Senior Software Engineer, Applied Machine Learning (News Ranking)

About SmartNews

News can change the world, save lives, and bring us all closer together through empathy and understanding—but not if no one reads it. Out of the hundreds of millions of articles and posts, how do we deliver the information that matters the most?

Founded in 2012 in Tokyo, Japan, SmartNews is a leading global information and news discovery company dedicated to delivering quality information to the people who need it. We provide news that matters to millions of users thanks to our unique machine learning technology and relationships with over 3,000 global publisher partners. Our SmartNews app, available on iOS and Android, is already used in over 150 countries worldwide.

But we’re only just getting started, and that’s why we need someone like you.

Machine learning on news ranking is crucial for analyzing millions of articles every day to deliver the most engaging high-quality information in near-real-time while providing a "Personalized Discovery" experience to our users.

About Our Engineering Culture

Our engineers come from variety of backgrounds, from large, well-established companies to small ventures. We believe that employees with diverse sets of skills working together make for strong, cohesive teams.

Visit the People page on our careers site to read interviews of our engineering leaders!

Applied Machine Learning Engineer Responsibilities

Machine Learning engineers are responsible for tackling complex problems related to recommendation and optimization (search ranking, collaborative filtering, personalized recommendation, diversification, and more)

• Plan and execute engineering development of a state-of-the-art core-ranking system to provide a Personalized Discovery experience to millions of users

• Develop algorithms and model architecture to deepen understanding of article contents as well as user behaviors

• Collaborate closely with global cross-functional teams to support new product feature development

• Work closely with software engineers to enhance systems related to news features (articles, pages, channels, search, etc.) using Machine Learning technology, providing high-quality user experience and increasing user engagement

• Initiate, plan, and execute mid to large size projects that benefit the core user engagement metrics

• Mentor and coach junior Machine Learning Engineers

• Proactively contribute to system improvements that result in direct user impact through innovation and creative thinking

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• BS degree or above in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Science (physics or mathematics), or other relevant majors

• 3+ years experience with prediction, optimization, or other relevant systems for the online web service (e.g content recommendation, online advertisement, search optimization, etc.)

• Experience impacting overall business through machine learning, deep learning, or mathematical optimization (e.g achieving increase user's time-spent in the service, etc.)

• Familiar with architecture and implementation mechanism of at least one mainstream machine learning programming framework (TensorFlow/Pytorch/MXNet/etc.)

• Experience with and interest in leading and mentoring engineers

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with several of the following ML libraries: Tensorflow, xgboost, Keras, PyTorch, scikit-learn, pandas, numpy, etc.

• Knowledge of developing and debugging in Java and Spring-boot

• Experience with Hadoop/Hive/Spark/Flink/AWS

• Business-level proficiency in English

Benefits

Perks and Benefits at the SmartNews Tokyo Office

• Support program for employee’s self-development and well-being

• Healthy lunches are prepared on-site daily in our SmartKitchen, located in our West Office building. You can even see the cooks at work!

• Need a pick-me-up? Stop by ChikyuCoffee, our in-house coffee shop located in both the East and West Office buildings, and get a cup of gourmet coffee, espresso-based beverage, or other seasonal drink!

• SmartNews provides all healthcare and social insurance benefits required by Japanese labor law

Visa Sponsorship and Relocation Support

For candidates who meet eligibility requirements, SmartNews can sponsor visas.

To support a smooth transition for candidates who are moving to Japan from overseas, SmartNews partners with a travel service provider.