Senior Applied Researcher

At eBay, we're more than a global ecommerce leader — we're changing the way the world shops and sells. Our platform empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world. We're committed to pushing boundaries and leaving our mark as we reinvent the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts.

Our customers are our compass, authenticity thrives, bold ideas are welcome, and everyone can bring their unique selves to work — every day. We're in this together, sustaining the future of our customers, our company, and our planet.

Join a team of passionate thinkers, innovators, and dreamers — and help us connect people and build communities to create economic opportunity for all.

Do you love data? Graphs? Machine Learning? Knowledgeable, collaborative co-workers? Come work at eBay and help us redefine global, online commerce

Who Are We?

​The Product Knowledge team is at the epicenter of eBay's Tech-driven, Customer-centric overhaul. Our team is entrusted with creating and using eBay's Product Knowledge - a vast Big Data system which is built up of listings, transactions, products, knowledge graphs, and more. Our team has a mix of highly proficient people from multiple fields such as Machine Learning, Data Science, Software Engineering, Operations, and Big Data Analytics. We have a strong culture of collaboration, and plenty of opportunity to learn, make an impact, and grow

What Will You Do?

​We are looking for seasoned Applied Researchers to join us and help lead improvements, automation, and scaling of our data-heavy processes. Our Senior Researchers tackle such diverse and challenging projects on Image Quality scoring; Automatic Taxonomy Improvement; Entity Resolution of rich, hierarchical Entities; and Conflict Resolution between different representations of the same Entity. Further, they help us design these separate projects and envision how they come together to create and power new experiences that surprise and delight our Customers. If you love a good challenge, and are good at handling complexity - we'd love to hear from you

eBay is an amazing company to work for. Being on the team, you can expect to benefit from:

• A competitive salary - including stock grants and a yearly bonus

• A healthy work culture that promotes business impact and at the same time highly values your personal well-being

Being part of a force for good in this world - eBay truly cares about its employees, its customers, and the world's population, and takes every opportunity to make this clearly apparent

Job Summary

As a Manager of Applied Machine Learning, you will lead a high-impact team of scientists and engineers building state-of-the-art machine learning systems to solve critical problems that affect millions of eBay users. You will set the direction, nurture talent, and ensure excellence in execution and scientific rigor, while collaborating across product, engineering, and operations to deliver measurable customer and business impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive Strategy & Vision: Partner with senior leadership, product management, and other stakeholders to define and execute the machine learning roadmap aligned with business goals.

• Team Leadership: Lead, mentor, and grow a team of ML scientists and engineers. Create an environment that encourages innovation, high performance, and career development.

• Technical Oversight: Guide and review the development of machine learning models and data pipelines, ensuring scalability, scientific validity, and production readiness.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with Product and Analytics teams to scope projects, prioritize initiatives, and ensure seamless data and model integration.

• Operational Excellence: Define project goals, success metrics, and delivery timelines. Ensure effective resource allocation and continuous improvement in team processes.

• Foster Scientific Rigor: Uphold high standards of experimentation, measurement, and peer review. Promote the use of reproducible research and robust evaluation practices.

• Data Strategy: Partner with the operations and data teams to ensure access to high-quality labeled data, and proactively shape data acquisition strategies where needed.

• Talent Development: Provide coaching and technical guidance to team members. Conduct performance reviews, identify skill gaps, and invest in team capability building.

• Hiring: Attract, interview, and hire top talent to grow the team and enhance its diversity of thought and background.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related field with 6+ years of relevant industry experience, including 3+ years in people management.

• Proven experience leading machine learning teams in an applied industrial setting.

• Deep understanding of modern ML approaches including classification, regression, NLP, clustering, deep learning, and/or reinforcement learning.

• Strong programming background in Python, Java, or similar, with exposure to production-grade ML systems.

• Proficiency with big data processing frameworks such as Hadoop, Spark, and SQL.

• Excellent communication, storytelling, and stakeholder management skills.

• Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into scientific problems and to prioritize for impact.
   

Additional Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in a relevant field (Computer Science, ML, Stats, etc.)

• Track record of impactful publications and/or patents in machine learning or related areas.

• Contributions to open-source ML tools or frameworks.

• Experience with modern large language models, graph-based ML, or knowledge graph construction.

• Strong presence in scientific communities through talks, panels, or organizing roles.
   

eBay is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, and disability, or other legally protected status. If you have a need that requires accommodation, please contact us at We will make every effort to respond to your request for accommodation as soon as possible. View our Accessibility Statement to learn more about eBay's commitment to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities.

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eBay is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, and disability, or other legally protected status. If you have a need that requires accommodation, please contact us at  We will make every effort to respond to your request for accommodation as soon as possible. View our accessibility statement to learn more about eBay's commitment to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities.

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