Engineering Manager, ML Recommendations

Engineering Manager, Recommendations Retrieval

Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy Inc. employee, whether a team member of Etsy or Depop, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human.

Salary Range:

$ - $

We are looking for an Engineering Manager to lead the Recommendations Retrieval team s team owns the core retrieval algorithms that power Etsy's recommendation surfaces, helping buyers discover unique items they'll love across the homepage, listing pages, cart, and beyond. As we invest in next-generation retrieval capabilities, you'll guide the team through scaling our candidate generation systems, modernizing our retrieval stack, and integrating machine learning to improve personalization and relevance at scale.

You will lead a talented group of engineers and applied scientists responsible for building and operating the systems that generate high-quality, personalized candidates for Etsy's recommendation models. This is a high-impact opportunity to shape the foundation of how Etsy connects buyers with the items and sellers they'll love most.

This is a full-time position reporting to the Director of Engineering, Recommendations. In addition to salary, you will also be eligible for an equity package, an annual performance bonus, and our competitive benefits that support you and your family as part of your total rewards package at Etsy.

The Recommendations Retrieval team sits within the Recommendations organization and provides the foundational retrieval layer that powers Etsy's recommendation experiences across the marketplace. Our mission is to build fast, scalable, and intelligent candidate generation systems that surface the most relevant and personalized items for every buyer at global scale.

This team is responsible for:

• Building personalized discovery experiences by owning the candidate generation and retrieval systems that power Etsy's homepage feed, listing-page recommendations, and cross-sell surfaces, with a deep focus on understanding individual buyer intent and taste.
• Advancing user understanding and personalization by developing and scaling models that capture buyer behavior, preferences, and context
• Transforming retrieval into a discovery engine by leveraging LLMs and generative AI to move beyond traditional candidate generation enabling serendipitous, intent-aware discovery experiences that surface unexpected and inspiring items for buyers
• Partnering closely with applied scientists, Ranking, ML Platform, and Data Engineering teams to co-develop user understanding models, integrate personalization signals, and bring new discovery experiences to life at scale.

You'll help define the roadmap for Etsy's recommendations retrieval systems, balancing operational excellence, developer velocity, and innovation in ML-powered retrieval.

Qualities that will help you thrive in this role are:

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Proven experience in large-scale retrieval, recommendation, or search systems, with a strong background in candidate generation, ANN/vector search, or ML-powered personalization.
• 2+ years of experience leading engineering teams, ideally in real-time recommendation, search, or ads systems.
• Familiarity with modern retrieval and ranking techniques, including neural retrieval, two-tower models, and transformer-based embeddings and architectures.
• Experience with system performance optimization, caching strategies, and scaling high-throughput, low-latency services.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills; capable of bridging technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Track record of driving complex technical projects from conception to launch while maintaining a high bar for quality and reliability.
• Proven people leadership in high-stakes, fast-moving environments, remaining steady and solutions-oriented through shifting priorities and ambiguous direction

What's Next If you're interested in joining the team at Etsy, please share your resume with us and feel free to include a cover letter if you'd like. As we hope you've seen already, Etsy is a place that values individuality and variety. We don't want you to be like everyone else -- we want you to be like you! So tell us what you're all about.

Our Promise At Etsy, we believe that a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace furthers relevance, resilience, and longevity. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. Etsy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or veteran…