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Senior Ontologist , Customer Engagement Technology

Amazon

Amazon

IT, Customer Service
Seattle, WA, USA
Posted on May 12, 2025

DESCRIPTION

The Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) team is a new function within Customer Engagement Technology. We are responsible for the end-to-end process of defining, building, implementing, and monitoring our comprehensive data strategy. Our work encompasses developing and applying Generative AI (GenAI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Science, Ontology, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to improve customer service associate and customer experiences.

As an Ontologist, you will architect taxonomy and ontology models while collaborating with global teams to evolve Amazon's customer service. You will leverage expertise in knowledge representation, semantic search, and data modeling to deliver knowledge-based solutions that drive business impact. Your expertise will be instrumental in shaping data-driven strategies and addressing complex data challenges. Through partnerships with science and engineering teams, you will advance ontology best practices, strengthen Amazon's customer service foundation, and enhance customer interactions.

The ideal candidate demonstrates a deep commitment to customer value through applied science and thrives in a fast-paced environment. Success in this role requires combining deep business knowledge with hands-on technical skills to solve complex challenges and drive continuous improvement.

Key job responsibilities
- Design and develop robust, semantically rich, and extensible data models for Amazon Customer Service, enabling seamless machine ingestion and inference.
- Create novel schema using innovative generative AI models.
- Enhance data retrieval capabilities by leveraging our vast product catalog and advanced query languages.
- Analyze website metrics and behaviors to inform data-driven decisions on optimizing knowledge graph data models globally.
- Drive adoption of ontology modeling and technology best practices across Amazon.
- Lead cross-functional projects, collaborating with diverse technical and non-technical teams.
- Ensure comprehensive sub-domain coverage and ontology alignment across Amazon.

Come join a team of bright, passionate, and customer-obsessed individuals who are having fun and making history. We would love to talk to you!

A day in the life
A typical day for an Ontologist involves balancing domain expertise with hands-on ontology development. You'll tackle complex knowledge modeling initiatives, ensuring alignment with business objectives and customer needs, and translate domain requirements into practical ontology solutions. Working with cross-functional teams, you'll design and enhance ontologies, focusing on semantic accuracy, scalability, and interoperability. You'll mentor team members, fostering skill growth and encouraging innovative knowledge modeling approaches. Your day will involve ensuring data consistency, ontology quality, and generating actionable insights from vast amounts of data, driving business impact and transforming Amazon's customer service experience.

You will work closely with senior leaders across cross-functional stakeholder teams within Amazon to drive collaboration, influence stakeholders to prioritize projects, and ensure alignment with business plans and shared objectives.

Amazon offers a full range of benefits that support you and eligible family members, including domestic partners and their children. Benefits can vary by location, the number of regularly scheduled hours you work, length of employment, and job status such as seasonal or temporary employment.
The benefits that generally apply to regular, full-time employees include:
1. Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
2. Maternity and Parental Leave Options
3. Paid Time Off (PTO)
4. 401(k) Plan.

About the team
The Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) team is a new function within Customer Engagement Technology. We are responsible for the end-to-end process of defining, building, implementing, and monitoring our comprehensive data strategy. Our work encompasses developing and applying Generative AI (GenAI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Science, Ontology, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to improve customer service associate and customer experiences.