Hi,

NextAction has a MASSIVE database of consumer purchasing history and
hopes to develop a recommender system specific to its data and
client base. If interested, send an e-mail to najobs@...

--- Job Announcement ---

Recommender System Researcher/Developer

NextAction Corporation is a 3-year old, highly successful pioneer in
the direct and interactive marketing space with 90 employees and
growing. Headquartered near Boulder, CO, NextAction is a high-tech
company that operates the most robust, multi-dimensional cooperative
database serving the marketing needs of 1,000 of the nation's
largest catalog, internet and multi-channel retailers. The company
integrates consumer purchasing data from over 100 million households
and applies sophisticated statistical models and algorithms combined
with NextAction data to provide the necessary tools for NextAction
clients to communicate with existing and future customers.

Job Description:

The primary responsibility is to develop and implement recommender
system algorithms that are specific to NextAction's data and its
client base. The overall objective is to use past purchasing
behavior to make recommendations for future purchases. It is a new
position that will work closely with the statisticians in the R&D
group and the developers in the IT group within NextAction. For
implementation, it requires working closely with the varied business
partners that our clients use in their on-line stores. Part of the
implementation is to ensure mechanisms for effectively tracking the
impact of our recommendations. In keeping with the entrepreneurial
spirit of the company, development and implementation cycles will be
fast-tracked. Also, since NextAction serves 1,000+ clients, the
development/implementation must rely on automation as much as
possible.

Skills and Qualifications:

•Experience with recommender system algorithms such as
collaborative filtering or latent indexing
• Understanding of customer relationship management (CRM) and
general direct marketing strategies
• Familiarity with tools/methods/software for measuring and
assessing effectiveness of on-line marketing
• Understanding of on-line commerce sites and providers of
common functionality such as:
o Search
o Shopping cart
o E-mail confirmation
o Personalization
o Customer identification and tracking
• High level programming skills (SAS, C+/C#, SQL) for
analyzing vast amounts of complex transactional data
• Knack for spotting automation opportunities and
corresponding quality control measures
• Foundations in statistical analysis; data reduction methods
such as principal components are extremely useful
• Advanced degree in statistics, computer science,
mathematics, or other quantitative field
• Willingness and ability to share research and ideas with
NextAction employees and clients; making the data and algorithms
actionable for client use is key