Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ads Personalization

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Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Ads Personalization (45447)

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Lead/Principal Machine Learning Engineer to lead the Ads Pod, the team in charge of architecting the expanded intelligent core of precision, our proprietary in-house ad system. Your mission is to reinvent how monetization works in the streaming era by building the algorithms that power ad selection, podding, and result optimization across PlutoTV and Paramount+.

This is a high-stakes technical leadership role. You will lead a group of engineers and scientists to advance our platforms beyond standard ad insertion into a world of dynamic, revenue-aware personalization. You will solve the unique task of balancing the "lean-back" linear experience of PlutoTV with the high-intent VOD environment of Paramount+, ensuring that every ad served adds value to the viewer while maximizing return for the business.

A critical part of this role is working with Signal Intelligence (SigInt). You will build optimization models with multiple goals. These models will balance long-term watch time and short-term ad revenue. This helps create a sustainable and enjoyable experience for millions of viewers.

The Ads Pod sits at the intersection of user experience and business sustainability. In this role, you will directly shape:

• The Precision+ Engine: Owning the ML strategy for our in-house ad-tech stack, shifting from third-party dependencies to a bespoke, high-performance internal system.
• Revenue-Aware Personalization: Solving the ultimate trade-off in streaming: maximizing long-term user commitment (watch time) while optimizing short-term ad-fill and output.
• Unified Ad Intelligence: Building a cross-platform system that understands viewer behavior on both FAST (PlutoTV) and Premium VOD (Paramount+) to deliver the most relevant ad experience in the industry.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Ad Pod: Drive the technical roadmap for all Pluto-specific ML use cases, acting as the bridge between AMLG's core infrastructure and Pluto’s product goals.
• Personalized Channel Discovery: Architect retrieval and ranking systems to recommend the right linear channels to users in real-time.
• Dynamic Scheduling & Creation: Develop models that optimize channel scheduling and inform the creation of "Pop-up" or algorithmic channels based on viewer trends.
• Multi-Objective Optimization: Design loss functions and reward systems that weigh user commitment (watch time) against business health (ad impressions and revenue).
• EPG Personalization: Lead the vision for personalizing the Electronic Programming Guide, ensuring the most relevant content is surfaced immediately upon app launch.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with RevOps and Product to translate business constraints (e.g., ad delivery guarantees) into technical ML requirements.

Basic Qualifications:

• 6-8+ years of experience in machine learning engineering, with a significant focus on Ad-Tech, Auction Dynamics, or Recommender Systems.
• Optimization Expertise: Deep mastery of Multi-Objective Optimization and constrained optimization (balancing competing KPIs like revenue vs. UX).
• Real-Time Systems: Proven experience building and deploying ML models in high-throughput, ultra-low latency environments (under 50ms).
• Technical Stack: Skilled in Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, and BigQuery; experience with high-scale serving layers.
• Leadership (IC5/IC6): Demonstrated ability to own a major technical domain and drive strategy across multiple organizations.

Additional Qualifications:

• Experience building or scaling in-house ad systems or DSP/SSP components.
• Knowledge of Reinforcement Learning (RL) for sequential ad-podding and frequency capping.
• Knowledge of Causal Inference to measure the incremental boost ad-personalization on long-term subscriber churn.
• Experience in both FAST (Linear) and VOD advertising ecosystems.

Paramount Streaming, a division within Paramount Global, is the home to the company's direct-to-consumer services spanning free and paid in the form of Pluto TV and Paramount+. Pluto TV is the global leader in free ad-supported TV, delivering more than 1,400 global channels and an extensive library of streaming content, including live and original channels. Paramount+, digital subscription video-on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news, and A Mountain of Entertainment™. Paramount+ features an expansive library of original