Staff Applied Scientist

About the Applied Science Team

We're looking for applied scientists with deep expertise in machine learning, optimization, building data products, and/or statistics. As part of a small product team you will have full ownership over your domain, so you should be a person who dreams big, then executes well.  

At Thumbtack, the Applied Science team is responsible for a wide variety of problems spanning machine learning, statistics, and computer science:

• Improve customer and service provider matching. Matching and optimization algorithms are fundamental to Thumbtack’s product: we now service millions of matches per week. Identifying better matches between customers and service providers has an incredible impact on the experience of customers and professionals transacting on our platform.
• Model complex relationships in the presence of many confounding factors. Predictive modeling problems are everywhere across our product. Our team works to scope, design and implement machine learning models to support Thumbtack’s product and marketing.
• Characterize marketplace dynamics. Thumbtack’s marketplaces consist of thousands of active markets across our service categories and U.S. cities. Via exploratory data analysis and experimental design, our team works to understand trends and behaviors within these markets.
• Build a healthy marketplace. We evolve and manage the monetization mechanics of our marketplace, including defining the parameters that affect the prices we charge.

Challenge

Our team is at the forefront of a massive amount of user data. We need to think a lot about scaling as well as how to provide experiences for a wide set of users that we don’t necessarily know a ton about immediately. We are building experiences into our apps to onboard, engage, and re-engage our users and are constantly experimenting to produce delightful and consistent user experiences.

We are looking for someone with deep expertise in applying scientific techniques to marketplace growth and marketing problems. Our challenges include building systems to optimize our marketing spend to bring more customers to the marketplace, targeting our pro and customer acquisition efforts to ensure better outcomes for customers and pros and healthy marketplace growth, and building personalized experiences to engage and retain our customers and professionals.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute applied science initiatives with a strong focus on business impact.
• Architect, deploy, and maintain production-level machine learning systems.
• Design experiments, analyze data, and draw insights to drive product and marketing strategies.
• Work with a variety of data types: structured, unstructured, observational, and experimental.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, marketing, and economics teams to apply robust statistical practices.
• Balance speed and scientific rigor when developing and delivering solutions.
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to other applied scientists

What you'll needIf you don't think you meet all of the criteria below but still are interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box, and we're looking for someone excited to join the team.

• Deep expertise in machine learning techniques.
• Proficiency in coding distributed systems, debugging, and optimizing Python-based systems.
• Strong foundation in probability, statistics, experimental design, and causal inference.
• Proven experience in mentoring and supporting other applied scientists.
• Ability to craft and execute technical roadmaps that align with business objectives.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills, with a focus on delivering impactful projects.
• Excellent communication skills for engaging with cross-functional teams of varying technical backgrounds.

Bonus points if you have

• Advanced knowledge in code parallelization, probability, statistics, predictive modeling, and optimization.
• Experience working in growth or marketing science within a marketplace environment.
• Familiarity with large-scale distributed systems and production grade Gen AI workflows. 
• A Ph.D. in a relevant field

Thumbtack is a virtual-first company, meaning you can live and work from any one of our approved locations across the United States, Canada or the Philippines.* Learn more about our virtual-first working model here.

For candidates living in San Francisco / Bay Area, New York City, or Seattle metros, the expected salary range for the role is currently $238,000 - $308,000. Actual offered salaries will vary and will be based on various factors, such as calibrated job level, qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role.

For candidates living in all other US locations, the expected salary range for this role is currently $202,300 - $261,800. Actual offered salaries will vary and will be based on various factors, such as calibrated job level, qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role.

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