We exist to wow our customers. We know we’re doing the right thing when we hear our customers say, “How did we ever live without Coupang?” Born out of an obsession to make shopping, eating, and living easier than ever, we’re collectively disrupting the multi-billion-dollar e-commerce industry from the ground up. We are one of the fastest-growing e-commerce companies that established an unparalleled reputation for being a dominant and reliable force in South Korean commerce.
We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. We are all entrepreneurial surrounded by opportunities to drive new initiatives and innovations. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact. At Coupang, you will see yourself, your colleagues, your team, and the company grow every day.
Our mission to build the future of commerce is real. We push the boundaries of what’s possible to solve problems and break traditional tradeoffs. Join Coupang now to create an epic experience in this always-on, high-tech, and hyper-connected world.
About the RoleWe are looking for a Senior Director to lead and evolve Coupang’s core search experience, powered by cutting-edge AI and machine learning.
Search is at the heart of Coupang’s customer experience —shaping how millions of customers discover products every day. Improvements in search directly translate into better discovery, higher engagement, and meaningful business impact.
In this role, you will own the end-to-end search experience - from product direction to ML systems to business outcomes. This role will shape how millions of customers find what they need and lead innovation in AI-powered search at scale and will drive some of the most important metrics in the company.
This is a high-impact leadership role where you will drive innovation at scale, influence company-wide metrics, and lead a world-class team across engineering and machine learning.
What You Will Do- Own and evolve Coupang’s search experience end-to-end
- Define and execute the product and technical roadmap for search
- Drive measurable impact on key business metrics
- Lead and scale a multi-layer organization across
- Partner closely with Product, Design, and Business leaders to deliver best-in-class customer experiences
- Build and launch new search capabilities (0→1) while continuously improving existing systems
- 10+ years of experience in software engineering and/or machine learning
- Strong product mindset with the ability to connect technical decisions to customer experience and business outcomes
- Strong experience owning user-facing ML products such as:
- Search
- Recommendation systems
- Ads ranking
- Marketplace discovery
- Demonstrated track record of driving measurable business impact (e.g., engagement, conversion, revenue)
- Deep understanding of search and recommendation systems, including:
- Ranking and retrieval
- Relevance and personalization
- System tradeoffs (latency, recall, precision)
- Proven experience leading large, multi-team organizations (including managers of managers)
- Experience in e-commerce or marketplace environments
- Experience leading global or multi-region teams
- Experience building 0→1 products or new product surfaces
- Background in fast-scaling consumer technology companies
Pay & Benefits:
Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. At Coupang, your base pay is one part of your total compensation.
The base pay for this position ranges from $184,000/year in our lowest geographic market to $376,000/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on several factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
General Description of All Benefits:
- Medical/Dental/Vision/Life, AD&D insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Long-term/Short-term Disability
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) program
- 401K Plan with Company Match
- 18-21 days of the Paid Time Off (PTO) a year based on the tenure
- 12 Public Holidays
- Paid Parental leave
- Pre-tax commuter benefits
- MTV - [Free] Electric Car Charging Station
General Description of Other Compensation:
“Other Compensation” includes, but is not limited to, bonuses, equity, or other forms of compensation that would be offered to the hired applicant in addition to their established salary range or wage scale.
Equal Opportunities for All
Coupang is an equal opportunity employer. Our unprecedented success could not be possible without the valuable inputs of our globally diverse team.
Coupang is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to actual or perceived race (including traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hair styles), color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ,ancestry, national origin (including language use restrictions), age (40 and over), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status, family status (including but not limited to marital or domestic partnership status), military or veteran status, use of a trained dog guide or service animal, political activities or affiliations, ancestry, citizenship, family and medical leave status, status as a victim of any violent crime, or any other characteristic or class protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. Coupang is also committed to providing a safe work environment for its employees and its consumers. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation in the application of recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [email protected].
Skills Required
- 10+ years of experience in software engineering and/or machine learning
- Strong product mindset to connect technical decisions to customer experience
- Experience owning user-facing ML products such as search and recommendation systems
- Proven track record of driving measurable business impact like engagement and revenue
- Deep understanding of search and recommendation systems
- Experience leading large, multi-team organizations
Coupang Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Coupang and has not been reviewed or approved by Coupang.
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Healthcare Strength — Benefits are described as robust, including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, mental health, and transgender healthcare. Some locations also offer on-site or virtual health screenings that enhance preventive care access.
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Retirement Support — Financial programs include a 401(k) with company matching and an employee stock purchase plan alongside performance bonuses. Feedback suggests these elements provide a structured foundation for long-term savings and wealth building.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off is described as generous with accrual increasing with tenure, complemented by company-paid holidays and parental leave. Flexible work arrangements in some roles further support time away when needed.
Coupang Insights
What We Do
We exist to wow our customers. We know we’re doing the right thing when we hear our customers say, “How did we ever live without Coupang?” Born out of an obsession to make shopping, eating, and living easier than ever, we’re collectively disrupting the multi-billion-dollar e-commerce industry from the ground up. We are one of the fastest-growing e-commerce companies that established an unparalleled reputation for being a dominant and reliable force in South Korean commerce. We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. We are all entrepreneurial, surrounded by opportunities to drive new initiatives and innovations. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact. At Coupang, you will see yourself, your colleagues, your team, and the company grow every day. Our mission to build the future of commerce is real. We push the boundaries of what’s possible to solve problems and break traditional tradeoffs. Join Coupang now to create an epic experience in this always-on, high-tech, and hyper-connected world.
Why Work With Us
We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact.
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