The Data Science team at Penguin Random House is seeking a Machine Learning Scientist to help build and improve personalization products, including recommender systems for our websites, email programs, and online marketing initiatives. 

We are investing in expanding our portfolio of business-critical personalization products and further improving our existing models. This role will own recommender models end-to-end, from model development and deployment to monitoring outputs, in close partnership with business stakeholders, platform engineers, and the rest of the personalization group. 

We have a mature machine learning practice and strong infrastructure, supported by strong data warehouse and DevOps partners. We are transitioning to AI-accelerated development and use modern agentic coding tools (e.g., Claude Code) to speed up how we build and maintain forecasting systems, with rigorous quality gates including tests, reproducible workflows, and measurable improvements in model performance and reliability. Experience with Claude Code or agentic workflows is a plus, but we prioritize strong fundamentals and the ability and willingness to learn new workflows effectively. 

Specific responsibilities include:  

• Build, evaluate, and iterate on recommender systems and personalization models that improve discovery across PRH’s digital channels. 

• Develop models that support online marketing and engagement use cases, such as customer segmentation, propensity modeling, audience targeting, and engagement prediction. 

• Define success metrics and use offline evaluation plus online experimentation (including A/B tests) to validate performance, monitor quality over time, and drive ongoing iteration. 

• Partner with engineering and platform counterparts to productionize models, including repeatable training, deployment workflows, monitoring, and refresh strategies. 

• Diagnose model performance issues and data quality problems; communicate findings and recommended actions clearly to stakeholders. 

• Write maintainable, production-minded code and contribute to team standards (code review, documentation, reproducibility, and testing where appropriate). 

• Stay current with advances in recommender systems and applied AI, and bring practical ideas back to the team. 

Please apply if you meet the following qualifications:  

• Masters with 2+ years of applied work experience OR PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Engineering, Operations Research, Statistics or a related quantitative field 

• Strong proficiency in Python and common ML frameworks and libraries (for example PyTorch or TensorFlow)

• Strong SQL skills and experience working with large datasets for feature development, analysis, and validation 

• Experience taking models from development to production (batch scoring, APIs, or downstream integration) 

• Solid understanding of experimentation and measurement 

• Be cutting edge. Use the latest AI tools to develop well-designed and robust software

• Strong communication skills and ability to translate between business goals and technical solutions

Preferred qualifications:  

• Experience with recommender systems, personalization, ranking/retrieval, or marketing targeting models 

• Familiarity with cloud and modern data/ML tooling (AWS, Databricks, Docker, Kubernetes, Spark, or similar)

• Exposure to MLOps concepts and tooling (model registries, pipelines, monitoring, reproducibility)

• Experience with real-time or near real-time prediction systems

Please be advised that candidates selected to advance to the 1st round of interviews will be required to show photo ID on camera, and final interviews for this role will be in person at a Penguin Random House location.

The salary range for this position is $130,000 - $175,000. All positions are currently eligible for an annual profit award or bonus, subject to company results.  

Applications for this role will be accepted through March 25, 2026 or until the role is filled. We encourage you to apply early, as we review applications on a rolling basis. Please include your resume and cover letter for consideration. Before applying for any role at Penguin Random House, we recommend you review our applicant resources page and our FAQs page.

Penguin Random House job postings include a good faith compensation range for each open position. The salary range listed is specific to each particular open position and takes into account various factors including the specifics of the individual role, and candidate's relevant experience and qualifications.

Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program. Our range of benefits include, but are not limited to, Medical/Prescription drug insurance, Dental, Vision, Health Care/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account, Pre-Tax and Roth 401(k), Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life/AD&D Insurance, Commuter Benefits, Student Loan Repayment Program, Educational Assistance & generous paid time off.

Penguin Random House is the leading adult and children's publishing house in North America, the United Kingdom and many other regions around the world. In publishing the best books in every genre and subject for all ages, we are committed to quality, excellence in execution, and innovation throughout the entire publishing process: editorial, design, marketing, publicity, sales, production, and distribution. Our vibrant and diverse international community of nearly 300 publishing brands and imprints include Ballantine Bantam Dell, Berkley, Clarkson Potter, Crown, DK, Doubleday, Dutton, Grosset & Dunlap, Little Golden Books, Knopf, Modern Library, Pantheon, Penguin Books, Penguin Press, Penguin Random House Audio, Penguin Young Readers, Portfolio, Puffin, Putnam, Random House, Random House Children's Books, Riverhead, Ten Speed Press, Viking, and Vintage, among others. More information can be found at http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/.

Penguin Random House values the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.

 Company: Penguin Random House LLC | Job ID: 287134