Director, Applied Science, Advertising Trust

Senior • On-site

$262,500 - $350,000/yr

San Diego, CA

DESCRIPTION

Amazon's Advertising Trust (AT) organization is seeking a Director of Applied Science to lead our global science, engineering and data teams. This role will shape the future of advertising trust and safety, overseeing a large and diverse organization across Applied Science, Software Development and Data Engineering teams. Reporting to the VP of Advertising Trust and Privacy, this is a Director of Directors role where you will drive innovation in content understanding, policy automation, and GenAI applications while scaling our capabilities across Amazon's advertising ecosystem. You do not shy away from the direct ownership of scaled model development and deployment in a high availability and complex real time ecosystem.

AT is on the forefront of Advertising specific Foundational Model development and the subsequent capabilities that rich metadata can provide to the ad serving bidder. In this role you will be the expert leader charged with partnering with business, sales, product and policy teams to identify and solve the hardest technical problems facing the Ads business. You will lead through a global organization spanning four continents and must influence across organizations, requiring strong leadership skills in managing distributed teams across time zones and cultures. This diverse team structure demands expertise in managing different disciplines while maintaining high standards of technical excellence and operational efficiency and team culture. You have the depth and breadth and domain expertise to provide industry leading science leadership/guidance to the most complex initiatives while also doing hands-on work on the hardest problems that accelerate the team.

To succeed in this role, your past work should exemplify resounding business impact at scale and represents industry-first inventions for customers. In your past roles, you lead the definition, design, architecture quality, implementation, and delivery of the most advanced, difficult, cross-cutting, and ambiguous scientific challenges spanning across an organization, ideally in the Ad Tech industry.

Key job responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
* Define and execute the scientific and technical vision for AT's next generation of tools and capabilities.
* Drive innovation in GenAI, LLMs, computer vision, and other emerging technologies.
* Lead cross-functional planning and execution across science, ,engineering and data teams.
* Partner with senior leaders across Amazon Advertising to align on strategic initiatives.
* Own the end-to-end delivery of AT's science and technical roadmap.

Organizational Development
* Build and scale high-performing teams across multiple disciplines and global locations
* Drive hiring and development strategies for senior technical talent
* Create career growth paths across scientific and technical roles
* Establish performance standards and development frameworks
* Foster a culture of innovation, inclusion, and technical excellence

Technical Innovation
* Guide research directions in content understanding, policy automation, and trust & safety
* Drive adoption of emerging technologies while ensuring operational excellence
* Lead technical planning and resource allocation across teams
* Partner with academia and research organizations to advance the state of the art
* Represent AT's technical achievements across multiple venues

Product & Business Impact
* Align technical investments with business priorities and customer needs
* Drive measurable improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and scale
* Own key metrics across moderation quality, automation rates, and customer satisfaction
* Build strong partnerships with business stakeholders and partner teams
* Guide product strategy and roadmap development

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

* Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Operations Research, or related field
* 15+ years of industry experience in applied research and development
* 8+ years of large scale technical organization and people management
* Track record of delivering large-scale ML/AI system
* Strong publication record in top-tier conferences/journals
* Experience managing multi-disciplinary technical teams

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

* Experience in ad tech, content moderation, or trust & safety
* Track record of successful organizational transformation
* Experience with GenAI and large language models
* Strong business acumen and strategic thinking skills
* Experience managing distributed global teams
* History of external thought leadership and industry recognition

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $262,500/year in our lowest geographic market up to $350,000/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.

Amazon

Amazon.com, Inc. founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in the cozy confines of his Seattle garage, Amazon.com, Inc. quickly evolved from a humble online bookstore to a colossal e-commerce powerhouse. Today, it offers an extensive range of products from DVDs and electronics to furniture and groceries. With a global footprint that spans continents—from Canada and the UK to Japan and Brazil—Amazon's presence is truly international. The company has not only diversified into various domains, including acquiring Twitch in 2014 and venturing into the film industry in 2015, but also introduced initiatives like the brand registry program to safeguard intellectual property. Despite the hurdles of labor relations and competitive practices, Amazon remains a dominant force in the global e-commerce landscape.