Data Science Senior TLM - Search and Personalization

United States
Role overview Application

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join:

  • At Airbnb, our mission is to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. As we continue to grow and innovate, our search and personalization strategies play a critical role in enhancing the guest and host experience. We are looking for a passionate and talented Data Science Senior Tech Lead Manager (TLM) to join our team and drive the future of marketplace search and personalization.

The Difference You Will Make:

  • As a Senior TLM in the Search and Personalization space, you will have a unique opportunity to shape Airbnb's search and personalization strategy. You will serve as the active point of contact between the Relevance team and the Data Science community, ensuring that our models and algorithms are both high-quality and aligned with our product vision. Your role will involve developing specialized models to power our recommendation platform, partnering with product and relevance teams, and understanding the impact of model changes on the overall product experience. Unique among Search leadership roles, you will integrate marketplace / economic modeling into ranking, and bring relevance modeling techniques to the broader Guest and Host DS organization. You will also lead and mentor a team of talented individual contributors (ICs), driving innovation and excellence in search and personalization.

A Typical Day: 

  • Provide technical leadership for a mixed team of applied scientists, data scientists, and economists, guiding them through modeling and inference tasks.
  • Develop and refine Airbnb's search and personalization strategy in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
  • Ensure the quality and effectiveness of specialized models powering our recommendation platform.
  • Act as the liaison between the relevance team and the Data Science community, facilitating effective communication and collaboration.
  • Integrate economic and ranking models to achieve marketplace and strategic objectives.
  • Understand and evaluate the implications of model changes on the user experience, ensuring optimal outcomes.
  • Partner with product and relevance engineering teams to align on goals and deliverables.
  • Drive the development of innovative personalization strategies to enhance user engagement and satisfaction.
  • Uplevel the craft and velocity of everyone who works with you!

Your Expertise:

  • Advanced degree (PhD or Masters) in Computer Science, Data Science, Econometrics, Statistics, or a related field.
  • 12+ years of relevant industry experience (9+ with a PhD), with 2+ years of domain experience in ranking and personalization.
  • 4+ years of experience in a technical leadership role with applied scientists and economists (as a manager or technical lead).
  • Hands-on ‘builder’ experience in machine learning, recommendation systems, and data-driven product development. Expert understanding of causal machine learning is a plus.
  • Proven ability to communicate effectively with audiences of varying technical knowledge and seniority.
  • Strategic thinker with experience laying out and delivering on 1+ year technical / product vision.
  • Prior experience in multi-sided marketplaces is preferred.

 

Location:

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from. 

 

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process. 

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application. 

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.  

Pay Range
$192,000$243,000 USD