Machine Learning Engineering Manager, Personalization

About the role

You will lead the Saturn squad within the Sessions group, focusing on the ranking models behind Radio and Daily Mix. This position involves managing a multidisciplinary team of backend, data, and machine learning engineers to refine recommendation quality. You will also guide the integration of large language models and generative AI into our core listening experiences.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Manage, mentor, and grow a team of machine learning, backend, and data engineers.
• Define the technical roadmap for ranking and personalization systems.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of production ML systems, including design, deployment, and monitoring.
• Collaborate with product and data science departments to align on business objectives.
• Improve team output by clearing blockers and prioritizing engineering tasks.
• Promote high standards for software development and operational reliability.
• Integrate large language models into existing recommendation workflows.

Requirements

• Proven experience in engineering management and team development.
• Background in building and maintaining production-grade machine learning systems.
• Familiarity with the entire machine learning lifecycle, from initial research to live monitoring.
• Practical experience with generative AI and large language models.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Commitment to fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment.
• Experience balancing long-term technical architecture with immediate delivery goals.

Skills & tools

• Machine Learning Engineering
• Large Language Models (LLM)
• Generative AI
• Backend Engineering
• Data Engineering
• People Management
• Technical Strategy

Practical notes

Spotify is an equal opportunity employer and provides accommodations for the interview process upon request. This role is open to candidates located within the Eastern Standard time zone.