Demo

Principal Applied Scientist

Amazon
San Diego, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 12/5/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 2/25/2026
Description

At Amazon, we believe that scientific innovation is essential to being the most customer-centric company in the world. Our scientists' ability to have an impact at scale allows us to attract some of the brightest minds in machine learning, artificial intelligence and related fields.

Amazon scientists employ the company's working backwards method to identify problems to solve on behalf of customers in research areas ranging from machine learning to operations, GenAI, robotics, quantum computing, computer vision, economics, search, sustainability and more.

Learn more about Amazon Science here: https://www.amazon.science/

We are hiring across multiple businesses and in many locations across the US. Apply here to learn more about open roles that could be a compelling fit for your background.

Key job responsibilities

You will be responsible for defining key research directions, adopting or inventing new machine learning techniques, conducting rigorous experiments, publishing results, and ensuring that research is translated into practice. You will develop long-term strategies, persuade teams to adopt those strategies, propose goals and deliver on them. You will also participate in organizational planning, hiring, mentorship and leadership development. You will be technically fearless and with a passion for building scalable science and engineering solutions. You will serve as a key scientific resource in full-cycle development (conception, design, implementation, testing to documentation, delivery, and maintenance).

Basic Qualifications

  • PhD in one of the following disciplines: Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Applied Math or a related quantitative field
  • 8 years of relevant, broad research experience after PhD
  • Publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals in one of these areas: reinforcement learning, deep learning, and machine learning
  • Fluency in Python, SQL or similar scripting languages
  • Strong algorithm development experience
  • Depth and breadth in state-of-the-art machine learning technologies
  • Strong prior experience with mentorship and/or management of senior scientists and engineers.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience programming in Java, C , or related language
  • Experience in building machine learning models for business application

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $179,000/year in our lowest geographic market up to $309,400/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit https://www.aboutamazon.com/workplace/employee-benefits. This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site.


Company - Amazon.com Services LLC - A57

Job ID: A2821890

Salary : $179,000 - $309,400

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Principal Applied Scientist?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Principal Applied Scientist career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$86,269 - $122,182
Income Estimation: 
$101,791 - $133,116
Income Estimation: 
$77,900 - $95,589
Income Estimation: 
$101,387 - $124,118
Income Estimation: 
$101,387 - $124,118
Income Estimation: 
$119,030 - $151,900
Income Estimation: 
$119,030 - $151,900
Income Estimation: 
$149,493 - $192,976
Income Estimation: 
$149,493 - $192,976
Income Estimation: 
$184,796 - $233,226

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs with skills like those required for the Principal Applied Scientist.

Click the checkbox next to the jobs that you are interested in.

  • Emergency Management Skill

    • Income Estimation: $69,185 - $95,783
    • Income Estimation: $70,556 - $92,171
  • Insurance Products Skill

    • Income Estimation: $275,571 - $446,137
    • Income Estimation: $320,584 - $530,184
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Amazon

  • Amazon Nashville, TN
  • Description Amazon is looking for a Pre-Construction Manager who will be responsible for project managing building industrial development including new bui... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • Amazon Bellevue, WA
  • Description Project Kuiper is an initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Its m... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • Amazon Middletown, DE
  • Description Join Amazon’s mission to become Earth’s safest place to work! At Amazon, we’ve set the ambitious goal to become the benchmark of safety excelle... more
  • 13 Days Ago

  • Amazon Nampa, ID
  • Description Our Sr. Operations Managers are responsible for all budgetary, people development and operations objectives. The Sr. Operations Managers is res... more
  • 13 Days Ago


Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Principal Applied Scientist jobs in the San Diego, CA area that may be a better fit.

  • Scientist Solana Beach, CA
  • Global Accounts Receivable Specialist Put your accounting expertise and analytical skills to work for the world's largest AI-powered R&D orchestration plat... more
  • 24 Days Ago

  • Cisco Systems, Inc. San Diego, CA
  • Meet the Team Splunk, a Cisco company, is building a safer, more resilient digital world with an endtoend, fullstack platform designed for hybrid, multiclo... more
  • 2 Months Ago

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!