About this role

Amazon is hiring a mid-level Applied Scientist in the machine learning function based in Palo Alto, CA. The posting calls out experience with Python, Java, Linux, Distributed Systems. Compensation is listed at $171,600–$222,200 per year.

Role: Applied Scientist
Function: machine learning
Level: mid
Track: Individual contributor
Employment: Full-time
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Department: Applied Science
Posted: Jul 13, 2026

Job description

from Amazon careers

The Amazon Search team creates customer-focused search solutions and technologies. Whenever a customer visits an Amazon site worldwide and types in a query or browses through product categories, Amazon Product Search services go to work. We design, develop, and deploy high performance, fault-tolerant distributed search systems used by millions of Amazon customers every day. Our Search Relevance team works to maximize the quality and effectiveness of the search experience for visitors to Amazon websites worldwide.

The Search Relevance team focuses on several technical areas for improving search quality. In this role, you will invent universally applicable signals and algorithms for training machine-learned ranking models. The relevance improvements you make will help millions of customers discover the products they want from a catalog containing millions of products. You will work on problems such as predicting the popularity of new products, developing new ranking features and algorithms that capture unique characteristics, and analyzing the differences in behavior of different categories of customers. The work will span the whole development pipeline, including data analysis, prototyping, A/B testing, and creating production-level components.

Joining this team, you’ll experience the benefits of working in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment, while leveraging the resources of Amazon.com (AMZN), one of the world’s leading Internet companies. We provide a highly customer-centric, team-oriented environment in our offices located in Palo Alto, California.

Please visit https://www.amazon.science for more information

Basic Qualifications

- PhD, or Master's degree and 4+ years of CS, CE, ML or related field experience
- 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

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience using Unix/Linux
- Experience in professional software development

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, Palo Alto - 171,600.00 - 222,200.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Seattle - 142,800.00 - 193,200.00 USD annually