F

Faire

Connects brands with wholesale retailers

Senior Applied ML/AI Scientist - Search

Full-Time
$211k - $290.5k/yr+ Equity
Senior
Master's, PhD
San Francisco, CA, USA+1 moreMore locations: New York, NY, USA
HybridThree days on-site per week required; remote work is available for up to 4 weeks per year.
AI & Machine LearningApplied Machine Learning

About the job

Requirements
  • At least 5 years of industry experience building large-scale machine-learning models with business impact and shipping machine-learning solutions to production, including at least 3 years in search, recommendation, or advertising ranking.
  • A Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, or a related STEM field.
  • Strong programming skills in Python, Java, or an equivalent language, with hands-on experience using deep-learning libraries such as PyTorch and big-data technologies such as Spark.
  • Deep understanding of machine-learning best practices, including training and serving, imbalanced data, A/B testing, feature engineering, and feature and model selection.
  • Understanding of user modeling, deep learning, and reinforcement-learning algorithms applied to search, recommendation, and advertising domains.
  • Ability to move from research papers to prototypes and production.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to influence cross-functional partners.
Responsibilities
  • Build next-generation search-ranking algorithms by integrating advances in deep learning and machine learning to personalize the retailer discovery journey.
  • Leverage large language models to extract multimodal text and visual signals to profile users and their intents.
  • Partner with teams across Faire to experiment and improve machine-learning models for search ranking and related applications.
  • Design and productionize natural-language search and discovery systems so intelligent agents can generate relevant and personalized collections, explain search results, and assist retailers with browsing, filtering, and evaluation.
  • Share best practices in deep-learning model development, agent-workflow evaluation, and machine-learning operations, and help teammates improve through code reviews and technical guidance.
Desired Qualifications
  • Contributions to open-source machine-learning libraries or peer-reviewed publications in machine learning or artificial intelligence.
  • Industry experience developing and productizing large-language-model applications and systems in the search domain.
  • Industry experience building search and recommendation systems for e-commerce or two-sided marketplaces.
  • Experience using AI tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex for code development and daily productivity.
  • Familiarity with Kotlin.

About the company

Faire runs an online wholesale marketplace where independent retailers buy apparel, gifts, homewares, food, and other products from brands to stock their stores. Retailers search by category, compare wholesale prices, and order from multiple suppliers, while brands manage catalogs, customer messages, and orders through seller tools. Faire coordinates payments between the two sides, and brands typically ship merchandise directly to buyers. The business earns marketplace commissions and payment processing fees, with tools that support purchasing and connect wholesale orders with retailers' store systems. Faire was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Series G

Total Funding

$1.5B

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2017

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Buying events draw substantial participation: January 2026 Faire Market generated orders for over 30,000 brands from more than 79,000 retailers.
  • Merchandise selection is broad: Faire reports over 100,000 active brands and 4.5 million unique product listings.
  • Hybrid staff have temporary flexibility: Faire's Account Executive posting allows hybrid roles up to four remote weeks annually.

What critics are saying

  • Marketplace acquisition costs brands money: Faire's North American marketplace orders carry 15% commission plus $10 for each new retailer.
  • Returns need reverse logistics: Faire sends US and Canadian returns to its warehouse for inspection and discounted resale.
  • Hybrid roles require office time: Faire's Account Executive posting specifies Tuesday, Thursday, and a third office day weekly.

What makes Faire unique

  • Direct referrals have a commission waiver: Qualifying Faire Direct relationships receive 0% commission through referral links and documented outreach.
  • Buying and payouts are separated: Faire offers approved retailers Net 60 while brands follow their selected payout schedules.
  • First-brand trials have protection: Faire covers return shipping on eligible opening orders, with account-specific return windows.

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Benefits

  • Time off
  • Parental leave
  • Daily mindfulness
  • Annual learning grant
  • Thoughtfully designed spaces
  • Fitness & wellbeing benefits
  • Mental health benefits
  • Charitable matching
  • Career planning

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-2%

1 year growth

-2%

2 year growth

-2%
Business Wire
Jun 11th, 2026
Faire reaches 100,000 retailers across 30+ countries, with 26% of brands now selling cross-border

Faire, an online wholesale platform, has reached over 100,000 retailers and 50,000 brands across 30-plus countries five years after launching outside North America. The platform now spans Europe, Australia and New Zealand, with 26% of brands selling cross-border to an average of five countries each. Retailers on Faire are spending 20% more per order and 156% more annually since 2022, whilst brand orders have grown 123%. More than 120 international brands have exceeded $1 million in revenue on the platform. The UK remains Faire's largest European market with retailers across 15,000 towns, followed by France with 23,000 communes and Germany with 8,000 municipalities. The platform has supported nearly 5,000 international retailers through its Open with Faire programme since 2021, which provides new retailers with payment terms and reduced inventory risk.

PR Newswire
Mar 31st, 2026
Lightspeed integrates Faire's 100K+ brands into unified retail platform

Lightspeed has launched an integration with Faire, a B2B wholesale marketplace, giving retailers access to over 100,000 brands directly within Lightspeed Retail. The integration allows merchants to link their Faire account and automatically sync product information, including images, descriptions, variants and cost data, into Lightspeed Retail. The feature aims to reduce operational complexity for independent retailers sourcing new products. Merchants can place orders through Faire and choose to import selected products or automatically create inventory items when orders are placed, minimising manual data entry. The integration expands Lightspeed's wholesale buying ecosystem, which also includes NuORDER by Lightspeed. The feature is now available to eligible Lightspeed Retail merchants across the company's platform, which serves retail, golf and hospitality businesses in over 100 countries.

CNBC
Mar 19th, 2026
Faire CEO: We took 'shortcuts' to grow—alarm bells went off before we lost the company

Faire, an online wholesale marketplace connecting artisans with retailers, saw its valuation drop from $12.59 billion to $5.2 billion after CEO Max Rhodes discovered troubling metrics in April 2022. The company had grown to 1,200 employees whilst chasing "vanity metrics" and using investor capital as a shortcut to growth. Rhodes found dropping retention rates, customer complaints and users exploiting short-term incentives before leaving. Instead of spending more to reignite growth, Faire cut staff by 20% and eliminated discounts. The strategy worked: revenue grew 32% in 2025 over 2024, retention rates improved and the company expects to break even soon. Rhodes attributes the near-failure to hubris during rapid growth. "Success can be dangerous," he says, advising entrepreneurs to stay grounded in core values.

Associated Press
Mar 11th, 2026
Former Wayfair CFO joins Faire board as revenue hits $550M run rate

Faire, the wholesale technology platform, has appointed Michael Fleisher, former CFO of Wayfair, to its board of directors as chair of the audit committee. Fleisher led Wayfair through its IPO and helped scale the company from $1 billion to over $12 billion in annual revenue. He previously served as CFO of Warner Music Group and CEO of Gartner. The appointment comes as Faire reports strong growth, with revenue increasing 32% in 2025 and accelerating to 37% in the second half of the year, now annualising at approximately $550 million. The company has facilitated over 10 million connections between brands and retailers on its platform. Fleisher replaces Ellie Mertz and follows the recent appointment of Christopher Payne, former COO of DoorDash.

The Star Media Group
Nov 18th, 2025
Faire Employee Share Sale at $5.2B Valuation

Faire, an online marketplace, is allowing employees to sell shares at a $5.2 billion valuation, moving closer to an IPO. The $100 million tender offer is led by WCM Investment Management, with Baillie Gifford & Co and True North Fund participating. This marks the first public valuation since a $400 million funding round at $12.4 billion in 2021. Faire's CFO, Jason Lee, noted the company's strong cash position and potential for a future IPO.