Software Engineer II - Central Machine Learning

About Us:

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 encounter. The journeys you take. The sights you see. And the memories you make. Through our products, partners and people, we make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

Leadership/Team Quote:

The mission of the Ranking Platform team is to drive long-term booking growth through ranking by balancing between customers, partners, and marketplace objectives and to provide standard ranking capabilities across Booking.com, utilizing cutting-edge AI/ML. Our primary goal is to help customers find the best place to stay and build a highly personalized travel experience, all while accommodating the unique challenges which makes Booking.com the industry leader it is today.

Ranking Platform is the highest-scale AI/ML-based platform in Booking.com, serving up to hundreds of thousands of requests per second within strict latency requirements. With such high traffic, every small change can lead to a significant impact on customers. As a Software Engineer working on the platform, you have the opportunity to be responsible for the development, performance, and scaling of Booking.com’s search ranking system. You will work within a cross-functional team of senior engineers, data scientists and ML engineers.

Role Description:

The software engineer plays a central role in managing, coaching, and fostering the growth of an engineering team. Their primary focus is to ensure that the development of both individual team members and the team as a whole aligns seamlessly with organizational objectives and direction. The Engineering Manager in Ranking Platform will be responsible to define, own and implement the roadmap of the team. He bears responsibility for the repercussions of the team's technical decisions and trade-offs, aiming to establish standard methodologies and maintain high quality and optimize throughput.

Key Job Responsibilities and Duties:

• Implement innovative ML models, algorithms, and engineering approaches with the potential to impact our core business.
• Service ownership - ensure operational excellence in a fast-paced and complex environment, troubleshoot performance issues and own technical incident management.
• Collaborate with various teams to integrate ranking innovations into the search results funnel.
• Build readable and reusable code, applying in depth knowledge of business area tools and product needs.
  
  

Qualifications & Skills:

• At least 5 years of hands-on experience in software development.
• Relevant experience working on high-scale distributed systems that impact a large customer base.
• Experience with Java, Scala or Kotlin as a server side programming language.
• Demonstrated experience with technologies such as Kubernetes, Docker, MySQL and Redis.
• BSc or MSc or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Engineering or a related field, or equal industry experience.
• Experience working in cross-functional teams and development of AI/ML products. Advantage.
  
  

Benefits & Perks: Global Impact, Personal Relevance

Booking.com’s Total Rewards Philosophy is not only about compensation but also about benefits. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, as well unique-to-Booking.com benefits which include:

• 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 - up to 1400 per year - for yourself, including automatic Genius Level 3 status and Booking.com wallet credit
• Contributing to a high scale, complex, world renowned product and seeing real-time impact of your work on millions of travelers worldwide
• Working in a fast-paced and performance driven culture
• Opportunity to utilize technical expertise, leadership capabilities and entrepreneurial spirit
• Promote and drive impactful and innovative engineering solutions
• Technical, behavioral and interpersonal competence advancement via on-the-job opportunities, experimental projects, hackathons, conferences and active community participation
• Competitive compensation and benefits package and some great added perks of working in the home city of Booking.com
  
  

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at Booking.com:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 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 build an outstanding 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 ensure that colleagues with disabilities are provided the adjustments and tools they need to participate in the job application and interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

Application Process:

• Let’s go places together: How we Hire
• This role does not come with relocation assistance.
  
  

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.

Pre-Employment Screening

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.