Principal Applied Scientist

Viant • Irvine, CA

74d • $220,000 - $260,000

About The Position

Viant's Machine Learning team is at the forefront of transforming the Ad Tech industry through cutting-edge machine learning and AI-driven automation. By eliminating manual processes in digital ad creation, optimization, and measurement, we build autonomous, scalable systems that process hundreds of millions of events daily. We are seeking an exceptional Principal Applied Scientist to drive groundbreaking innovation in applied machine learning. In this role, you will lead end-to-end AI strategy, shape the applied science roadmap, and develop next-generation models in NLP, deep learning, and large-scale AI systems. Your expertise will push the boundaries of AI capabilities, delivering measurable business impact while fostering a research-driven, data-centric culture at Viant.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience building and deploying machine learning models at scale.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, high-ambiguity ML projects from research to production.
• Masters + At least two peer-reviewed publications in deep learning, NLP, or a related AI domain or a PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
• Strong foundation in deep learning, NLP, generative AI, and causal inference.
• Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, LangChain, Llama Index).
• Experience with distributed computing, cloud ML platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure), and real-time AI inference.

Nice To Haves

• Publications at top-tier ML/NLP conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, AAAI).
• Experience in digital advertising, real-time bidding, or audience modeling.
• Hands-on experience with LLMs and multimodal AI applications.
• Strong background in reinforcement learning, dynamic pricing, or recommendation systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and Define AI Strategy - Set the vision for applied ML research and AI-driven decision-making across Viant's products and services.
• Drive High-Impact Research - Conduct advanced research in NLP, RL, LLMs, and deep learning, publishing in top-tier conferences while applying findings to real-world production systems.
• Architect and Deploy ML at Scale - Develop, optimize, and deploy high-throughput, low-latency ML models, collaborating with engineers to bring solutions into production.
• Innovate in Generative AI & Causal ML - Explore novel AI techniques, such as LLMs, reinforcement learning, and causal inference, to enhance targeting, personalization, and attribution models.
• Experimentation and Validation - Design, run, and analyze A/B experiments to test ML-driven strategies, ensuring data-driven decision-making.
• Mentor and Influence - Provide technical leadership for a team of applied scientists and ML engineers, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.

Benefits

• Fully paid health insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Unlimited PTO

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• Education Level: Master's degree
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees