Reddit - Machine Learning Engineer, Ads Optimization & Ads Marketplace Quality
Requirements
• (Level will be determined during the interview process; IC4 expectations assume deeper experience and broader scope.) • 3–5+ years of experience building, deploying, and operating machine learning systems in production (for IC4, typically 5+ years). • 3–5+ years • Strong programming skills in Python, Java, Go, or similar languages, with solid software engineering fundamentals. • Python • Experience designing scalable data processing systems (e.g., Spark, Kafka, Airflow, BigQuery, Redis). • Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous product or business problems into solutions and to improve measurable metrics. • Additional expectations for strong bidding/auction candidates (especially IC4): • Evidence of stronger math and optimization skills than a generic MLE, such as: • Degree or equivalent background in a quantitative field (math, physics, quantitative finance, economics, operations research, or similar). • Work experience in optimization-heavy domains (e.g., bidding/auctions, pacing, pricing, logistics optimization, quantitative finance). • Comfort reasoning about and implementing custom optimization logic (e.g., gradient-based methods, constraint handling), not just applying black-box tooling. • Experience with advertising/auction systems, online marketplaces, or search/ranking systems at scale, particularly in: • advertising/auction systems • Bidding, pacing, or budget optimization • Auction design, mechanism design, or marketplace quality • Campaign performance optimization (e.g., CTR/CVR, CPA, ROAS) • Familiarity with large-scale, real-time decision systems and low-latency production environments. • real-time decision systems • Background in feature engineering, model optimization, and production monitoring for ML systems. • Experience collaborating with cross-functional partners (Product, DS, Eng) in Ads or marketplace contexts and leading projects from design through rollout. • Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Operations Research, Applied Math, or a related quantitative field. • Ads Optimization (bid strategies, conversion/ROAS optimization, pacing and budget allocation) • Ads Optimization • Ads Marketplace Quality (ad matching, load, and quality controls) • Ads Marketplace Quality
Responsibilities
• optimization algorithms • Own systems end-to-end: from problem formulation and algorithm design to experimentation, production deployment, and ongoing iteration. • Ads Optimization • Ads Marketplace Quality • We are hiring at both IC3 and IC4 levels: • IC3 MLEs are strong individual contributors who can independently own scoped projects, ship models and services, and contribute to experimentation and measurement. • IC4 MLEs lead more complex or multi-quarter initiatives, set technical direction for key parts of the bidding/auction/pacing stack, and mentor other engineers while remaining hands-on. • Auction, Bidding, and Pacing Systems • Design and implement models and policies that: • Compute bids for different optimization objectives (e.g., CPC, CPA, ROAS-based strategies). • Pace budgets smoothly over time across accounts, campaigns, and ad groups while preventing overspend or underspend. • Allocate spend and auction participation intelligently across segments, surfaces, and time zones. • Translate product and marketplace goals into concrete optimization problems and constraints (e.g., ROI, revenue, delivery smoothness, fairness, and user experience). • Marketplace Quality and Optimization • Partner with Ads Marketplace Quality to: • Improve ad matching and ranking by incorporating new quality and relevance signals into bidding and auction decisions. • Inform policies around ad load and eligibility that protect user experience while increasing high-quality ad opportunities. • Collaborate closely with Ads Optimization to integrate new bid strategies and pacing mechanisms into the broader ads ecosystem and measurement stack. • Ads Optimization
Benefits
• Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits and Income Replacement Programs • 401k with Employer Match • Global Benefit programs that fit your lifestyle, from workspace to professional development to caregiving support • Family Planning Support • Gender-Affirming Care • Mental Health & Coaching Benefits • Flexible Vacation & Paid Volunteer Time Off • Generous Paid Parental Leave • Pay Transparency: • Pay Transparency: • This job posting may span more than one career level. • In addition to base salary, this job is eligible to receive equity in the form of restricted stock units, and depending on the position offered, it may also be eligible to receive a commission. Additionally, Reddit offers a wide range of benefits to U.S.-based employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) program with employer match, generous time off for vacation, and parental leave. To learn more, please visit https://www.redditinc.com/careers/. • To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base salary ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including, skills, depth of work experience and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below. • The base salary range for this position is: • $185,800—$303,400 USD • In select roles and locations, the interviews will be recorded, transcribed and summarized by artificial intelligence (AI). You will have the opportunity to opt out of recording, transcription and summarization prior to any scheduled interviews. • During the interview, we will collect the following categories of personal information: Identifiers, Professional and Employment-Related Information, Sensory Information (audio/video recording), and any other categories of personal information you choose to share with us. We will use this information to evaluate your application for employment or an independent contractor role, as applicable. We will not sell your personal information or disclose it to any third party for their marketing purposes. We will delete any recording of your interview promptly after making a hiring decision. For more information about how we will handle your personal information, including our retention of it, please refer to our Candidate Privacy Policy for Potential Employees and Contractors.
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