Senior Software Engineer II, Machine Learning

Company Description
Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy Inc. employee, whether a team member of Etsy, Reverb, or Depop, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human.

Salary Range:

What’s the role?

Etsy is seeking a Senior Software Engineer II, Machine Learning to join our Ads Marketplace engineering team. We help sellers grow their businesses by building algorithmic solutions that power Etsy’s on-site advertising platform. Our work includes developing and productionizing systems that leverage machine learning, optimization, and algorithmic design to support real-time bidding, budget pacing, and audience targeting—driving efficient campaign performance at scale. You can learn more about our philosophies, tools, and some challenges we’ve tackled in our Code as Craft article that describes how we built our bidding system.

There are hundreds of millions of products on Etsy. In this role, you will be responsible for developing data-driven techniques to optimize sellers' budgets according to their campaign performance goals by advertising their listings on surfaces where they perform the best. You will design and implement solutions including auto bidding, budget pacing optimizations, traffic forecasting, and measuring auction marketplace effects.

This is a full-time position reporting to the Senior Engineering Manager. In addition to salary, you will also be eligible for an equity package, an annual performance bonus, and our competitive benefits that support you and your family as part of your total rewards package at Etsy.

For this role, we are considering candidates based in the United States. Candidates living within commutable distance of Etsy’s Brooklyn Office Hub or in the San Francisco Bay Area may be the first to be considered. For candidates within commutable distance, Etsy requires in-office attendance once or twice per week depending on your proximity to the office. Etsy offers different work modes to meet the variety of needs and preferences of our team. Learn more details about our  work modes and workplace safety policies here.

What’s this team like at Etsy?

Ads Marketplace is responsible for balancing the objectives of three primary stakeholders: our buyers and sellers as well as the platform. You’ll collaborate with engineers, data scientists, and product partners to improve bidding, pacing, and overall market efficiency — all while helping creative businesses thrive! Some examples of projects we are working on include:

• Bidding: We’re designing a real-time bidding system that leverages live auction data and model predictions to adjust campaign bids in real time to achieve sellers’ campaign goals.

• Budget Pacing: We’re improving how we allocate sellers’ budgets over the course of their campaigns by better predicting market demand to drive the most advertiser revenue.

• Auction Simulation: We're building an auction simulator that uses real traffic to preview the impact of algorithmic changes to the marketplace.

What does the day-to-day look like?

• Build bidding, pacing and auction simulation systems using bespoke algorithms and Machine Learning techniques, collaborating across teams on ML tools, models, and deployment.

• Contribute to scalable infrastructure powering Ads, Recs, Search and other key initiatives.

• Design, conduct, and analyze changes to system performance and auction dynamics using statistical methods and A/B experimentation.

• Write production-grade Scala and Python code, and drive improvements in design, automation, monitoring, and code quality.

• Of course, this is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Etsy's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law.

Qualities that will help you thrive in this role are:

• You think in systems, and can reason about the behavior and tradeoffs of large-scale distributed architectures.

• You apply software and machine learning with purpose, balancing complexity and practicality to drive measurable outcomes.

• You collaborate effectively, working across engineering, applied science, and Product to align goals and deliver impact.

• You make decisions grounded in data, using analysis, experimentation, and metrics to guide your work.

• You understand the ad tech landscape, with intuition for how pacing, targeting, and auction mechanics affect advertiser success.

Additional Information
 

What's Next
If you're interested in joining the team at Etsy, please share your resume with us and feel free to include a cover letter if you'd like. As we hope you've seen already, Etsy is a place that values individuality and variety. We don't want you to be like everyone else -- we want you to be like you! So tell us what you're all about.
 
Our Promise
At Etsy, we believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace furthers relevance, resilience, and longevity. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. Etsy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If, due to a disability, you need an accommodation during any part of the application or interview process, please let your recruiter know. While Etsy supports visa sponsorship, sponsorship opportunities may be limited to certain roles and skills.