Founding Head of Machine Learning

2 days ago

New York, New York, United States Synapse Full time
About Synapse

Synapse is building the future of scientific discovery, a personalized feed that connects experts to breakthroughs that matter. Our mission is to become the global hub for credible scientific discourse, helping millions of researchers cut through noise and stay ahead of their fields.

We're backed by a Fortune 100 CEO and mission-driven investors, and we're assembling a small, world-class team to solve information overload in science.

The Role

We're hiring a Head of Feeds / ML / Data to lead everything powering Synapse's recommendation and ranking systems

You'll design, build, and scale the algorithms and data infrastructure that determine how knowledge flows through the platform.

You'll work closely with the founding team to architect how millions of papers, authors, and discussions connect and shape Synapse's long-term intelligence layer.

What You'll Own
  • Feed relevance systems: Design and iterate on ranking algorithms that balance personalization, credibility, and novelty.
  • Semantic retrieval: Build and tune vector-based search and recommendation systems that understand meaning, not keywords.
  • Predictive modeling: Identify emerging research trends and forecast which discoveries will gain traction before they do.
  • Data pipelines: Architect scalable ingestion and transformation pipelines across PubMed, arXiv, and global research datasets.
  • Model evaluation & feedback: Define metrics, feedback loops, and real-time learning systems that continuously improve feed quality.
  • Collaboration: Partner with engineering and product to turn prototypes into production-ready systems that scale globally.
Ideal Background
  • 3–6+ years experience in ML, search, or recommender systems (at a product company or research environment)
  • Deep understanding of ranking, retrieval, embeddings, and personalization.
  • Experience working with large-scale data, designing efficient data pipelines and storage solutions as systems scale
  • Proven leader excited to mentor a team of talented engineers from top CS universities
  • Strong software engineering foundations (Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, distributed systems).
  • Experience owning end-to-end ML pipelines — from data collection to deployment.
  • Strong product sense — can balance accuracy, speed, and UX impact.
  • Excited to work in-person, move fast, and build the core intelligence layer of a new platform.
Why Join Synapse
  • Build foundational systems that shape how researchers discover knowledge.
  • Own and lead the feed/ML/data stack from zero to scale and our engineering team
  • Work directly with the founder & core team on high-impact architecture decisions.
  • Equity that matters: in a company backed by global leaders.
  • Collaborative Flatiron office with daily lunches, snacks, and deep-work culture

Compensation Range: $120K - $160K

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