Social

SimBot Challenge FAQs

Frequently asked questions about the challenge.
General
General
What is the Alexa Prize?
Alexa is Amazon’s cloud-based voice service available on over 100 million devices from Amazon and third-party device manufacturers. With Alexa, you can build natural voice experiences that offer customers a more intuitive way to interact with the technology they use every day. Our collection of tools, APIs, reference solutions, and documentation makes it easy for anyone to build with Alexa.
Why did Amazon create the Alexa Prize?
The Alexa Prize, an annual university competition dedicated to accelerating the field of conversational artificial intelligence (AI), was created to recognize students from around the globe who are changing the way we interact with technology. The goal is to advance several areas of conversational AI including natural language understanding (NLU), context modeling, dialog management, commonsense reasoning, natural language generation (NLG), and knowledge acquisition.
How does the Alexa Prize support research?
The Alexa Prize is a research testbed for university students to experiment with and advance conversational AI at scale.

Research teams own the intellectual property (IP) in their systems and are encouraged to publish scientific articles on their work. As described in the Official Rules, participating teams grant Amazon a non-exclusive license to any technology or software they develop in connection with the competition.
What new datasets will I have access to as part of the Alexa Prize?
The TEACh dataset as well as a training dataset proprietary to the live interaction portion of the SimBot Challenge will be available to competitors in each phase.
SimBot
What is the SimBot Challenge?
SimBot, a competition focused on helping advance development of next-generation virtual assistants that will assist humans in completing real-world tasks by continuously learning, and gaining the ability to perform commonsense reasoning.

The SimBot Challenge will have two phases: A public benchmark phase, and a live interactions phase. Participants in both phases will build machine-learning models for natural language understanding, human-robot interaction, and robotic task completion. Artificial intelligence challenges addressed in the competition relate to reasoning on language and scene understanding, learning from demonstration, self-learning, and task completion utilizing natural language.

Unlike previous Alexa Prize competitions, the public benchmark challenge phase will be open to university teams, as well as individuals in academia and industry interested in advancing the science of AI and engaging top researchers from around the globe. The SimBot Challenge public benchmark phase is like existing visual language navigation competitions.
What is the difference between the Public Benchmark Challenge and the Live Interaction Challenge?
The Public Benchmark Challenge is open to any individual or team, academic or industry, who wants to complete and submit a model for evaluation and rating during the evaluation period. It is based on the TEACh dataset offered to the research community in October, 2021. The Live Interaction Period’s participation is limited solely to the university-based teams selected for the SimBot Challenge in November 2021 and June, 2022. These teams will each receive Amazon sponsorship to build a SimBot that will compete in a challenge from July, 2022 to September 2022 where they will receive real time ratings and feedback from Alexa Users.
Why is the SimBot - Live Interaction Challenge only limited to university teams?
The SimBot Challenge - live interaction phase is part of the Alexa Prize which is currently limited to universities and university students in Amazon initiatives to advance AI. However, the Public Benchmarking Challenge is open to both academic and university-based teams.
What will my SimBot do?
SimBot will navigate in a virtual environment to complete challenges guided by Alexa users. SimBot will interact with objects in the environment including but not limited to those common to offices and homes. There will be obstacles and hazards introduced to make game play fun and challenging.
How will I build my SimBot?
SimBots will use images from the game and instructions from Alexa users to navigate in a virtual world. Teams will build AI models which recognize objects and scenes as well as understand natural language commands from users. We plan to provide baseline data and a baseline model as a reference but we expect teams to develop new and novel approaches as well as augment the provided data to improve performance.
Eligibility: Public Benchmark Challenge
Phase 1, SimBot challenge
Who is eligible to participate in the public benchmark challenge?
Any individual or team, academic or industry-based.
How do I sign up to participate in the public benchmark challenge?
A registration form will open on November 15, 2021 at alexaprize.com.
Is funding available to university teams competing in the public benchmark challenge?
No, funding is only available to university teams selected to participate in the SimBot Challenge. In addition to the teams selected in 2021 up to four new, high-performing teams from the public benchmark challenge will be invited to apply for the SimBot challenge, live interaction phase for which funding is available. Learn more here.
Who can apply to participate?
Any individual or team can register and participate in the public benchmark phase with exception of parties from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the region of Crimea.

Registration for the public benchmark challenge will open November 15, 2021. The challenge will begin on January 10, 2022.
Do I need to be a certain age?
Participants must be at or above the age of majority in the country, state, province or jurisdiction of residence at the time of registration.
Can I enroll if a family member is an Amazon employee?
Immediate family members and household members of Amazon employees, directors and contractors are not eligible to participate.
Eligibility: SimBot Challenge
Includes sponsored teams for both Public Benchmark and Live Interaction phases
Who can apply to participate?
The Alexa Prize is open to full-time students enrolled in an accredited university, with the exception of universities in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the region of Crimea (see Official Rules). Proof of enrollment will be required to participate.
Can I participate if I don’t attend a university?
No. The Alexa Prize is open only to full-time enrolled university students.
Do I need to be enrolled in a university program throughout the duration of the competition?
All participating team members must remain full-time students in good standing at their university while participating in the competition.
Do I need to be a certain age?
Participants must be at or above the age of majority in the country, state, province or jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry.
Can I enroll if a family member is an Amazon employee?
Immediate family members and household members of Amazon employees, directors and contractors are not eligible to participate. See Official Rules for additional restrictions.
If my team fails to apply for the SimBot Challenge now, will there be any future opportunities to compete in the Live Interaction challenge?
Yes, the initial application period run from October 4-31, 2021. In addition to the teams selected in 2021 up to four new, high-performing university teams from the public benchmark challenge will be invited to apply for the SimBot challenge, live interaction phase for which funding is available. Learn more here.
Will university teams selected post-Public Benchmark Challenge be eligible for funding and for what amount?
Teams selected for the SimBot Challenge in June, 2022 will be eligible for funding.
If my team was not selected during the first application period are we eligible to re-apply in may if we qualify?
Yes. University-based teams that participate in the public benchmark phase are eligible to re-apply for the SimBot challenge between May 9 - 23, 2022. Four new, high-performing university teams from the public benchmark challenge will be invited to apply for the SimBot challenge, live interaction phase for which funding is available. Learn more here.
My team is not completely comprised of university students but we perform well in the public benchmark challenge? Is there an opportunity for us to continue in the competition?
Yes, we plan to continue the public benchmark competition through the end of 2022.
My company does collaborative work with several universities, are we eligible to compete in the live interaction challenge alongside them?
No, only full-time students are eligible to participate in the SimBot challenge, which includes the live interaction period.
My university and another frequently collaborate on projects - is there any exception to the students all enrolled in one university rule?
Applications are limited to students all from the same, single, university.
Teams
How many teams will be selected to participate?
All applications will be reviewed and evaluated by a panel of Amazon experts. Up to ten teams will be selected and sponsored by Amazon. All teams selected in November, 2021 will receive a $250,000 grant while those selected in June, 2022 will receive a $200,000 grant intended to support two full-time students, a month of faculty time, free Alexa devices, and free AWS hosting including access to CPU and GPU based machines, SQL and NoSQL databases, and object storage. See the Official Rules for details.
How many team members can our team have?
There are no minimum or maximum team member requirements. All team members must be enrolled in their university throughout the duration of the competition. All teams will receive a $250,000 grant if selected in November 2021 or a $200,000 grant if selected in June, 2022 regardless of how many members are on the team. We recommend a team with 4-6 students with diverse fields of study or areas of expertise.
Can students from different universities be on the same team?
Teams must be comprised of students attending the same university.
Can one university have more than one team?
Yes, universities may have more than one team.
Can I participate on two separate teams?
You can only be a part of one team for the duration of the competition.
Can undergraduate and graduate students work together?
Yes, teams may be comprised of undergraduate and graduate students.
Do I need a faculty advisor?
All teams must nominate a faculty advisor and include the faculty advisor’s consent in the applications.
What is the role of the faculty advisor?
Faculty advisors will advise students on technical directions and be a sounding board for new ideas, similar to a graduate school advisor. They will also act as the official representative from the university for this competition.
Can we add or remove team members during the competition?
During the competition, faculty advisors may request to remove or add members to the team, subject to approval by Amazon.
Can we discuss our SimBot with faculty or students who aren’t on our team?
Only team members may work on their SimBot. However, the faculty advisor and other students and faculty members at your university may provide support and advice to your team and may co-author technical publications and research papers.
Application process
How do we apply?
Check the SimBot page for the latest update on applications.
What do we need to apply?
Once you have selected your team members, team leader, and faculty sponsor, you are ready to begin the application process.
Do all team members have to apply?
Each team must have a team lead, who should apply on behalf of the whole team. Your application must include all of your team members’ information.
Is there an application fee?
There is no application fee.
How will teams be selected to participate?
All applications will be reviewed by a panel of Amazon employees. Teams will be selected based on the following criteria: (1) the potential scientific contribution to the field; (2) the technical merit of the approach; (3) the novelty of the idea; and (4) an assessment of the team’s ability to execute against their plan. Please be sure to provide enough detail in your application to enable our experts to evaluate your proposal.
Competition details
What is the goal of the challenge?
To develop AI models which advance the state of the art and allow users to naturally interact with a robotic assistant in a virtual world to successfully complete a range of challenges.
How will winners be selected?
Winners will be determined based on the final standings at the completion of the finals period.
Can we use other funding to help us participate in this challenge?
Yes, you may use other funding to support your team, subject to the terms described in the Official Rules. External funding will need to be disclosed by January 1, 2023.
Will Alexa customers be able to engage with our SimBot?
Your team will be required to submit its SimBot for certification and publication by the Amazon Alexa team. After certification, you will enter the Internal Amazon Beta Period, where Amazon employees will test your SimBot and provide feedback. After the Internal Amazon Beta Period, we will allow Amazon Alexa customers to try your SimBot and provide feedback to you. Amazon may impose Availability Criteria, or requirements the SimBot must meet before it will be made available to Alexa users. Availability Criteria may include criteria such as a minimum average customer rating, uptime requirements, and an ability to consistently filter offensive content.
Amazon launched the Echo in the UK, Germany, India, Japan, and other countries. Will localized languages be supported?
Your team must build its SimBot using U.S. English. Your SimBot will be available to Alexa customers in the U.S. Customers in other countries may also access it by setting their Amazon PFM (Preferred Marketplace) to U.S.
Will we publish our research from the Alexa Prize?
Yes. Publishing research papers as an outcome of your work on the Alexa Prize is required for all teams participating in the competition, although teams should not publish Amazon confidential information, as described in the Official Rules. The Alexa Prize requires all teams to submit a technical paper for the Alexa Prize proceedings. Your SimBot will not be selected for the finals if your team does not submit a technical paper for Alexa Prize proceedings. Papers will be published at the end of the competition in an online Proceedings of the Alexa Prize, which will be publicly available.

Teams may also publish research papers in third-party publications and conferences, as long as all papers are provided to Amazon for review at least two weeks before the submission deadlines and no research papers are published before the Alexa Prize proceedings are published without Amazon’s prior approval.
Who will own the intellectual property rights in my submission?
You will retain ownership over your SimBot. Amazon will have a non-exclusive license to any technology or software you develop in connection with the competition. See the Official Rules for details.
Prizes
What are the prizes for winning the competition?
A prize of $500,000 will be awarded to the team that creates the best SimBot. The second-place and third-place finalist teams will receive a $100,000 and a $50,000 prize, respectively. See the contest rules for details.
Do we get a stipend and devices to participate in the Alexa Prize?
Up to ten teams will be sponsored to participate in the Alexa Prize in November, 2021. These teams’ universities will receive a $250,000 research grant to fund the team members’ work over the year. Additional teams selected to participate in the SimBot Live Interaction challenge in June, 2022 will receive a $200,000 research grant to fund the team members’ work over the year.

The sponsorship includes one Alexa-enabled device per team member for up to a total of three devices per team and one Alexa-enabled device per faculty advisor, free AWS services to support the development of their SimBot, and support from the Alexa team.
How can the grant be spent?
The grants will be awarded with the intention that they will support two full-time students for the duration of the Competition and one month of the Faculty Advisor’s salary. No more than 35% of the research grants may be allocated to administrative fees. If your team would like to use the funds in another manner, your faculty advisor must receive approval from Amazon before doing so.
What happens if we are selected and receive a stipend but can no longer participate?
Stipends will be awarded in installments payable to the university. If your team withdraws before any of the installments, remaining funds will not be transferred to the university.
How will the prizes be distributed among a team?
The first, second, and third place prizes will be distributed equally among all registered team members. The official list of registered team members must be confirmed by January 30, 2023.
Timeline
What are the key milestones of the competition?
Teams must submit their applications between October 1, 2021 and October 31, 2021. Between November 1 and November 10, 2021, we will announce teams selected to participate. In the summer of 2022 following the public benchmark phase and the second application period teams will be invited to an Alexa Prize Bootcamp at Amazon where they will receive training on the resources made available to all competing teams. The finals will be scheduled between January 30 and March 27, 2023 and will determine the winning teams in the first annual SimBot Challenge.
If selected, when will we receive the stipend, devices, access to the Alexa Prize SimBot toolkit, our AWS account, and be introduced to our point of contact?
We will reach out to all teams no later than November 10, 2021 with instructions on next steps. Up to ten teams will be selected to receive a $250,000 stipend, Alexa-enabled devices, free AWS services to support their development efforts, and support from the Alexa team.
More information
See the full competition rules or submit your questions. Need assistance? Email: alexaprizesupport@amazon.com

Latest news

The latest updates, stories, and more about Alexa Prize.
  • knowledge-graph.png._CB453975899_.png
    Innovations from the 2018 Alexa Prize
    Behnam Hedayatnia
    March 5, 2019
    The 2018 Alexa Prize featured eight student teams from four countries, each of which adopted distinctive approaches to some of the central technical questions in conversational AI. We survey those approaches in a paper we released late last year, and the teams themselves go into even greater detail in the papers they submitted to the latest Alexa Prize Proceedings. Here, we touch on just a few of the teams’ innovations.
    Conversational AI
  • CoBot_architecture.jpg._CB453492855_.jpg
    AI tools let Alexa Prize participants focus on science
    Anushree Venkatesh
    February 27, 2019
    To ensure that Alexa Prize contestants can concentrate on dialogue systems — the core technology of socialbots — Amazon scientists and engineers built a set of machine learning modules that handle fundamental conversational tasks and a development environment that lets contestants easily mix and match existing modules with those of their own design.
    Conversational AI

Work with us

See more jobs See more jobs
Applied Scientist, Artificial General Intelligence
US, CA, Sunnyvale
The Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) team is looking for a passionate, talented, and inventive Applied Scientist with a strong deep learning background, to help build industry-leading technology with generative AI (GenAI) and multi-modal systems. Key job responsibilities As an Applied Scientist with the AGI team, you will work with talented peers to develop algorithms and modeling techniques to advance the state of the art with multi-modal systems. Your work will directly impact our customers in the form of products and services that make use of vision and language technology. You will leverage Amazon’s large-scale computing resources to accelerate development with multi-modal Large Language Models (LLMs) and GenAI in Computer Vision. About the team The AGI team has a mission to push the envelope with multimodal LLMs and GenAI in Computer Vision, in order to provide the best-possible experience for our customers.
Applied Science Manager, Frontier AI Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
Do you want to create intelligent, adaptable robots with global impact? We are seeking an experienced Applied Science Manager to lead a team of talented applied scientists and software engineers developing and deploying advanced manipulation strategies and algorithms. You will drive innovation that enables manipulation in high-contact, high-density, and diverse conditions with the speed and reliability that will delight our customers. Collaborating with cross-functional teams across hardware, software, and science, you will deliver reliable and high-performing solutions that will scale across geographies, applications, and conditions. You should enjoy the process of solving real-world problems that, quite frankly, haven’t been solved at scale anywhere before. Along the way, we guarantee you’ll get opportunities to be a disruptor, prolific innovator, and a reputed problem solver—someone who truly enables robotics to significantly impact the lives of millions of consumers. A day in the life - Prioritize being a great people manager: motivating, rewarding, and coaching your diverse team is the most important part of this role. You will recruit and retain top talent and excel in people and performance management tasks. - Set a vision for the team and create the technical roadmap that deliver results for customers while thinking big for future applications. - Guide the research, design, deployment, and evaluation of complex motion planning and control algorithms for contact-rich, cluttered, real-world manipulation problems. - Work closely with perception, hardware, and software teams to create integrated robotic solutions that are better than the sum of their parts. - Implement best practices in applied research and software development, managing project timelines, resources, and deliverables effectively. Amazon offers a full range of benefits for you and eligible family members, including domestic partners and their children. Benefits can vary by location, the number of regularly scheduled hours you work, length of employment, and job status such as seasonal or temporary employment. The benefits that generally apply to regular, full-time employees include: 1. Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage 2. Maternity and Parental Leave Options 3. Paid Time Off (PTO) 4. 401(k) Plan If you are not sure that every qualification on the list above describes you exactly, we'd still love to hear from you! At Amazon, we value people with unique backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets. If you’re passionate about this role and want to make an impact on a global scale, please apply!
Intern - Economics (STRUC)
US, WA, Seattle
Amazon Economics is seeking Structural Economist (STRUC) Interns who are passionate about applying structural econometric methods to solve real-world business challenges. STRUC economists specialize in the econometric analysis of models that involve the estimation of fundamental preferences and strategic effects. In this full-time internship (40 hours per week, with hourly compensation), you'll work with large-scale datasets to model strategic decision-making and inform business optimization, gaining hands-on experience that's directly applicable to dissertation writing and future career placement. Key job responsibilities As a STRUC Economist Intern, you'll specialize in structural econometric analysis to estimate fundamental preferences and strategic effects in complex business environments. Your responsibilities include: - Analyze large-scale datasets using structural econometric techniques to solve complex business challenges - Applying discrete choice models and methods, including logistic regression family models (such as BLP, nested logit) and models with alternative distributional assumptions - Utilizing advanced structural methods including dynamic models of customer or firm decisions over time, applied game theory (entry and exit of firms), auction models, and labor market models - Building datasets and performing data analysis at scale - Collaborating with economists, scientists, and business leaders to develop data-driven insights and strategic recommendations - Tackling diverse challenges including pricing analysis, competition modeling, strategic behavior estimation, contract design, and marketing strategy optimization - Helping business partners formalize and estimate business objectives to drive optimal decision-making and customer value - Build and refine comprehensive datasets for in-depth structural economic analysis - Present complex analytical findings to business leaders and stakeholders
Intern - Economics (RFCA)
US, WA, Seattle
Amazon Economics is seeking Reduced Form Causal Analysis (RFCA) Economist Interns who are passionate about applying econometric methods to solve real-world business challenges. RFCA represents the largest group of economists at Amazon, and these core econometric methods are fundamental to economic analysis across the company. In this full-time internship (40 hours per week, with hourly compensation), you'll work with large-scale datasets to analyze causal relationships and inform strategic business decisions, gaining hands-on experience that's directly applicable to dissertation writing and future career placement. Key job responsibilities As an RFCA Economist Intern, you'll specialize in econometric analysis to determine causal relationships in complex business environments. Your responsibilities include: - Analyze large-scale datasets using advanced econometric techniques to solve complex business challenges - Applying econometric techniques such as regression analysis, binary variable models, cross-section and panel data analysis, instrumental variables, and treatment effects estimation - Utilizing advanced methods including differences-in-differences, propensity score matching, synthetic controls, and experimental design - Building datasets and performing data analysis at scale - Collaborating with economists, scientists, and business leaders to develop data-driven insights and strategic recommendations - Tackling diverse challenges including program evaluation, elasticity estimation, customer behavior analysis, and predictive modeling that accounts for seasonality and time trends - Build and refine comprehensive datasets for in-depth economic analysis - Present complex analytical findings to business leaders and stakeholders
Intern - Economics (FMF)
US, WA, Seattle
Amazon Economics is seeking Forecasting, Macroeconomics and Finance (FMF) Economist Interns who are passionate about applying time-series econometric methods to solve real-world business challenges. FMF economists interpret and forecast Amazon business dynamics by combining advanced time-series statistical methods with strong economic analysis and intuition. In this full-time internship (40 hours per week, with hourly compensation), you'll work with large-scale datasets to forecast business trends and inform strategic decisions, gaining hands-on experience that's directly applicable to dissertation writing and future career placement. Key job responsibilities As an FMF Economist Intern, you'll specialize in time-series econometric analysis to understand, predict, and optimize Amazon's business dynamics. Your responsibilities include: - Analyze large-scale datasets using advanced time-series econometric techniques to solve complex business challenges - Applying frontier methods in time series econometrics, including forecasting models, dynamic systems analysis, and econometric models that combine macro and micro data - Developing formal models to understand past and present business dynamics, predict future trends, and identify relevant risks and opportunities - Building datasets and performing data analysis at scale using world-class data tools - Collaborating with economists, scientists, and business leaders to develop data-driven insights and strategic recommendations - Tackling diverse challenges including analyzing drivers of growth and profitability, forecasting business metrics, understanding how customer experience interacts with external conditions, and evaluating short, medium, and long-term business dynamics - Build and refine comprehensive datasets for in-depth time-series economic analysis - Present complex analytical findings to business leaders and stakeholders
Research Scientist, Intelligent Talent Acquisition, Global Hiring Science
US, WA, Seattle
Do you want a role with deep meaning and the ability to have a global impact? Hiring top talent is not only critical to Amazon’s success – it can literally change the world. It took a lot of great hires to deliver innovations like AWS, Prime, and Alexa, which make life better for millions of customers around the world. As part of the Intelligent Talent Acquisition (ITA) team, you'll have the opportunity to reinvent Amazon’s hiring process with unprecedented scale, sophistication, and accuracy. ITA is an industry-leading people science and technology organization made up of scientists, engineers, analysts, product professionals, and more. Our shared goal is to fairly and precisely connect the right people to the right jobs. Last year, we delivered over 6 million online candidate assessments, driving a merit-based hiring approach that gives candidates the opportunity to showcase their true skills. Each year we also help Amazon deliver billions of packages around the world by making it possible to hire hundreds of thousands of associates in the right quantity, at the right location, at exactly the right time. You’ll work on state-of-the-art research with advanced software tools, new AI systems, and machine learning algorithms to solve complex hiring challenges. Join ITA in using cutting-edge technologies to transform the hiring landscape and make a meaningful difference in people's lives. Together, we can solve the world's toughest hiring problems. Within ITA, the Global Hiring Science (GHS) team designs and implements innovative hiring solutions at scale. We work in a fast-paced, global environment where we use research to solve complex problems and build scalable hiring products that deliver measurable impact to our customers. We are seeking selection researchers with a strong foundation in hiring assessment development, legally-defensible validation approaches, research and experimental design, and data analysis. Preferred candidates will have experience across the full hiring assessment lifecycle, from solution design to content development and validation to impact analysis. We are looking for equal parts researcher and consultant, who is able to influence customers with insights derived from science and data. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to design new hiring solutions and experiment with measurement methods intended to precisely define exactly what job success looks like and how best to predict it. Key job responsibilities What you’ll do as a GHS Research Scientist: • Design large-scale personnel selection research that shapes Amazon’s global talent assessment practices across a variety of topics (e.g., assessment validation, measuring post-hire impact) • Partner with key stakeholders to create innovative solutions that blend scientific rigor with real-world business impact while navigating complex legal and professional standards • Apply advanced statistical techniques to analyze massive, diverse datasets to uncover insights that optimize our candidate evaluation processes and drive hiring excellence • Explore emerging technologies and innovative methodologies to enhance talent measurement while maintaining Amazon's commitment to scientific integrity • Translate complex research findings into compelling, actionable strategies that influence senior leader/business decisions and shape Amazon's talent acquisition roadmap • Write impactful documents that distill intricate scientific concepts into clear, persuasive communications for diverse audiences, from data scientists to business leaders • Ensure effective teamwork, communication, collaboration, and commitment across multiple teams with competing priorities A day in the life Imagine diving into challenges that impact millions of employees across Amazon's global operations. As a GHS Research Scientist, you'll tackle questions about hiring and organizational effectiveness on a global scale. Your day might begin with analyzing datasets to inform how we attract and select world-class talent. Throughout the day, you'll collaborate with peers in our research community, discussing different research methodologies and sharing innovative approaches to solving unique personnel challenges. This role offers a blend of focused analytical time and interacting with stakeholders across the globe.
Senior Data Scientist, ADE Science
CA, BC, Vancouver
The Alexa Daily Essentials team delivers experiences critical to how customers interact with Alexa as part of daily life. Alexa users engage with our products across experiences connected to Timers, Alarms, Calendars, Food, and News. Our experiences include critical time saving techniques, ad-supported news audio and video, and in-depth kitchen guidance aimed at serving the needs of the family from sunset to sundown. As a Data Scientist on our team, you'll work with complex data, develop statistical methodologies, and provide critical product insights that shape how we build and optimize our solutions. You will work closely with your Analytics and Applied Science teammates. You will build frameworks and mechanisms to scale data solutions across our organization. If you are passionate about redefining how AI can improves everyone's daily life, we’d love to hear from you. Key job responsibilities Problem-Solving - Analyze complex data (including healthcare data, experimental data, and large-scale datasets) to identify patterns, inform product decisions, and understand root causes of anomalies. - Develop analysis and modeling approaches to drive product and engineering actions to identify patterns, insights, and understand root causes of anomalies. Your solutions directly improve the customer experience. - Independently work with product partners to identify problems and opportunities. Apply a range of data science techniques and tools to solve these problems. Use data driven insights to inform product development. Work with cross-disciplinary teams to mechanize your solution into scalable and automated frameworks. Data Infrastructure - Build data pipelines, and identify novel data sources to leverage in analytical work - both from within Alexa and from cross Amazon - Acquire data by building the necessary SQL / ETL queries Communication - Excel at communicating complex ideas to technical and non-technical audiences. - Build relationships with stakeholders and counterparts. Work with stakeholders to translate causal insights into actionable recommendations - Force multiply the work of the team with data visualizations, presentations, and/or dashboards to drive awareness and adoption of data assets and product insights - Collaborate with cross-functional teams. Mentor teammates to foster a culture of continuous learning and development
Applied Scientist, ML Compiler
US, WA, Seattle
The Automated Reasoning Group in the AWS Neuron Compiler team is looking for an Applied Scientist to work on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and program analysis to raise the code quality bar in our state-of-the-art deep learning compiler stack. This stack is designed to optimize application models across diverse domains, including Large Language and Vision, originating from leading frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and JAX. Your role will involve working closely with our custom-built Machine Learning accelerators, Inferentia and Trainium, which represent the forefront of AWS innovation for advanced ML capabilities, and is the underpinning of Generative AI. In this role as an Applied Scientist, you'll be instrumental in designing, developing, and deploying analyzers for ML compiler stages and compiler IRs. You will architect and implement business-critical tooling, publish cutting-edge research, and mentor a brilliant team of experienced scientists and engineers. You will need to be technically capable, credible, and curious in your own right as a trusted AWS Neuron engineer, innovating on behalf of our customers. Your responsibilities will involve tackling crucial challenges alongside a talented engineering team, contributing to leading-edge design and research in compiler technology and deep-learning systems software. Strong experience in programming languages, compilers, program analyzers, and program synthesis engines will be a benefit in this role. A background in machine learning and AI accelerators is preferred but not required. A day in the life Diverse Experiences AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying. Why AWS? Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses. AWS Utility Computing (UC) provides product innovations — from foundational services such as Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (S3) and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), to consistently released new product innovations that continue to set AWS’s services and features apart in the industry. As a member of the UC organization, you’ll support the development and management of Compute, Database, Storage, Internet of Things (IoT), Platform, and Productivity Apps services in AWS, including support for customers who require specialized security solutions for their cloud services. Inclusive Team Culture Here at AWS, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon (gender diversity) conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness. Mentorship & Career Growth We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional. Work/Life Balance We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.
Sr. Applied Scientist, Sponsored Products and Brands Off-Search
US, NY, New York
The Sponsored Products and Brands (SPB) team at Amazon Ads is re-imagining the advertising landscape through state-of-the-art generative AI technologies, revolutionizing how millions of customers discover products and engage with brands across Amazon.com and beyond. We are at the forefront of re-inventing advertising experiences, bridging human creativity with artificial intelligence to transform every aspect of the advertising lifecycle from ad creation and optimization to performance analysis and customer insights. We are a passionate group of innovators dedicated to developing responsible and intelligent AI technologies that balance the needs of advertisers, enhance the shopping experience, and strengthen the marketplace. If you're energized by solving complex challenges and pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI, join us in shaping the future of advertising. The Off-Search team within Sponsored Products and Brands (SPB) is focused on building delightful ad experiences across various surfaces beyond Search on Amazon—such as product detail pages, the homepage, and store-in-store pages—to drive monetization. Our vision is to deliver highly personalized, context-aware advertising that adapts to individual shopper preferences, scales across diverse page types, remains relevant to seasonal and event-driven moments, and integrates seamlessly with organic recommendations such as new arrivals, basket-building content, and fast-delivery options. To execute this vision, we work in close partnership with Amazon Stores stakeholders to lead the expansion and growth of advertising across Amazon-owned and -operated pages beyond Search. We operate full stack—from backend ads-retail edge services, ads retrieval, and ad auctions to shopper-facing experiences—all designed to deliver meaningful value. Curious about our advertising solutions? Discover more about Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands to see how we’re helping businesses grow on Amazon.com and beyond! Key job responsibilities This role will be pivotal in redesigning how ads contribute to a personalized, relevant, and inspirational shopping experience, with the customer value proposition at the forefront. Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to: - Contribute to the design and development of GenAI, deep learning, multi-objective optimization and/or reinforcement learning empowered solutions to transform ad retrieval, auctions, whole-page relevance, and/or bespoke shopping experiences. - Collaborate cross-functionally with other scientists, engineers, and product managers to bring scalable, production-ready science solutions to life. - Stay abreast of industry trends in GenAI, LLMs, and related disciplines, bringing fresh and innovative concepts, ideas, and prototypes to the organization. - Contribute to the enhancement of team’s scientific and technical rigor by identifying and implementing best-in-class algorithms, methodologies, and infrastructure that enable rapid experimentation and scaling. - Mentor and grow junior scientists and engineers, cultivating a high-performing, collaborative, and intellectually curious team. A day in the life As an Applied Scientist on the Sponsored Products and Brands Off-Search team, you will contribute to the development in Generative AI (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) to revolutionize our advertising flow, backend optimization, and frontend shopping experiences. This is a rare opportunity to redefine how ads are retrieved, allocated, and/or experienced—elevating them into personalized, contextually aware, and inspiring components of the customer journey. You will have the opportunity to fundamentally transform areas such as ad retrieval, ad allocation, whole-page relevance, and differentiated recommendations through the lens of GenAI. By building novel generative models grounded in both Amazon’s rich data and the world’s collective knowledge, your work will shape how customers engage with ads, discover products, and make purchasing decisions. If you are passionate about applying frontier AI to real-world problems with massive scale and impact, this is your opportunity to define the next chapter of advertising science. About the team The Off-Search team within Sponsored Products and Brands (SPB) is focused on building delightful ad experiences across various surfaces beyond Search on Amazon—such as product detail pages, the homepage, and store-in-store pages—to drive monetization. Our vision is to deliver highly personalized, context-aware advertising that adapts to individual shopper preferences, scales across diverse page types, remains relevant to seasonal and event-driven moments, and integrates seamlessly with organic recommendations such as new arrivals, basket-building content, and fast-delivery options. To execute this vision, we work in close partnership with Amazon Stores stakeholders to lead the expansion and growth of advertising across Amazon-owned and -operated pages beyond Search. We operate full stack—from backend ads-retail edge services, ads retrieval, and ad auctions to shopper-facing experiences—all designed to deliver meaningful value. Curious about our advertising solutions? Discover more about Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands to see how we’re helping businesses grow on Amazon.com and beyond!
Data Scientist, Data and Machine Learning, WWPS US Federal
US, MD, Jessup
Application deadline: Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis Are you excited to help the US Intelligence Community design, build, and implement AI algorithms, including advanced Generative AI solutions, to augment decision making while meeting the highest standards for reliability, transparency, and scalability? The Amazon Web Services (AWS) US Federal Professional Services team works directly with US Intelligence Community agencies and other public sector entities to achieve their mission goals through the adoption of Machine Learning (ML) and Generative AI methods. We build models for text, image, video, audio, and multi-modal use cases, leveraging both traditional ML approaches and state-of-the-art generative models including Large Language Models (LLMs), text-to-image generation, and other advanced AI capabilities to fit the mission. Our team collaborates across the entire AWS organization to bring access to product and service teams, to get the right solution delivered and drive feature innovation based on customer needs. At AWS, we're hiring experienced data scientists with a background in both traditional and generative AI who can help our customers understand the opportunities their data presents, and build solutions that earn the customer trust needed for deployment to production systems. In this role, you will work closely with customers to deeply understand their data challenges and requirements, and design tailored solutions that best fit their use cases. You should have broad experience building models using all kinds of data sources, and building data-intensive applications at scale. You should possess excellent business acumen and communication skills to collaborate effectively with stakeholders, develop key business questions, and translate requirements into actionable solutions. You will provide guidance and support to other engineers, sharing industry best practices and driving innovation in the field of data science and AI. This position requires that the candidate selected must currently possess and maintain an active TS/SCI Security Clearance. The position further requires the candidate to opt into a commensurate clearance for each government agency for which they perform AWS work. Key job responsibilities As a Data Scientist, you will: - Collaborate with AI/ML scientists and architects to research, design, develop, and evaluate AI algorithms to address real-world challenges - Interact with customers directly to understand the business problem, help and aid them in implementation of AI solutions, deliver briefing and deep dive sessions to customers and guide customer on adoption patterns and paths to production. - Create and deliver best practice recommendations, tutorials, blog posts, sample code, and presentations adapted to technical, business, and executive stakeholder - Provide customer and market feedback to Product and Engineering teams to help define product direction - This position may require up to 25% local travel. About the team Why AWS? Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses. Diverse Experiences AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying. Inclusive Team Culture Here at AWS, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon (diversity) conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness. Work/Life Balance We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why flexible work hours and arrangements are part of our culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud. Mentorship & Career Growth We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.
See more jobs
View from space of a connected network around planet Earth representing the Internet of Things.
Get more from Amazon Science
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter

Amazon.com | Conditions of Use | Privacy | © 1996-2025 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Social