Introduction to the team

We are seeking a talented Software Development Engineer II to join our AI Recommendations team within the Search and Recommendations organization. Our team is at the forefront of revolutionizing travel experiences through cutting-edge recommendation systems. We power personalized suggestions across Expedia Group's portfolio of brands, including Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and VRBO, enhancing user experiences on various platforms and for multiple lines of business.

As a backend-focused team, we orchestrate sophisticated recommender systems that operate in real-time, design-time, and batch processing modes. Our work spans from crafting high-performance APIs to developing robust data products that fuel insights, analytics, and machine learning model training.
 

In this dynamic environment, you'll have the opportunity to work primarily with Kotlin, while also exploring other languages like Python, Scala, front-end and data technologies as needed. Join us in shaping the future of AI-driven travel recommendations!
 

In this role, you will:

• Design, develop, and maintain high-throughput, low-latency distributed services that power software systems across multiple brands and travel verticals

• Collaborate on the architecture and implementation of orchestration layers for real-time, design-time, and batch processing recommendation systems

• Contribute to data products development and ML model governance, driving insights, analytics, and model training

• Optimize systems to handle millions of requests per second while maintaining high accuracy and personalization

• Engage in architecture reviews, technical documentation, and code reviews, while mentoring team members on best practices in building scalable and efficient services

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align technical solutions with business objectives, identify opportunities for enhancing recommendation algorithms, and propose innovative solutions to improve user experiences

Experience and qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent (3+ years software development experience), or Master's degree (2+ years post-degree experience)

• Hands-on experience developing software using Java, Scala, Kotlin, or similar object-oriented and functional languages, with strong familiarity in data structures and algorithms

• Proven experience designing and operating scalable, distributed, event-driven systems within AWS cloud infrastructure or similar technologies

• Practical knowledge of distributed SQL and NoSQL databases and caching solutions, such as Redis, Memcached, DynamoDB, or MySQL

• Excellent communication, analytical skills, a commitment to operational excellence, high-quality coding standards, and accountability for delivered solutions within globally distributed teams

• Familiarity with recommendation systems, search algorithms, machine learning, AI technologies, or experience working with large language models (LLMs) in production is highly desirable

No relocation assistance offered
Please note that this role is only available in Seattle, in alignment with our flexible work model which requires employees to be in-office at least three days a week. We are unable to offer relocation assistance for this role.

Expedia Group is proud to offer a wide range of benefits to support employees and their families, including medical/dental/vision, paid time off, and an Employee Assistance Program. To fuel each employee’s passion for travel, we offer a wellness & travel reimbursement, travel discounts, and an International Airlines Travel Agent (IATAN) membership. View our full list of benefits.