The Trade Desk · 7 hours ago
Staff Applied Scientist, Recommender Systems
United States
Full-time
Remote
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$137K/yr - $252K/yr
4+ years expThe Trade Desk is a global technology company focused on creating a more open internet through intelligent advertising. The Staff Applied Scientist in Recommender Systems will develop forecasting and recommendation models that enhance campaign outcomes and drive media efficiency, working closely with engineering and product teams to deliver data-focused products.
AdvertisingDigital MediaInformation TechnologyInternetMobileNative AdvertisingSocialSoftwareVideo Advertising
Responsibilities
Design and build large-scale recommendation systems that guide advertisers and traders toward optimal campaign setups — including audience selection, inventory mix, and bidding strategies
Develop data-driven recommendation models that leverage historical campaign performance, marketplace dynamics, and user history to surface intelligent suggestions in real time
Collaborate with product and engineering teams to integrate recommendation engines into planning, optimization, and reporting tools across The Trade Desk platform
Build and maintain robust feature pipelines and ranking models that improve recommendation accuracy, diversity, and interpretability
Partner with downstream teams to define success metrics and design experimentation frameworks (e.g., A/B testing) to evaluate model impact on client and platform performance
Continuously analyze campaign and marketplace data to identify opportunities for new or improved recommendation products, using user feedback and model diagnostics to drive iteration
Ensure recommendations are privacy-safe, scalable, and explainable, aligning with TTD’s principles of transparency and trust
Qualification
Required
Strong foundation in machine learning and deep learning, with experience developing and deploying recommendation or ranking systems
Solid understanding of forecasting and predictive modeling, especially in dynamic, large-scale environments such as ad tech, e-commerce, or digital media
Passion for translating model insights into practical recommendations that improve advertiser outcomes
Experience collaborating cross-functionally with product, engineering, and analytics to ship high-impact data products
Possesses a keen sense of data intuition and the ability to innovate in the field of model development. Has a data driven mindset and uses data to drive your model development plan
BS/MS with 6+ years or a PhD with 4+ years of experience working in a DS or ML role that involves bringing products from ideation to production
The ability to communicate with diverse stakeholders, making architecture recommendations, ensuring effective execution, and measuring quality of outcomes
Proficient in Python. Strong spark skills are a plus
Preferred
Experience working with LLMs, prompt engineering
Experience running heavy workloads on a distributed computing cluster (especially EMR or Databricks), leveraging technologies like Spark to work with large datasets
Experience in deep learning, TensorFlow/PyTorch
Benefits
Comprehensive healthcare (medical, dental, and vision) with premiums paid in full for employees and dependents
Retirement benefits such as a 401k plan and company match
Short and long-term disability coverage
Basic life insurance
Well-being benefits
Reimbursement for certain tuition expenses
Parental leave
Sick time of 1 hour per 30 hours worked
Vacation time for full-time employees up to 120 hours thru the first year and 160 hours thereafter
Around 13 paid holidays per year
Employees can also purchase The Trade Desk stock at a discount through The Trade Desk’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Trade Desk also offers a competitive benefits package
Company
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk is an online demand-side platform that provides buying tools for digital media buyers.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
The Trade Desk has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (57)
2024 (49)
2023 (38)
2022 (39)
2021 (31)
2020 (15)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$257.5MKey Investors
Wellington ManagementBridge BankHermes Growth Partners
2021-07-08Post Ipo Equity
2016-09-21IPO
2016-05-09Debt Financing· $125M
Leadership Team
Jeff Green
CEO
Mitch Waters
SVP - Southeast Asia, India, Australia & New Zealand
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