Machine Learning Manager - Marketplace (Smart Positioning)

Role Description

This role is based in Amsterdam. The Smart Positioning team sits in the Marketplace ML department. The goal of the team is to apply feedback loop ML technology to personalize the Booking.com website and application by displaying the right content to the right travelers. Areas of active development are full control of the front pages of the website and apps, selecting UX elements and ordering them, selecting and sorting elements such as search filters banners. The team develops and trains ML models, in both offline and online learning modes and integrates them to production code using the company’s frameworks.

Key Job Responsibilities And Duties

As a Machine Learning Manager, you are responsible for leading a team of machine learning practitioners and the technology that the team owns. You will not only work as a coach for your people but also as a technical leader, ensuring that the right technical decisions are made when building our product. You would be managing 5-7 Machine Learning Scientists/Engineers and Data Engineers that span across more than one product team within our Customer Centric Data track.

People Leadership

• Build a strong team within their area, by coaching and developing individual contributors
• Lead by example by taking ownership, being proactive and collaborating
• Nurture, grow and develop ML talent in the team
• Foster a great culture that innovates, work together as a team, partner with other Booking.com teams and roles and celebrates unified success

Technology, Craft & Delivery

• Translate business problems into viable, reliable and robust ML and AI solutions, accounting for constraints of the production environment.
• Monitor product health, performance and business impact and act accordingly when requirements are not met.
• Actively contribute to Machine Learning at Booking.com through training, exploration of new technologies, interviewing, onboarding and mentoring colleagues.
• Adhere to the default principles for Architecture, quality and non-functional requirements
• Drive a culture of ownership and technical excellence, including reactive work such as incident escalations

Architecture & Product Strategy

• Thought partner for Product to define, shape and deliver the roadmap
• Build new products, processes and operational plans
• Negotiate on the strategic importance of the team’s product roadmap features
• Drive innovation in your team
• Own the architecture across your team

Role Qualifications And Requirements

• MSc or Ph.D in a quantitative field (e.g. Computer Science, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, Physics, etc.)
• At least 5 years of industry experience and at least 2 years managing ML scientists and engineers.
• Involved in the application of Machine Learning to business problems
• Advanced knowledge and experience in areas like e.g. Recommender Systems, Online Machine Learning, Information Retrieval, Multi Armed Bandits, Causal Inference and Scaling ML models serving and training
• Experience designing and executing end-to-end research and development plans and generating impact through large-scale machine learning model development. Preferably evidenced by peer-reviewed publication, patents, open sourced code or the like
• Experience on multiple machine learning facets: working with large data sets, model development, statistics, experimentation, data visualization, optimization, software development
• Experience collaborating cross functionally in the development of machine learning products (e.g. Developers, UX specialists, Product Managers, etc.)
• Required working knowledge of Python and SQL. Knowledge of Kafka, Hadoop or Spark are an asset
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal
• Successful experience driving technical, business and people related initiatives that improve productivity, performance and quality while communicating with stakeholders at all levels
• Leading by example, gaining respect through actions, not your title. Developing your team and motivating them to achieve their goals. Providing feedback timely and managing your key team performance indicators

Benefits & Perks

• Annual paid time off and generous paid leave scheme including: parental (22-weeks paid leave), grandparent, bereavement, and care leave
• Hybrid working including flexible working arrangements, working from home furniture and ergonomic support, and up to 20 days per year working from abroad (home country)
• A beautiful sustainable HQ Campus in Amsterdam, that offers on-site meals, coffee, and snacks, multi-faith and breastfeeding rooms at the office
• Commuting allowance and bike reimbursement scheme
• Discounts & Wallet credits to spend on our products, upgrade to Booking.com Genius Level 3, and friends & family Booking.com discount vouchers
• Free access to online learning platforms, development and mentorship programs
• Global Employee Assistance Program, free Headspace membership

Application Process

The interview process will entail 2 technical interviews and 1 behavioural interview. Full relocation support will be offered for you and your family (if the case) to move to Amsterdam - one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.

Booking.com is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We strive to move well beyond traditional equal opportunity and work to create an environment that allows everyone to thrive.