Machine Learning Scientist II - Catalog Science

TheCatalog Science team at Wayfair drives growth by tackling fundamentalchallenges ranging from multi-modal product understanding, productrelationships modeling, to GenAI-driven catalog intelligence at scale. Our teamprovides the core capabilities that are crucial for enhancing the customerbrowse experience (e.g., visual search, recommendations), streamlining supplierproduct onboarding (e.g., product classification, image and content tagging),informing catalog competitiveness, and ultimately delivering significant impactfor our customers, suppliers, and Wayfair.

We arelooking for a strong Machine Learning Scientist II with deep technicalexpertise and a proactive, action-oriented mindset. In this role, you will beinstrumental in developing and refining the advanced models and systems thatpower our core mission. You will contribute to a diverse range of initiativesby applying cutting-edge deep learning techniques, vision-language models, andGenerative AI agentic workflows. You will work in close collaboration with ahighly capable, cross-functional team to tackle complex, high-impact challengesand help pioneer innovative solutions.

If youare passionate about working on cutting-edge AI problems, building scalablemachine learning systems that solve real-world challenges, and directlycontributing to significant business impact, this is the role for you.

Whatyou’ll do:

• Research and experiment with state-of-the-art multi-modal understanding techniques and algorithms. Design and implement evaluation strategies applied to real-world scenarios tailored to Wayfair use cases.
• Leverage and fine-tune LLMs (e.g., OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, Open Source) to build AI-driven classifiers, product taggers, and quality control mechanisms.
• Develop and refine the visual search system leveraging cutting edge technologies in computer vision, vision language models, and the large scale data orchestration.
• Implement AI-powered automation for product data structuring, attribute extraction, and metadata validation—ensuring our catalog remains accurate, complete, and scalable.
• Collaborate with top AI research and industry leaders (e.g., Google, Anthropic, Snorkel AI) to explore cutting-edge techniques in LLMs, data labeling automation, and scalable ML workflows.
• Develop agentic AI workflows for automated schema definition, dataset generation, production relationship modeling, and LLM-based judgment systems to validate catalog data.
• Partner with cross-functional teams across engineering, scientists, and product to ensure AI solutions integrate seamlessly into catalog systems.
• Optimize cost, efficiency, and scalability of AI models, leveraging parameter-efficient fine-tuning (LoRA, QLoRA), knowledge distillation, and hybrid ML approaches.
  
  

Who youare:

• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a relative field OR MS and 2+ years of full-time experience.
• Deep understanding of traditional machine learning and deep learning techniques, reinforcement learning, and multi-modal understanding. 
• Deep understanding of LLMs/VLMs, generative AI, and techniques including fine-tuning, RAG, etc.
• Hands-on experience using models like GPT, Gemini, Claude, and/or open-source alternatives in research or production environments. 
• Professional coding expertise in languages like Python or Go, proficiency in SQL, and experience with data visualization tools; skilled in using ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch) and implementing CI/CD, containerization, and version control best practices (git).
• Experience with data engineering concepts scalable data collection, processing, and transformation.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex AI concepts to non-technical stakeholders while collaborating across teams.
• Ability to quickly learn new tools and techniques in a fast-paced, evolving environment, while managing multiple priorities with a high level of attention to detail and staying current with the latest ML research.
• Track record of delivering successful machine learning projects from conception to production, demonstrating strong deployment, problem-solving, and maintenance skills.
  
  

Nice tohave:

• Familiarity with MLOps, cloud infrastructure, and engineering best practices (Google Cloud Platform, Airflow/Composer, Kubeflow, MLFlow, Kubernetes, VertexAI, Spark, DataDog, Arize).
• Experience working in e-commerce catalog AI systems, retail data structuring, or large-scale product classification.
• Research publications in deep learning, computer vision, or generative AI.
• Experience with autonomous AI agents, reinforcement learning, or online learning systems.

Why You’ll Love Wayfair:

·        TimeOff:

·        PaidHolidays

·        PaidTime Off (PTO)

·        Health& Wellness:

·        FullHealth Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA/FSA)

·        LifeInsurance

·        DisabilityProtection (Short Term & Long Term Disability) 

·        GlobalWellbeing: Gym/Fitness discounts (including US Peloton, Global ClassPass, andvarious regional gym memberships)

·        MentalHealth Support (Global Mental Health, Global Wayhealthy Recordings)

·        CaregiverServices

·        FinancialGrowth & Security:

·        401KMatching (Employee Matching Program)

·        TuitionReimbursement 

·        FinancialHealth Education (Knowledge of Financial Education - KOFE)

·        TaxAdvantaged Accounts

·        FamilySupport:

·        FamilyPlanning Support

·        ParentalLeave

·        GlobalSurrogacy & Adoption Policy

·        ProfessionalDevelopment & Recognition

Please note this is a hybrid position based in Boston, MA. Our teams arein-office Tuesday-Thursday and remote on Monday and Friday.

Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities
Wayfair is fully committed to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, including individuals with disabilities. As part of this commitment, Wayfair will make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of qualified individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on business operations. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please let us know by completing our Accomodations for Applicants form.
 
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About Wayfair Inc.
Wayfair is one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home. Whether you work in our global headquarters in Boston, or in our warehouses or offices throughout the world, we’re reinventing the way people shop for their homes. Through our commitment to industry-leading technology and creative problem-solving, we are confident that Wayfair will be home to the most rewarding work of your career. If you’re looking for rapid growth, constant learning, and dynamic challenges, then you’ll find that amazing career opportunities are knocking.

No matter who you are, Wayfair is a place you can call home. We’re a community of innovators, risk-takers, and trailblazers who celebrate our differences, and know that our unique perspectives make us stronger, smarter, and well-positioned for success. We value and rely on the collective voices of our employees, customers, community, and suppliers to help guide us as we build a better Wayfair – and world – for all. Every voice, every perspective matters. That’s why we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Your personal data is processed in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Notice (https://www.wayfair.com/careers/privacy). If you have any questions or wish to exercise your rights under applicable privacy and data protection laws, please contact us at dataprotectionofficer@wayfair.com.