Applied Scientist, Thumbtack
Pro Growth
CA$161.5-209k
More information about location
Local services marketplace app
Open for applications
Local services marketplace app
1001+ employees
Open for applications
CA$161.5-209k
More information about location
1001+ employees
Company mission
Thumbtack's mission is to help homeowners care for their homes, all the way from minor retouching to fundamental remodelling projects.
Role
Who you are
- We’re looking for applied scientists with deep expertise in machine learning, optimization, building data products, and/or statistical models
- Master’s degree in a quantitative field (Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Operations Research, Economics, or related), or equivalent industry experience
- 3+ years of industry experience as an applied scientist, data scientist, or ML engineer with ownership of production ML models
- Experience in applied science within a marketplace, supply chain, or growth domain
- Solid knowledge of machine learning techniques such as classification, regression, embedding-based approaches, and causal inference
- Familiarity with modern LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Gemini, AWS Bedrock) and experience with agentic AI development practices and tools
- Good knowledge of probability, statistics, and econometric methods, including experimental design, causal inference, and optimization
- Experience with large-scale distributed systems (Spark, Databricks, or similar)
- Ability to effectively read, write, and debug code in programming languages such as Python and SQL
- Ability to break down complex problems rigorously and understand the tradeoffs necessary to deliver impactful projects
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively to cross-functional partners of various technical levels
- Demonstrated ability to drive seamless execution end-to-end on at least one production ML project
What the job involves
- As part of a small product team you will have full ownership over your domain, so you should be a person who dreams big, then executes well
- At Thumbtack, the Applied Science team is responsible for a wide variety of problems spanning AI, machine learning, statistics, and computer science:
- Improve customer and service provider matching. Matching and optimization algorithms are fundamental to Thumbtack’s product: we now service millions of matches per week. Identifying better matches between customers and service providers has an incredible impact on the experience of customers and professionals transacting on our platform
- Model complex relationships in the presence of many confounding factors. Predictive modeling problems are everywhere across our product. Our team works to scope, design and implement machine learning models to support Thumbtack’s product and marketing
- Characterize marketplace dynamics. Thumbtack’s marketplaces consist of thousands of active markets across our service categories and U.S. cities. Via exploratory data analysis and experimental design, our team works to understand trends and behaviors within these markets
- Build AI features. Use state-of-the-art approaches such as large language models (LLMs), reinforcement learning and agentic workflows to enhance customer / pro experience, increase acquisition and marketplace efficiency, and to automate and enhance internal processes
- Build a healthy marketplace. We evolve and manage the monetization mechanics of our marketplace, including defining the parameters that affect the prices we charge
- Thumbtack constantly works to balance supply and demand across thousands of local markets and hundreds of service categories
- The Pro Growth pod is responsible for the science behind acquiring and activating the right pros, at the right time, in the right markets, to keep the marketplace healthy and growing
- As an Applied Scientist on Pro Growth, you’ll build models and experiments that shape who joins Thumbtack, how they get activated, how we forecast supply needs by market and trade, and how we accelerate time-to-value for new pros
- We leverage machine learning, causal inference, and optimization to strategically grow and shape our pro supply base
- Our work directly contributes to meeting demand projections, unlocking strategic partnerships, and ultimately enhancing customer experience and platform growth by ensuring a robust and high-quality supply of pros
- You’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers, product managers, and other applied scientists on a portfolio that ranges from incrementality and market forecasting to LLM-powered onboarding agents
- You’ll own end-to-end: from problem framing, through experiment design, through deploying models to production, through measuring business impact
- Initiate and drive applied science projects to completion, with a focus on the business impact of those projects on pro acquisition, activation, retention, and supply health
- Develop, deploy, and optimize machine learning models for supply-side problems, including: lead scoring and pro acquisition targeting, market-level supply forecasting, pro onboarding and activation, retention and churn prediction, and agentic onboarding workflows
- Design and execute well-powered marketplace experiments to measure model and product impact on supply and business metrics
- Analyze structured and unstructured data such as marketplace interactions, pro profiles, external supply signals, to identify trends, opportunities, and risks related to supply health
- Collaborate closely with engineering, product management, business development, and marketing teams to define problems, develop end-to-end solutions, and ensure successful implementation and monitoring of ML systems in production
- Maintain the right balance between speed of execution and scientific rigor when designing solutions for a fast-paced marketplace environment
- Contribute to evolving the team’s agentic-first ways of working, including LLM-powered tooling, eval coverage, and the use of AI agents in day-to-day applied science
Our take
ThumbTack is a local services marketplace app that pairs customers with skilled professionals. Instead of simply searching for a professional, users provide ThumbTack with details of the job they need completing and the professionals then pitch their services to the potential customer using credits. ThumbTack makes its money by charging the professional for these credits.
It positions itself as something a little different in a saturated local services space that is dominated by companies like Angie’s List, TaskRabbit, Yelp, eBay, and Amazon. It also focuses on a broad range of professionals, from traditional home services like electricians and painters to photographers, personal trainers, and birthday party magicians.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a boost in business for ThumbTack as more people stayed at home and made changes to their properties, increasing the demand for home professionals. In fact, after 2019, the company doubled in value to $3.2 billion with its 2021 raise. Since its 2024 funding round, its updated app has 30 new features, and the company is partnering with the likes of trade-powering platform and Unicorn ServiceTitan, indicating Thumbtack's sustained sway in the market.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-5% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 9 rounds)
Jun 2021
$275m
LATE VC
Jul 2019
$150m
SERIES F
Total funding: $699.4m
Company benefits
- Parental leave
- Health insurance
- Community matters | Sure, our ways of connecting have changed. But we haven’t missed a beat, from virtual concerts to “TTversary” celebrations to weekly catch-ups
- Always be improving | We bring out the best in our colleagues — and our product — by pushing each beyond what we believe we’re capable of. We give honest feedback, even when it’s hard
- Wellness is a way of life | We promote balance with generous PTO and company-wide holidays — and find our centers every Wellness Wednesday with yoga featuring a Thumbtack pro
- A worthy mission | In a world where tech is often seen as eroding good jobs, we’re helping small business owners thrive. Our product makes entrepreneurship accessible to everyone
- Driven by our values | Our values are the compass by which we make all our decisions. Each one matters: Lead with why, Make it count, Own it, Choose teamwork, and Say what you mean
- Plus, amazing benefits | All the benefits you’d expect, plus a few more: generous parental and fertility benefits, $1800 for Thumbtack services per year and a $1200 remote work stipend
- Virtual-first working model coupled with quarterly in-person events and Camp Thumbtack
- 20+ company-wide holidays including two week-long shutdowns
- Libraries (collaborative workspaces) in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Toronto, and Manila
- Cell phone and WiFi reimbursements
- Subscriptions and Employee Assistance Program for mental health and well-being
Company HQ
SoMa, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Marco Zappacosta
(Co-Founder & CEO)Having studied at Columbia University, Marco co-founded Thumbtack in August 2008. He has served as CEO since January 2009.
Jonathan Swanson
(Co-Founder & Chairman)Jonathan started his career creating financial market reports for the White House before co-founding Thumbtack in 2008. Currently Founder at Powerset and Athena.
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