Sr Tech Lead Manager - Applied Research

At eBay, we're more than a global ecommerce leader — we’re changing the way the world shops and sells. Our platform empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world. We’re committed to pushing boundaries and leaving our mark as we reinvent the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts.

Our customers are our compass, authenticity thrives, bold ideas are welcome, and everyone can bring their unique selves to work — every day. We're in this together, sustaining the future of our customers, our company, and our planet.

Join a team of passionate thinkers, innovators, and dreamers — and help us connect people and build communities to create economic opportunity for all.

Core AI is at the forefront of this transformation. We are building next-generation Generative AI and foundation-model capabilities that power intelligent experiences across eBay at global scale. From advanced retrieval systems to multimodal understanding, our work directly shapes how customers discover, evaluate, and engage with inventory across the marketplace.

We are seeking a Senior Tech Lead Manager to lead and grow an Applied Research team based in Amsterdam. This role combines people leadership with deep technical direction. You will define research strategy, raise scientific standards, and ensure research innovations translate into durable, measurable product impact. This is a people leadership role with direct reports and influence across multiple high-impact initiatives.

• Define and drive the applied research roadmap for LLMs, retrieval-augmented systems, multimodal modeling, and reinforcement learning aligned to Core AI strategy

• Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing team of applied researchers, fostering technical excellence and inclusive team culture

• Establish rigorous evaluation frameworks and success metrics for Generative AI systems to ensure measurable business and customer impact

• Partner closely with engineering and product leaders to translate research prototypes into scalable, production-ready capabilities

• Elevate scientific and technical standards across initiatives through structured experimentation, peer review, and thought leadership

• Contribute to eBay’s long-term foundation model and GenAI strategy, influencing cross-team direction through technical credibility

• PhD or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, or a related field

• Deep expertise in NLP, Large Language Models, neural architectures, and modern training, fine-tuning, and reinforcement learning approaches

• Experience leading applied research teams that delivered AI capabilities into production environments

• Strong experience defining evaluation methodologies and success metrics for LLM-based systems

• Demonstrated ability to hire, mentor, and develop senior researchers and technical leaders

• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills, with experience partnering across engineering and product organizations

Additional Details

eBay is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, and disability, or other legally protected status. If you have a need that requires accommodation, please contact us at [email protected]. We will make every effort to respond to your request for accommodation as soon as possible. View our accessibility statement to learn more about eBay's commitment to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities.

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