Rokt is an ecommerce technology company with the mission of making every transaction more relevant. The Rokt ecommerce Network leverages proprietary machine learning systems, powering billions of transactions for hundreds of millions of customers, and is trusted to do this by companies like Live Nation, Fanatics, Macy's, AMC Theatres, PayPal, Uber, Hulu, Staples, Albertsons and HelloFresh.
The Role: As a Staff Applied Scientist in the Rokt Brain team, you will lead applied research, experimentation, and model development projects - harnessing a diversity of ML theories, concepts, and models to improve complex systems powering 10 billion+ transactions per year.
Growth: pathways to Principal Applied Scientist (IC Track) and Applied Science Manager/Director (People Leader track) per your preferences and abilities.
Pay: Target total compensation ranges from $470k - $615k, comprised of a fixed annual salary of $290k - $360k, plus employee equity plan grant. In addition, you will receive world-class employee benefits.
Responsibilities:
Technical
- Own the research, design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance of machine learning systems and services at Rokt.
- Optimise auction and decisioning logic, applying model predictions to maximise value across Rokt’s multi-sided marketplace
- Conduct applied ML research, prototype new modeling approaches, and rigorously test innovations.
- Evaluate and improve model performance, ensuring robustness, scalability, and interpretability.
- Translate complex business needs into practical ML solutions, collaborating with product and engineering teams.
- Stay ahead of emerging ML trends, contributing to knowledge sharing through tech talks, brown bags, and best practice evangelism.
Leadership
- Act as technical and project leader of a small team of specialists
- Provide leadership on complex technical issues,
- Set standards for technical excellence - from coding to architectural best practices.
- Work cross-functionally with engineering and product leadership to plan and manage delivery expectations of roadmap items.
- Actively monitor progress and intervene where required to mitigate risks and bottlenecks, managing expectations within and outside the team.
Requirements
- PhD or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related field with specialization in ML, AI, or Information Retrieval, and experience leading PhD level scientists/engineers on projects.
- 10+ years of industry experience building production-grade ML systems.
+ Deep expertise in at least two of the following:
- ML for Ads, E-commerce, or Two-Sided Marketplaces
- Deep Learning Architectures e.g MMoE, PLE, DCN, Transformers, Graph Neural Networks
- Bayesian Modelling & Probabilistic Methods
- Reinforcement Learning (Contextual Bandits, Policy Optimization)
- Price & Revenue Optimisation
- Representation Learning & Embeddings
- Model Optimisation (quantisation, distributed training, GPU optimisation, JIT compilation, mixed precision, inference optimisation)
- Knowledge Distillation
Hybrid work structure:
Rokt has a 4 day in-office, 1 day remote hybrid structure - with a flexible approach to start/finish times.
Benefits
- Equity in a profitable, fast-growing company approaching $1 Billion in revenue.
- Dollar-for-dollar 401K matching plan (up to 4% of fixed annual remuneration)
- Fully funded health insurance (Dental, Optical, and Medical)
- Generous allowances for wellness, technology, mobile, and transit.
- Daily catered lunch, stocked pantry & fridges
- Extra leave (bonus annual leave, sabbatical leave etc.)
Equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
If this sounds like a role you’d enjoy, apply here, and you’ll hear from our recruiting team.
Note: The first stage of Rokt's recruitment process is a 15-minute online aptitude test, which will be sent out to your application email. Successful candidates will be contacted on next steps.
Skills Required
- PhD or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related field with specialization in ML, AI, or Information Retrieval.
- 10+ years of industry experience building production-grade machine learning systems.
- Experience leading PhD-level scientists and engineers on projects.
- Deep expertise in at least two of: ML for Ads/E-commerce/Two-Sided Marketplaces; Deep Learning architectures (MMoE, PLE, DCN, Transformers, GNNs); Bayesian/probabilistic methods; Reinforcement Learning (contextual bandits, policy optimization); Price & revenue optimisation; Representation learning & embeddings; Model optimisation (quantisation, distributed training, GPU optimisation, JIT, mixed precision); Knowledge distillation.
- Proven experience optimizing auction and decisioning logic for multi-sided marketplaces.
What the Team is Saying
Rokt Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes multiple medical options with a zero‑cost monthly premium choice in the U.S., plus dental, vision, and mental‑health support through programs like Modern Health and a global EAP. Wellness resources and allowances, plus access to One Medical and family‑building partners in the U.S., reinforce breadth beyond core insurance.
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Retirement Support — U.S. employees are eligible for a dollar‑for‑dollar 401(k) match up to 4%, and all employees receive equity ownership. Financial planning tools and access to advisors are also described as part of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — The handbook outlines 20 paid days off with up to five bonus “High Five” days, a company holiday shutdown in late December/early January, and paid community service days. Paid parental leave of 16 weeks and references to sabbatical and other leaves extend the time‑off offering.
Rokt Insights
What We Do
Rokt is the global leader in ecommerce, unlocking real-time relevance in the moment that matters most - The Transaction Moment. Rokt’s AI Brain and Ecommerce Network powers billions of transactions connecting hundreds of millions of customers, and is trusted to do this by the world’s leading companies including Live Nation, Macy’s, Fanatics, AMC Theatres, PayPal, Uber, Hulu, Staples, Albertsons and HelloFresh. Headquartered in New York City, Rokt has offices across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. To learn more, visit Rokt.com.
Why Work With Us
We are a team of builders helping smart businesses find innovative ways to meet customer needs and generate incremental revenue. Leading companies drive 10-50% of additional revenue—and often all their profits—from the extra products or services they sell. This economic edge unleashes a world of possibilities for growth and innovation.
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Rokt Teams
Rokt Offices
OnSite Workspace
We believe we are better together. We spend most of our time in the office (most teams are 4 days a week). One week per quarter, you also have the flexibility to work from anywhere.
