🚀 Principal ML Engineer, Recommendation Systems

Overview

Join to apply for the Principal ML Engineer, Recommendation Systems role at Launch Potato.

WHO WE ARE: Launch Potato is a profitable digital media company that reaches over 30M+ monthly visitors through brands such as FinanceBuzz, All About Cookies, and OnlyInYourState. As The Discovery and Conversion Company, our mission is to connect consumers with the world’s leading brands through data-driven content and technology. Headquartered in South Florida with a remote-first team spanning over 15 countries, we’ve built a high-growth, high-performance culture where speed, ownership, and measurable impact drive success.

WHY JOIN US: At Launch Potato, you’ll accelerate your career by owning outcomes, moving fast, and driving impact with a global team of high-performers.

COMPENSATION: $160,000 to $250,000 per year, paid semi-monthly.

MUST HAVE:

• Expertise building ML systems with deep expertise in large-scale personalization
• Recognized industry expertise through patents, publications, or significant product impact
• Proven success architecting ML platforms serving billions of predictions in production
• Demonstrated track record of 0→1 innovation in personalization or recommender systems
• Mastery across multiple ML domains including deep learning, causal inference, multi-armed bandits, and graph-based models

EXPERIENCE: 10+ years designing, developing, and deploying large-scale machine learning systems with a focus on personalization

Your Role

Establish the technical vision for personalization at Launch Potato, solving the company’s most complex ML challenges and influencing strategy, architecture, and innovation across teams.

OUTCOMES

• Define company-wide personalization strategy and architecture, driving alignment across all ML teams
• Solve critical technical challenges such as cold start, real-time learning, and exploration/exploitation tradeoffs
• Design and implement advanced ML solutions using cutting-edge techniques (e.g., graph neural networks, causal models, bandit algorithms)
• Create and enforce ML architecture patterns, design standards, and reusable infrastructure across teams
• Lead multi-quarter, cross-functional initiatives that redefine how personalization impacts business KPIs
• Act as technical mentor to senior ML engineers, guiding complex decision-making and scaling team capability
• Represent Launch Potato’s technical brand externally through speaking engagements, open source contributions, or publications
• Champion privacy-preserving personalization, responsible AI practices, and adaptive learning systems

COMPETENCIES

• Visionary Thinking: Defines the future state of ML infrastructure and personalization strategy.
• Architectural Excellence: Designs scalable, modular systems that support billions of predictions and enable rapid experimentation.
• Technical Influence: Drives decision-making and builds consensus across teams and stakeholders without direct authority.
• Expert-Level Execution: Translates research insights into production-ready solutions.
• Mentorship & Leadership: Coaches senior engineers, facilitates technical reviews, and raises the technical bar for the entire organization.
• External Thought Leadership: Represents LP in the ML community and contributes to growing its reputation as a leader in ML innovation.
• Curious & Forward-Looking: Explores new approaches to personalization and prototypes cutting-edge methodologies.

Total Compensation

Base salary is set according to market rates for the nearest major metro and varies based on Launch Potato’s Levels Framework. Your compensation package includes a base salary, profit-sharing bonus, and competitive benefits. Launch Potato is a performance-driven company, which means future increases are based on company and personal performance.

Apply & Equal Opportunity

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply. Since day one, we've been committed to having a diverse, inclusive team and culture. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity company. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Job Details

• Seniority level: Director
• Employment type: Full-time
• Job function: Engineering and Information Technology
• Industries: Advertising Services

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