Machine Learning Engineering Manager - Gen AI Foundation

About booking.com

At Booking.com, data drives our decisions. Technology is at our core. And innovation is everywhere. But our company is more than datasets, lines of code or A/B tests. We’re the thrill of the first night in a new place. The excitement of the next morning. The friends you make. The journeys you take. The sights you see. And the food you sample. Through our products, partners and people, we can empower everyone to experience the world.

With over 1.6 million room nights booked every day, accommodation represents the largest share of our business to date. We are responsible for accommodation growth, with clear ownership of all marketing, product and supply related to accommodations.  Our mission is to deliver the best customer experience and most varied selection of properties.

As a Machine Learning Manager you are a leader of your team, who generates significant business impact directly and indirectly by working through others. You lead by example, gaining respect through actions, not your title. Developing your team and motivating them to achieve their goals. Providing feedback timely and managing your key team performance indicators. You make things happen by maintaining motivation and conveying a sense of urgency, focusing on outcomes and accomplishments, while respecting the need to balance long- and short-term goals, by applying influencing techniques and decision making skills.

Our Machine Learning Platform is behind what makes Booking able to deliver personal experiences and you will be a part of its development helping to support multiple areas of the business as they use ML to address some of the hardest problems that we face, from detecting fraud to recommending which properties you should check for your next stay.

Our Gen AI Foundation team is responsible for developing the tools and infrastructure within the ML platform. Our primary objective is to solve business challenges by creating innovative and advanced Gen AI applications. These applications are designed to cater to the needs of both internal and external users.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Build a strong team within their area, by coaching and developing individual contributors
• Prioritize work in collaboration with Product Managers, depending on business needs and keeping stakeholders aligned at all times.
• Translate machine learning vision and strategy into planning and execution, and ensure timely delivery of the plans.
• Translate business problems into viable, reliable and robust ML and AI solutions, accounting for constraints of the production environment.
• Monitor product health, performance and business impact and act accordingly when requirements are not met.
• Identify underlying issues and opportunities across domains and situations that are not obviously related through application of structured thinking and logic.
• Solve issues by applying methods and insights gained from a variety of disciplines, navigating a variety of environments.
• Drives, coaches and mentors others through evidence and clear communication, explaining advanced technical concepts in simpler terms.
• Continuously evolve their craft. Keep up to date with industry and academic standard methodologies, periodically explore new technologies, introduce them to the machine learning community and promote their application in areas where they can generate impact.
• Actively contribute to Machine Learning at Booking.com through training, exploration of new technologies, interviewing,onboarding and mentoring colleagues.
• Push for improvements, scaling and extending machine learning tooling and infrastructure, collaborating with central teams. 

What You'll Bring:

• 8+ years of relevant work experience including 2+ years leading a team of a minimum of 4 people in a fast-paced production environment.
• Experience collaborating cross functionally in the development of machine learning products (e.g. Developers, UX specialists, Product Managers, etc.).
• Advanced knowledge and experience in areas like e.g. Generative AI, MLOps, Recommender Systems, Deep Learning, etc]
• Demonstrable experience of multiple machine learning facets, such as working with large data sets, experimentation, scalability and optimization.
• Experience designing and executing end-to-end technical roadmaps.
• Successfully driving technical, business and people related initiatives that improve productivity, performance and quality while communicating with stakeholders at all levels
• Experience with data-driven product development: analytics, A/B testing, etc.
• Strong skills and working experience with at least two server-side programming languages; Python or Java specific knowledge is an advantage.
• Working experience with version control systems.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal.
• You have a ‘can do’ demeanor and you act proactively and not reactively.
• Excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal.
• You are required to live within a commutable distance from your assigned office location

Benefits & Perks: Global Impact, Personal Relevance

Booking.com’s Total Rewards Philosophy is not only about compensation but also about benefits. Our Total Rewards strive to make it easier for you to experience all that life has to offer on your terms so that you can focus on what really matters. We offer competitive compensation as well as thoughtful, valuable, and even fun benefits which include:

• Headquarters located in one of the most dynamic and cosmopolitan cities in Europe: Amsterdam.
• Contribute to a high scale, sophisticated, world-class product and see the real time impact of your work on millions of travelers worldwide.
• Be part of a truly international fast paced environment and performance driven culture.
• Full relocation support for you and your family to move to Amsterdam. We have fine-tuned this process by successfully relocating over 300 Technology professionals to Amsterdam in the last year alone!
• Performance-based company that offers 29 vacation days, career advancement, and lucrative compensation, including bonuses and stock potential.
• Discount on Booking.com accommodations with the “Booking Deal” including other perks and benefits.
• Company-sponsored family and social activities to help our employees become integrated with each other and Dutch culture.
• Diverse and creative colleagues from every corner of the world.
• Health, life, and disability insurance*
• Annual paid time off and generous paid leave scheme including: parent, grandparent, bereavement, and care leave.
• Hybrid working including flexible working arrangements, and up to 20 days per year working from abroad (home country).
• Industry leading product discounts for yourself, friends, and family, including automatic Genius Level 3 status and quarterly Booking.com wallet credit.
• Free access to online learning platforms, development and mentorship programs, and a complimentary Headspace membership
• On-site meals, coffee, and snacks, including healthy and vegan options, daily*

#ThinkInclusion: Wellbeing & Inclusion at Booking.com:

Inclusion, Diversity, Belonging, Wellbeing and Volunteering (IDBWV) have been a core part of our company culture since day one. This ongoing journey starts with our very own employees, who represent over 140 nationalities and a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations.

Take it from our Chief People Officer, Paulo Pisano: “At Booking.com, the diversity of our people doesn’t just create a unique workplace, it also creates a better and more inclusive travel experience for everyone. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. It’s a place where you can make your mark and have a real impact in travel and tech.”

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustment to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

Booking.com is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We strive to move well beyond traditional equal opportunity and work to create an environment that allows everyone to thrive.