Projects team that takes the company’s Think Big leadership principle to the extreme. We focus on creating entirely new products and services with a goal of positively impacting the lives of our customers. No industries or subject areas are out of bounds. If you’re interested in innovating at scale to address big challenges in the world, this is the team for you.

Here at Amazon, we embrace our differences. We are committed to furthering our culture of inclusion. We have thirteen employee-led affinity groups, reaching 40,000 employees in over 190 chapters globally. We are constantly learning through programs that are local, regional, and global. Amazon’s culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 16 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust.

Our team highly values work-life balance, mentorship and career growth. We believe striking the right balance between your personal and professional life is critical to life-long happiness and fulfillment. We care about your career growth and strive to assign projects and offer training that will challenge you to become your best.

Key job responsibilities
- Lead and execute complex, ambiguous research projects from ideation to production deployment
- Drive technical strategy and roadmap decisions for ML/AI initiatives
- Collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and business teams to translate research into scalable products
- Publish research findings at top-tier conferences and contribute to the broader scientific community
- Establish best practices for ML experimentation, evaluation, and deployment

Basic qualifications

- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language

Preferred qualifications

- Experience with autonomous AI frameworks (e.g. Dreamer, PlaNet, JEPA, NVIDIA Cosmos)
- Knowledge of decentralized optimization methods (e.g. swarm intelligence) Familiarity with advanced optimization and control methods (multi-objective optimization, constrained optimization, discrete optimization, model-based optimization, stochastic optimization, distributed control).
- Experience developing and maintaining digital twins
- Experience with multiscale geospatial modeling and forecasting
- Track record of translating research into production systems at scale

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.

How we rate this

Sr. Applied Scientist, Special Projects at Amazon rates 100 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, Special Projects is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The role is based in US, NY, New York.
The job was posted on June 17, 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 learningArtificial IntelligenceApplied ResearchOptimizationDistributed SystemsPythonJavaC

Also common in applied scientist jobs at this level

Machine learning Deep learning LLM Generative AI NLP Reinforcement learning

Pay

Typical applied scientist job: $167k

This posting doesn't list pay. Use the typical applied scientist figure when pay comes up. 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 artificial intelligence 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?
Tell me about a project where optimization was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Applied Research, Optimization, and Distributed Systems. 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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