Staff Machine Learning Engineer - Ads Bidding at Deliveroo (London, United Kingdom)
Deliveroo· London, United Kingdom·
Role details
Deliveroo at a glance
A hyperlocal three-sided marketplace connecting consumers, restaurants and grocers, and riders to deliver food and local goods in under 30 minutes.
Deliveroo runs a hyperlocal three-sided marketplace that connects consumers, restaurants and grocers, and self-employed riders to deliver food and local goods in under 30 minutes. Its machine-learning logistics engine (Frank) matches riders to orders neighbourhood by neighbourhood across 10 markets and 160,000+ partners.
N/A (public via 2021 LSE IPO, then acquired) raised · latest: Acquired by DoorDash · $3.9B cash · completed October 2025 · backed by DoorDash, Inc. (acquirer, 2025)
Job description
Staff Machine Learning Engineer – Ads Bidding
The Team The Ads ML team builds and maintains the machine learning models powering Deliveroo's advertising product — connecting consumers with relevant ads and helping merchants, grocers, and FMCG brands grow through the platform. The UK team is ~11 MLEs across ads and promotions, and collaborates closely with the US team (meetings capped at 4pm UK to protect reasonable hours).
The Problem Deliveroo is migrating ads from cost-per-click (CPC) to cost-per-order (CPO) — merchants pay when an ad drives an order, not when it's clicked. This is a genuinely open, cutting-edge problem: very few companies have solved it, and there's no established playbook to follow. The exact approach is under active discussion and you'd be central to driving it.
You will:
- Own the design and execution of the CPC-to-CPO migration, including the core open question of whether the system stays CPO-facing externally while optimising CPC behind the scenes, or some hybrid of the two
- Build and improve the bidding surface: goal-based automated bidding, Target CPO, optimised CPC, and Target ROAS
- Own yield management tied to ROS targeting
- Partner daily with the DoorDash US team to align on approach across markets
- Set technical direction for the domain
Requirements
- Expertise in ad economics, marketplace bidding, or auction theory
- Direct working experience with optimised CPC, target CPO, goal-based automated bidding, and target ROAS
- Strong self-driven leadership baseline — you'll be setting direction in an ambiguous space, not executing against an established one
- 7+ years writing production code in Python; solid ML fundamentals in ranking, recommendation systems, or bidding/auction systems
- A bias for simplicity and a focus on shipping work with measurable business impact
- Strong cross-functional communication — you'll be working closely with Product, Commercial, and the wider DoorDash team
Why Join Us? At Deliveroo, you'll do work that matters—solving real-world problems in a three-sided marketplace that’s constantly evolving. We’re food lovers, problem solvers, community builders and more, brought together by a shared drive to make things better. Working here you can expect to: 🔧 Solve meaningful problems at real scale Work on a complex, always-on marketplace that impacts millions every day. 🌱 See your impact, fast Ship, test and improve ideas quickly in a low-hierarchy, high-ownership environment. 🧠 Grow through challenge and ownership Take on big, ambiguous problems and accelerate your career with strong support. 🌎 A culture built for builders High standards, collaboration, flexible working and continuous learning. 💰 Share in the success you help create Competitive salary and equity options, so you’re rewarded for the impact you make. ➡️ Want a deeper look at how we build? Check out our Tech Blog.
Our Global Structure Deliveroo is now part of DoorDash, bringing together teams with even greater reach, scale, and ambition. Depending on your role, you may collaborate with teammates, systems, and leaders across DoorDash and Wolt. Together, we’re unlocking new possibilities as one global team.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion At Deliveroo, we know that a great workplace reflects the world around us and that true diversity and inclusion make us stronger, more creative, and better at what we do. We’re committed to fostering an environment where everyone can do their best work and feel they belong. We believe in equality of opportunity and welcome candidates from all backgrounds regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion, or belief. If you have a disability or long-term health condition and need support to apply for one of our roles, or require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, you’ll have the opportunity to let us know once you’ve submitted your application. We’ll share details on how to request support so we can ensure you have a fair and equitable experience. If you’re excited about making a real impact in a fast-moving marketplace and growing your career alongside ambitious, supportive teams, we’d love to hear from you!
Why work at Deliveroo
- Culture: Values-driven, innovative, and inclusive – Employee Resource Groups, regular social events, and a focus on career-defining work.
- Work environment: Offices across the UK (London HQ, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester) with excellent kit for remote work and a parent-friendly culture.
- Benefits (UK):
- 25 days annual leave + bank holidays, increasing with tenure; one paid volunteer day per year.
- Competitive compensation, annual cash bonus, sign-on bonus, relocation support, and up to 5% matched pension.
- Equity awards for eligible roles.
- Private healthcare (single cover funded), gym access (HQ on-site, discounted external), wellbeing apps (LesMills+, Strava, Headspace, Yogaia) via GymPass.
- Life assurance, discounted dental, critical illness cover, travel insurance.
- Free Deliveroo Plus (free delivery), team lunches from local restaurants.
- Cycle to Work Scheme, Season Ticket Loans, free mortgage advice.
- Excellent learning & development via RooLearn platform.
- Engineering culture: Tackle complex scale and machine learning problems coordinating millions of real-time interactions across a three-sided marketplace.