Research Scientist - Personalization

What You'll Do

• Conduct original research in machine learning and AI, with a focus on large-scale foundation models, generative AI, and post-training methods, including reinforcement learning.
• Develop novel methodologies, models, and evaluation frameworks to advance personalization systems.
• Design and execute rigorous experiments to explore new ideas and validate research hypotheses.
• Contribute to the scientific community through publications, talks, and conference participation.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to translate research insights into long-term product opportunities.
• Help define and evolve a forward-looking research agenda aligned with Spotify’s personalization strategy.
• Mentor others and contribute to a strong, curious, and collaborative research culture.

Who You Are

• You have a Master’s or PhD in machine learning, AI, or a related field, or equivalent research experience.
• You have demonstrated expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence through peer-reviewed publications at conferences such as NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, KDD, or RecSys.
• You have deep knowledge of machine learning, with hands-on experience in areas such as post-training and reinforcement learning for large models, reward design, large-scale distributed training, or evaluation of model behavior.
• You are experienced in designing experiments and working with real-world datasets to validate research ideas.
• You care about advancing understanding of user behavior and improving experiences across music and talk content.
• You bring curiosity, creativity, and a thoughtful approach to solving complex, open-ended problems.
• You value collaboration and actively seek diverse perspectives in your work.

Where You'll Be

• This role is based in New York City.
• We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! There will be some in person meetings, but still allows for flexibility to work from home.