Lead Engineer

Job Description

Be Part of What's Next

Help shape the next generation of personalized discovery at Hearst. In this hands-on engineering leadership role, you'll architect and build the systems that power smarter content and commerce recommendations-creating experiences that deepen engagement, drive conversion, and build loyalty across our digital ecosystem.

You will work closely with product managers, data, designers, and others to deliver scalable, intelligent recommendation features that surface the right content, commerce products, and offers to the right users at the right time. You will also lead coordination across internal and external engineering resources, and guide technology choices for long-term scalability and innovation.
About Hearst Magazines (Why Us?)

Hearst Magazines' portfolio of more than 30 iconic brands in the U.S.-including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's BAZAAR, and Popular Mechanics - inspires, entertains, and builds new and bold experiences for an engaged and growing audience across digital, video, social and print, reaching nearly 130 million readers and site visitors each month. With sophisticated content creation, cutting-edge technology, and industry-leading data capabilities, we make media and products that move people across all platforms. We are a global media company that publishes nearly 200 magazine editions and 175 websites around the world-and together, we are shaping what's next.
Key Responsibilities (What You're Doing)

• Architect and develop services for real-time personalization across content feeds, product recommendations, newsletters, and marketing funnels.
• Build scalable APIs and supporting infrastructure to enable dynamic recommendation experiences across web, mobile, and email.
• Design end-to-end implementations for recommendation features, from data ingestion through ranking logic to delivery.
• Ensure high standards for performance, security, observability, and fault tolerance across production systems.
• Partner with Product, Data, and UX to define technical requirements that balance personalization sophistication with performance and privacy.
• Partner with ML/GenAI teams to evaluate and integrate LLM-enabled capabilities (e.g., semantic search, affinity prediction, ranking, and summarization) where they improve personalization outcomes.
• Lead experimentation on AI-powered recommendation enhancements (e.g., hybrid LLM and collaborative filtering approaches).
• Provide hands-on mentorship and technical leadership to a blended team of full-time and contract engineers; drive planning, scoping, and prioritization.
• Lead build-vs-buy evaluations for personalization tooling, experimentation platforms, and recommendation infrastructure; integrate third-party solutions as needed.

Qualifications (What We're Looking For)

Must-have

• 10+ years in software engineering, with a focus on backend systems, personalization, or e-commerce platforms.
• Hands-on development expertise in Python, React, and building microservices at scale.
• Deep knowledge of recommendation systems: collaborative filtering, ranking algorithms, content-based and hybrid models.
• Ability to lead through influence in cross-functional environments and drive alignment across product, data, design, and engineering stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience guiding and mentoring engineers, including coordinating work across contractors and/or vendor partners.
• Hybrid requirement: This role is based in New York City with an expectation of 4 days per week in the office.

Preferred

• Experience delivering both content and product recommendation engines in production.
• Experience integrating large language models (LLMs) into consumer-facing personalization or recommendation workflows.
• Familiarity with AI model operations and deployment platforms (e.g., Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock).
• Experience collaborating closely with analytics/experimentation teams to measure impact and iterate on recommendation quality.

Benefits (What We Offer)

Hearst is committed to building a workplace where you can do your best work and thrive. We offer:

• Work with the Best: Collaborate with top-tier professionals across media, advertising, tech, fashion, lifestyle, and publishing, shaping the future of these dynamic industries.
• Grow Your Skills: Unlock your potential with access to innovative training programs, immersive workshops, and exclusive industry events.
• Work-Life Harmony: Enjoy the flexibility of hybrid work, empowering you to balance professional success with personal priorities.
• Foster Connection & Belonging: Join our Employee Resource Groups and help create a welcoming workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered.
• Wellness First: Prioritize your well-being with a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance from Day 1.
• Plan for Your Financial Future: Enjoy competitive financial perks, including a 401(k) plan with a generous company match.

The base salary for this role is between $172,000 - $180,000. The actual base pay offered is dependent upon many factors, such as: transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

Hearst is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.