Whatnot
Machine Learning Engineer, Buyer Growth
Whatnot, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
Job Overview
Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. We’re re-defining e-commerce by blending community, shopping, and entertainment into a community just for you. As a remote co-located team, we’re inspired by innovation and anchored in our values . With hubs in the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, and Germany, we’re building the future of online marketplaces—together. From fashion, beauty, and electronics to rare collectibles like trading cards, comic books, and even live plants, our live auctions have something for everyone. And we’re just getting started! As one of the fastest growing marketplaces , we’re looking for bold, forward-thinking problem solvers across all functional areas. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business, and bring people together through commerce.
Role
Lead the design, development, and productionization of ML models that power user acquisition, activation, and retention (e.g., ranking models, targeting systems, uplift modeling). Own the full model lifecycle : from data collection and feature engineering to model training, evaluation, deployment, and online experimentation. Identify and prioritize high-impact opportunities where machine learning can unlock growth, collaborating with product, engineering, data, and marketing stakeholders. Drive technical excellence and establish ML best practices across the Buyer Growth team. Team members in this role are required to be within commuting distance of our Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, or New York hubs.
Responsibilities
Lead the design, development, and productionization of ML models that power user acquisition, activation, and retention (e.g., ranking models, targeting systems, uplift modeling). Own the full model lifecycle : from data collection and feature engineering to model training, evaluation, deployment, and online experimentation. Identify and prioritize high-impact opportunities where machine learning can unlock growth, collaborating with product, engineering, data, and marketing stakeholders. Drive technical excellence and establish ML best practices across the Buyer Growth team.
You
Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We’ve found that low ego, a growth mindset, and leaning into action and high impact goes a long way here. 8+ years of industry experience building and deploying ML systems at scale. Demonstrated success in leading end-to-end ML projects that drove measurable business outcomes. Deep expertise in personalization, ranking, or user modeling; strong intuition around user behavior in consumer products. Advanced proficiency in Python, SQL, and common ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, XGBoost). Strong communication and leadership skills; ability to influence roadmap and align cross-functional teams. Preferred Qualifications
Experience building ML applications in E-commerce or Social products Prior experience in growth domains : user segmentation, retention modeling, large scale recommendation systems, notification ranking, etc.
Benefits
Flexible Time off Policy and Company-wide Holidays (including a spring and winter break) Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision Work From Home Support Home office setup allowance Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet Care benefits Monthly allowance for wellness Annual allowance towards Childcare Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
Monthly allowance to dogfood the app
All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We're passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).
Parental Leave
16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work company leave allowances run concurrent with country leave requirements which take precedence.
EOE
Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. We’re re-defining e-commerce by blending community, shopping, and entertainment into a community just for you. As a remote co-located team, we’re inspired by innovation and anchored in our values . With hubs in the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, and Germany, we’re building the future of online marketplaces—together. From fashion, beauty, and electronics to rare collectibles like trading cards, comic books, and even live plants, our live auctions have something for everyone. And we’re just getting started! As one of the fastest growing marketplaces , we’re looking for bold, forward-thinking problem solvers across all functional areas. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business, and bring people together through commerce.
Role
Lead the design, development, and productionization of ML models that power user acquisition, activation, and retention (e.g., ranking models, targeting systems, uplift modeling). Own the full model lifecycle : from data collection and feature engineering to model training, evaluation, deployment, and online experimentation. Identify and prioritize high-impact opportunities where machine learning can unlock growth, collaborating with product, engineering, data, and marketing stakeholders. Drive technical excellence and establish ML best practices across the Buyer Growth team. Team members in this role are required to be within commuting distance of our Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, or New York hubs.
Responsibilities
Lead the design, development, and productionization of ML models that power user acquisition, activation, and retention (e.g., ranking models, targeting systems, uplift modeling). Own the full model lifecycle : from data collection and feature engineering to model training, evaluation, deployment, and online experimentation. Identify and prioritize high-impact opportunities where machine learning can unlock growth, collaborating with product, engineering, data, and marketing stakeholders. Drive technical excellence and establish ML best practices across the Buyer Growth team.
You
Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We’ve found that low ego, a growth mindset, and leaning into action and high impact goes a long way here. 8+ years of industry experience building and deploying ML systems at scale. Demonstrated success in leading end-to-end ML projects that drove measurable business outcomes. Deep expertise in personalization, ranking, or user modeling; strong intuition around user behavior in consumer products. Advanced proficiency in Python, SQL, and common ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, XGBoost). Strong communication and leadership skills; ability to influence roadmap and align cross-functional teams. Preferred Qualifications
Experience building ML applications in E-commerce or Social products Prior experience in growth domains : user segmentation, retention modeling, large scale recommendation systems, notification ranking, etc.
Benefits
Flexible Time off Policy and Company-wide Holidays (including a spring and winter break) Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision Work From Home Support Home office setup allowance Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet Care benefits Monthly allowance for wellness Annual allowance towards Childcare Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
Monthly allowance to dogfood the app
All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We're passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).
Parental Leave
16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work company leave allowances run concurrent with country leave requirements which take precedence.
EOE
Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.
#J-18808-Ljbffr