Machine Learning Scientist II - Wayfair

Who we are:

The Bidding and Decisioning team under Wayfair Marketing Science is responsible for developing and managing machine learning models and strategies to optimize marketing decisions across paid media channels. We aim to create a leading, customer-focused, ML-powered decision engine that uses extensive first- and third-party data, in collaboration with engineering teams, to optimize every aspect of our marketing. This includes spend management, content optimization, segmentation, and campaign structures across major digital ad platforms like Google, Meta, Pinterest, and Microsoft Bing, etc. Our work impacts hundreds of millions in ad spend, ensuring we provide the right marketing experience for each customer, at the right time, and at the right price throughout their buying journey.

What you’ll do:

• Explore and prioritize opportunities across content generation/optimization (e.g., marketing creative, onsite visual elements, etc), spend management, and product/customer segmentation. Build and implement ML solutions to enhance marketing profitability, defining clear problem statements and delivering against technical and research objectives in a timely manner.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, MarTech (Product & Engineering), and ML Platform teams to align roadmaps, adopt best practices, and build scalable, sustainable science solutions.
• Engage with external vendors, including Google, Meta, Pinterest, to understand technical capabilities, inform solution designs, and influence strategic roadmaps.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, infrastructure, and ML platform teams to adopt best practices for building and deploying scalable ML services.
• Foster the development of junior ML scientists on the team through mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and support for subject matter expertise initiatives such as code reviews.

Who you are:

• Bachelor's or advanced degree (Master’s, PhD) in Computer Science, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field.
• 3-6 years of experience as an ML engineer, applied scientist, or research scientist, with a proven track record of delivering ML projects autonomously and driving measurable business impact, particularly in digital marketing decisioning (e.g., spend management, content optimization, segmentation) and/or ML decisioning systems.
• Experience with end-to-end project ownership, including collaboration with business partners and strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong SQL skills and excellent software engineering skills in Python.
• Experience deploying machine learning models in production environments, with a focus on cloud-based solutions such as GCP (BigQuery, GCS, Vertex AI, Composer), as well as workflow orchestration tools like Airflow, model tracking using MLflow, and containerization technologies like Docker.

Nice to have:

• PhD in Computer Science, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field.
• Expertise in causal inference, multi-armed bandits (MAB), reinforcement learning, control systems, and heterogeneous treatment effect estimation
• Strong background in statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, A/B testing methodologies, and quasi-experimental measurement methods.
• Experience with specific marketing platforms: familiarity with Google Ads, Meta Ads, or other major advertising platforms is a definite advantage.

Why You'll Love Wayfair: 

• Time Off:
  • Paid Holidays
  • Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Health & Wellness:
  • Full Health Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA/FSA)
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Protection (Short Term & Long Term Disability) 
  • Global Wellbeing: Gym/Fitness discounts (including US Peloton, Global ClassPass, and various regional gym memberships)
  • Mental Health Support (Global Mental Health, Global Wayhealthy Recordings)
  • Caregiver Services
• Financial Growth & Security:
  • 401K Matching (Employee Matching Program)
  • Tuition Reimbursement 
  • Financial Health Education (Knowledge of Financial Education - KOFE)
  • Tax Advantaged Accounts
• Family Support:
  • Family Planning Support
  • Parental Leave
  • Global Surrogacy & Adoption Policy
• Professional Development & Recognition:
  • Rewards & Recognition 
  • Global Employee Anniversary Awards 
  • Paid Volunteer Work 
• Unique Perks:
  • Employee Discount 
  • U.S. Bluebikes Membership
  • Global Pod Outings
• Work/Life Balance:
  • Emphasizing a supportive & flexible work environment that encourages a balance between personal and professional commitments

Massachusetts Applicants: I understand that it is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.