Senior Research Scientist - Machine Learning and Optimization

Sr Research Scientist, Amazon Shipping

Lead ML teams building large-scale forecasting and optimization systems that power Amazon’s global transportation network and directly impact customer experience and cost.

As an Sr Research Scientist, you will set scientific direction, mentor applied scientists, and partner with engineering and product leaders to deliver production-grade ML solutions at massive scale.

Key job responsibilities
1. Lead and grow a high-performing team of Applied Scientists, providing technical guidance, mentorship, and career development.
2. Define and own the scientific vision and roadmap for ML solutions powering large-scale transportation planning and execution.
3. Guide model and system design across a range of techniques, including tree-based models, deep learning (LSTMs, transformers), LLMs, and reinforcement learning.
4. Ensure models are production-ready, scalable, and robust through close partnership with stakeholders. Partner with Product, Operations, and Engineering leaders to enable proactive decision-making and corrective actions.
5. Own end-to-end business metrics, directly influencing customer experience, cost optimization, and network reliability.
6. Help contribute to the broader ML community through publications, conference submissions, and internal knowledge sharing.

A day in the life
Your day includes reviewing model performance and business metrics, guiding technical design and experimentation, mentoring scientists, and driving roadmap execution. You’ll balance near-term delivery with long-term innovation while ensuring solutions are robust, interpretable, and scalable. Ultimately, your work helps improve delivery reliability, reduce costs, and enhance the customer experience at massive scale.

Basic Qualifications

- 3+ years of investigating the feasibility of applying scientific principles and concepts to business problems and products experience
- PhD, or Master's degree and 5+ years of quantitative field research experience
- Experience with big data technologies such as AWS, Hadoop, Spark, Pig, Hive etc.
- Experience communicating qualitative research methods and findings to non-qualitative researchers

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience converting research studies into tangible real-world changes
- Experience with discrete and continuous optimization methodologies and algorithms

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.

Experience Level

Senior Level