Director, Software Development, Personalization
Technology | Job ID 2840108Job Summary
ABOUT THIS ROLE
As a Director, Software Development, you'll lead a high-performing team building innovative personalization systems that power content discovery and recommendation experiences across Audible's platforms. This position requires a leader with strong technical acumen in machine learning systems, recommendation systems proven people management experience, and the ability to drive technical strategy while delivering customer-focused personalization solutions.
ABOUT THE TEAM
The Personalization team's mission is to help customers discover their next great listen by personalizing every interaction they have with Audible content. We develop scalable frameworks and systems that transform customer signals into meaningful insights, enabling personalized, contextual recommendations across our platforms. Our teams work with cutting-edge ML technologies and large-scale distributed systems to process billions of content interactions and deliver real-time personalized experiences.
ABOUT YOU
You're a strategic technical leader who thrives on solving complex personalization problems at scale. You have deep experience building and leading engineering teams, with a strong foundation in recommendation systems and distributed computing. You're passionate about developing talent and creating an inclusive team culture that drives innovation. You demonstrate excellent judgment in balancing technical tradeoffs while maintaining unwavering focus on customer experience and business impact.
As a Director, Software Development, you will...
- Lead and grow a team of ML/software engineers building personalization and recommendation systems, providing technical mentorship and career development while fostering an inclusive environment
- Own the technical strategy and roadmap for personalization systems that power discovery experiences across Audible platforms
- Drive architectural decisions and technical excellence in building scalable recommendation pipelines and frameworks
- Partner with product, science, and platform teams to define and execute on personalization initiatives
- Establish and optimize development processes that enable rapid experimentation while maintaining high quality standards
- Build mechanisms to measure and improve the customer impact of our recommendation systems
- Lead hiring and development of diverse technical talent
- Drive operational excellence in deploying and maintaining large-scale personalization systems
- Influence cross-team technical decisions and contribute to broader organizational strategy
- Champion best practices in ML engineering, including experimentation, testing, and monitoring
ABOUT AUDIBLE
Audible is the leading producer and provider of audio storytelling. We spark listeners’ imaginations, offering immersive, cinematic experiences full of inspiration and insight to enrich our customers daily lives. We are a global company with an entrepreneurial spirit. We are dreamers and inventors who are passionate about the positive impact Audible can make for our customers and our neighbors. This spirit courses throughout Audible, supporting a culture of creativity and inclusion built on our People Principles and our mission to build more equitable communities in the cities we call home.
Basic Qualifications
- Experience building and operating large-scale ML/recommendation systems in production
- Technical background in distributed systems, data processing, and ML infrastructure
- Track record of delivering complex technical projects through effective team leadership
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field
Preferred Qualifications
- Track record of building and growing high-performing engineering teams
- Strong understanding of ML development lifecycle and operational excellence
- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS) and modern ML frameworks
- Excellent communication skills with ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders
- History of mentoring and developing technical talent
- Experience with A/B testing and metrics-driven development
- This role helps fulfill our mission of personalizing every customer interaction by building systems that surface contextuallyrelevant, time-sensitive, individualized, diverse and fresh recommendations throughout their journey on Audible
Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please visit https://www.amazon.jobs/en/disability/us.
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Audible Success Profile
Audible is built on a strong foundation as an Amazon subsidiary, so you’ll get to leverage all of Amazon's technologies while still being on a small team with an entrepreneurial spirit. We’re looking for someone who knows how to use data to provide our customers with engaging and inspiring experiences.
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- Curious You are open to others’ perspectives and ideas. When faced with challenges, you stay inquisitive, collaborating and testing different approaches.
- Imaginative You imagine freely and support your colleagues’ own imagining. You ask “What if…?” and employ original thinking in your work.
- Customer Centric You are passionate about creating delightful experiences. Whether you’re working with creators, customers, or colleagues you aim to exceed their expectations in every way.
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- Inventive You express ideas and navigate complex and ambiguous situations in novel ways, even creating new paradigms or structures for others to follow.
- Socially Conscious You’re mindful of the impact we have on each other and apply empathy into your work with colleagues, communities, and customers.
- Effective Communicator By adapting complex information for your audience, you’re able to foster collaboration and have a positive impact on outcomes
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What we can offer you
We are a community of brilliant minds, brimming with fresh ideas and working shoulder to shoulder to achieve greatness. And because of this, we think it’s only fair that we offer some nice little perks to everyone who goes the extra mile at Audible.
Flexible Work
We promote flexibility in how and where we work with our Hub+Home hybrid workplace model.
Health
Dental and vision plans, life insurance, and the medical plan options that suit individual needs.
Savings
Plan for your future with employer-matched savings accounts.
Stock
We grant our employees restricted stock units, because we want them to think and act like owners.
Time Off
We love what we do but everyone needs the opportunity to hit the refresh button. Take advantage of vacation days, sick days, and personal days to rejuvenate.
Community
We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive culture and community. Audible’s Impact Groups encourage an environment where you can be you, and bring your whole self to work.
Amazon Discount
As part of the Amazon family, Audible employees are entitled to a discount on products on Amazon.
Learning & Development
We want to help you grow with learning and development programs, leadership training and tuition reimbursement.
Be Customer Obsessed
Imagine & Invent Before They Ask
Articulate The Possible & Move Fast To Make It Real
Study & Draw Inspiration From Culture & Technology
Activate Caring
Audible's People Principles celebrate who we are and where we've been, and guide the way we work shoulder to shoulder to enhance the lives of our millions of customers around the world. They reflect and apply to everyone who works at Audible—the entrepreneurs and operators, the dreamers and the doers, those who have worked here for 25 years and those who have arrived in the past few weeks and months.
View all Our People Principles
Community Impact
At Audible, we seek to exemplify what a company can mean beyond what it does. We recruit and cultivate local talent, and we drive forward a wide range of initiatives focused on returning Newark to its roots as a hub of innovation. Our global offices embrace the same principle, and our employees around the world volunteer and serve in their communities in addition to seeding and growing the local creative economy.
Learn more
Location Benefits
Our Newark office is at the heart of the audio revolution. We stay inspired by visiting creatives, guest speakers, professional development, and community engagement. We fuel our ideas with daily catered lunch and then take in local culture or hang out with colleagues at weekly happy hours. Getting here is easy with free parking or transit perks, and employees who move to the neighborhood enjoy our monthly Live Local housing subsidy.
Learn more
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