Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer Search, Recommendations, and Ads

Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy employee, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human. We believe exceptional companies are built by exceptional teams, and we're intentional about it. That means hiring great people, setting them up for success from day one, and giving them real reasons to grow their careers here. We invest in development that goes beyond promotions, and we foster the trust and relationships that help people do their best work together. What’s the role? We are looking for a Senior Staff Software Engineer, Machine Learning to be a pivotal technical leader in architecting the next generation of AI/ML models and systems that connect buyers and sellers across Etsy's platform. In this highly influential role, you will define and lead the technical strategy for our core AI/ML solutions in Search, Recommendations, and Ads. You will apply state-of-the-art techniques, including hybrid retrieval, multi-tasking deep learning, Generative Recommendations, and Agentic shopping experiences to create a cohesive, highly personalized customer journey for over 85 million buyers and over 5 million sellers. Do you have a passion for designing and implementing strategies for a holistic AI/ML ecosystem? Are you excited by the challenge of leading research initiatives and building advanced algorithms at a global scale? Are you motivated to mentor engineers and shape the future state of the industry? If so, this could be the perfect match. This is a full-time position reporting to the Engineering leadership within Search, Recommendations, and Ads. What’s this team like at Etsy? The Search, Recommendations, and Ads organization is at the heart of Etsy’s marketplace, responsible for the algorithms that power discovery and connection. We are a team of researchers, engineers, and data scientists dedicated to solving the complex problems of matching unique, handmade items with the right buyers. Our technical environment is evolving rapidly. We are moving toward more sophisticated generative and agentic experiences, requiring a blend of deep research and robust software engineering. We focus on mid-to-long-term research topics while ensuring our models remain high-performance and scalable. We are proud of our engineering culture that encourages career growth and learning in a blameless environment. You can learn more about our philosophies, tools, and some of the challenges we’ve been solving on our Engineering blog. What does the day-to-day look like? Identify customer problems and opportunities; lead teams to research, architect, design, and operationalize AI/ML solutions. Collaborate closely with cross-functional leaders to define and execute a compelling product and technical roadmap for ML solutions. Drive cross-functional technical alignment and execution across various engineering teams. Lead R&D in advanced AI, with a major focus on mid/long-term research topics that push the boundaries of the industry. Provide technical leadership and mentorship to grow the skills and capabilities of engineers across the entire organization. Apply a disciplined, data-driven approach to technical decision-making and experimentation. Of course, t his is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Etsy's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law. Qual ities that will help you thrive are: 10+ years of progressive experience in ML and AI, with a proud track record of building large-scale, high-performance models and systems. Deep experience with the end-to-end