Talent.com
Sr. Principal Applied Scientist - Search & Recommendations
Sr. Principal Applied Scientist - Search & RecommendationsHighspot • Seattle, WA, US
Sr. Principal Applied Scientist - Search & Recommendations

Sr. Principal Applied Scientist - Search & Recommendations

Highspot • Seattle, WA, US
4 days ago
Job type
  • Full-time
Job description

Job Description

Job Description

About Highspot

Highspot is pioneering the category that is fundamentally changing the way companies increase sales productivity. On a mission to transform the way millions of people work with sales enablement, Highspot is committed to building breakthrough software with a spark of magic. We believe a great place to work is about more than the work – it’s about what the company stands for, and how it authentically represents its values in the real world. To this end, we have put intentional focus on creating equitable workspaces for each of our employees. Our goal is to create a culture where everyone feels a deep sense of belonging and is empowered to be an agent of change, with the ability to transform themselves, their workplace, and their world.

About the Role

We are seeking a Principal Search & Recommendation Engineer to lead the design and evolution of intelligent systems that power discovery and personalization across the Highspot platform. This role combines deep technical expertise, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic impact to shape how millions of users find the content, insights, and tools they need to win.

You’ll work at the intersection of machine learning (both predictive and generative), information retrieval, and large-scale systems—helping elevate our AI capabilities while mentoring and guiding engineers across the team.

What You'll Do

  • Lead the end-to-end development of modern search and recommendation systems, from architecture to production deployment.
  • Drive technical strategy and innovation in search relevance, personalized ranking, semantic search, and ML-powered retrieval / grounding.
  • Collaborate with product, design, and data teams to define and deliver intelligent user experiences.
  • Influence platform-level decisions on data pipelines, experimentation frameworks, and performance optimization.
  • Mentor engineers, foster technical excellence, and promote a culture of learning and innovation.

Your Background

  • 8+ years of experience building and scaling search or recommendation systems in production environments.
  • Deep expertise in information retrieval, ranking algorithms, collaborative filtering, and / or neural search techniques.
  • Strong programming skills in Python, Java, or Scala; experience with ML and IR frameworks such as Elasticsearch, FAISS, TensorFlow, or PyTorch.
  • Familiarity with LLMs, embeddings, and modern vector search infrastructure.
  • Proven leadership in cross-functional environments with a track record of mentoring and guiding technical teams.
  • Strong grasp of MLOps practices and experience with cloud-native ML infrastructure (e.g., AWS, GCP).
  • Nice To Have

  • Experience with personalization, multi-objective optimization, or exploration / exploitation strategies.
  • Published work in top-tier IR or ML conferences, or contributions to relevant open-source projects.
  • Experience driving different experimentation practices for fast iterating search / recommendation quality cases.
  • Why You'll Love HIghspot

  • Competitive salary, equity, and benefits.
  • Flexible work environment with remote options.
  • Collaborative and inclusive team culture.
  • A chance to solve high-impact technical problems with a team that values craftsmanship, innovation, and growth.
  • To be included on job posting :

    Base salary range : $240,000 - $329,609 USD

    Employees may also be eligible for bonuses, stock options, and other forms of compensation.

    The above represents total expected compensation for this role. Actual compensation will depend on various job-related factors, including, but not limited to, location, experience, and job qualifications.

    “Highspot also offers the following employee benefits for this position :

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, disability, and life benefits
  • Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution
  • 401(k) Matching with immediate vesting on employer match
  • Flexible PTO
  • 8 paid holidays and 5 paid days for Annual Holiday Week
  • Quarterly Recharge Fridays (paid days off for mental health recharge)
  • 18 weeks paid parental leave
  • Access to Coaches and Therapists through Modern Health
  • 2 volunteer days per year
  • Commuting benefits
  • #LI-NT1

    Equal Opportunity Statement

    We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship, color, ethnicity, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or invisible disability status, political affiliation, veteran status, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

    Did you read the requirements as a checklist and not tick every box? Don't rule yourself out! If this role resonates with you, hit the ‘apply’ button.

    Create a job alert for this search

    Principal Scientist • Seattle, WA, US

    Related jobs
    Applied Scientist, Prime Video - Personalization and Discovery Science Job at Pr

    Applied Scientist, Prime Video - Personalization and Discovery Science Job at Pr

    Mediabistro • Seattle, WA, United States
    Full-time
    Prime Video is a first-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one app available across thousands of devices. Prime members can customize their ...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago
    Variant Scientist III

    Variant Scientist III

    VirtualVocations • Renton, Washington, United States
    Full-time
    A company is looking for a Variant Scientist III to join its team.Key Responsibilities : Perform variant interpretation using an in-house genetic evidence system to generate clinical reports Anal...Show more
    Last updated: 12 hours ago • Promoted • New!
    Principal Applied Scientist, Amazon Stores Economics & Science (SEAS)

    Principal Applied Scientist, Amazon Stores Economics & Science (SEAS)

    Amazon • Seattle, WA, United States
    Full-time
    Principal Applied Scientist, Amazon Stores Economics & Science (SEAS).Stores Economics and Science (SEAS) is an interdisciplinary science and engineering team in Amazon's Stores organization with a...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Principal Applied Scientist

    Principal Applied Scientist

    Amazon • Seattle, WA, United States
    Full-time
    At Amazon, we believe that scientific innovation is essential to being the most customer-centric company in the world.Our scientists' ability to have an impact at scale allows us to attract some of...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Principal Applied Scientist, Prime Video Personalization & Discovery Job at Prim

    Principal Applied Scientist, Prime Video Personalization & Discovery Job at Prim

    Mediabistro • Seattle, WA, United States
    Full-time
    Principal Applied Scientist, Prime Video Personalization & Discovery.Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios.Are you interested in shaping the future of entertainment through cutting-edge AI? Prime Video’...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago
    Lead Applied Scientist

    Lead Applied Scientist

    VirtualVocations • Kent, Washington, United States
    Full-time
    A company is looking for a Lead Applied Scientist.Key Responsibilities Design and deploy neuro-symbolic AI systems integrating neural learning with structured knowledge representation Build mult...Show more
    Last updated: 4 days ago • Promoted
    Principal Research Scientist, AWS Industry Products

    Principal Research Scientist, AWS Industry Products

    Amazon • Seattle, WA, United States
    Full-time
    Principal Research Scientist, AWS Industry Products.Job ID : 2820652 | Amazon Web Services, Inc.AWS Industry Products (IP) is a new AWS engineering organization chartered to build new AWS products b...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Sr. Applied Scientist, Prime Video - Recommendation / Search Job at Amazon in Seat

    Sr. Applied Scientist, Prime Video - Recommendation / Search Job at Amazon in Seat

    Mediabistro • Seattle, WA, United States
    Full-time
    Prime Video is a first-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one app available across thousands of devices. Prime members can customize their ...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago
    Principal Product Scientist

    Principal Product Scientist

    Headspace • Seattle, WA, United States
    Full-time +1
    About the Principal Product Scientist.The Principal Product Scientist will drive the intersection of science, data, and product strategy to deliver personalized, impactful, data-driven experiences....Show more
    Last updated: 6 hours ago • Promoted • New!
    Travel CT Technologist

    Travel CT Technologist

    Olaro • Bremerton, WA, US
    Full-time
    Olaro is seeking a travel CT Technologist for a travel job in Bremerton, Washington.Job Description & Requirements.Pay package is based on 12 hour shifts and 36 hours per week (subject to confi...Show more
    Last updated: 6 days ago • Promoted
    Travel MRI Technologist

    Travel MRI Technologist

    Olaro • Enumclaw, WA, US
    Full-time
    Olaro is seeking a travel MRI Technologist for a travel job in Enumclaw, Washington.Job Description & Requirements.General Certification Requirements (BLS, etc. Certs / ARRT & other specialty ...Show more
    Last updated: 10 days ago • Promoted
    Infectious Diseases, Infectious Disease Physician

    Infectious Diseases, Infectious Disease Physician

    CommonSpirit Health • Burien, WA, US
    Full-time
    Job Summary and Responsibilities.Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is seeking an Infectious Disease Provider in the beautiful Puget Sound Region of Washington State. Franciscan Infectious Disease Ass...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Principal Security Researcher

    Principal Security Researcher

    VirtualVocations • Tacoma, Washington, United States
    Full-time
    A company is looking for a Principal Security Researcher.Key Responsibilities Perform vulnerability research and reverse engineering for customer tasks Conduct static and dynamic analysis using ...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Sr. Scientist

    Sr. Scientist

    Lancesoft INC • Bothell, WA, US
    Full-time
    We are looking for an energetic and experienced mass spectrometry scientist to join our Research ADC Characterization team in the Protein Solutions and Bioanalytical department.This individual will...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Primary Care Physician (Family Medicine / Internal Medicine) - Optum Soper Hill, Marysville, WA

    Primary Care Physician (Family Medicine / Internal Medicine) - Optum Soper Hill, Marysville, WA

    Optum • MARYSVILLE, Washington, United States
    Full-time
    Optum WA, (formerly The Everett Clinic) is seeking a Primary Care Physician.Optum is a clinician-led care organization that is changing the way clinicians work and live. As a member of the Optum Car...Show more
    Last updated: 30+ days ago • Promoted
    Scientist

    Scientist

    Bio-Rad Laboratories • Woodinville, WA, United States
    Full-time
    As a Scientist within our Global Assay Development Organization, you'll be an integral part of Bio-Rad's world class global R&D capability - focusing on biologics used in multiplex immunoassay tech...Show more
    Last updated: 17 days ago • Promoted
    Molecular Biology Scientist

    Molecular Biology Scientist

    VirtualVocations • Kent, Washington, United States
    Full-time
    A company is looking for a Scientist in Santa Clara, CA.Key Responsibilities Conduct laboratory experiments under supervision, following established protocols and safety guidelines Troubleshoot ...Show more
    Last updated: 14 days ago • Promoted
    Part-Time Retail Warehouse Specialist

    Part-Time Retail Warehouse Specialist

    CHS Inc • Chimacum, WA, US
    Part-time
    United States that provides grain, food and energy resources to businesses and consumers around the world.We serve agriculture customers and consumers across the United States and around the world....Show more
    Last updated: 14 days ago • Promoted