diff --git a/src/main/java/com/jobpilot/matching/CandidateMatchingProfile.java b/src/main/java/com/jobpilot/matching/CandidateMatchingProfile.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..193edcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/jobpilot/matching/CandidateMatchingProfile.java
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+package com.jobpilot.matching;
+
+import com.jobpilot.config.JobPilotProperties;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
+import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.Objects;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+/**
+ * Immutable candidate snapshot consumed by the deterministic scorer.
+ *
+ * <p>It is deliberately not the persistent {@code com.jobpilot.candidate.CandidateProfile}, not a
+ * JPA entity, and not an account: it carries only the candidate values the current scoring
+ * algorithm reads, so that scoring becomes an explicit function of a candidate rather than of one
+ * globally configured one. Scoring must never fetch it from a repository.
+ *
+ * <p>Both skill sets are normalized to lowercase and deduplicated at construction. The scorer
+ * matches lowercased requirement technologies against them and divides by {@code
+ * backendSkills.size()}, so normalization belongs to the value rather than to the scorer.
+ */
+public record CandidateMatchingProfile(
+        String homeCountry,
+        Set<String> backendSkills,
+        Set<String> supportingSkills,
+        boolean currentStudent,
+        boolean finalYearStudent,
+        double commercialJavaYears) {
+
+    public CandidateMatchingProfile {
+        homeCountry = requireText(homeCountry, "Candidate home country");
+        backendSkills = normalize(backendSkills, "Candidate backend skills");
+        supportingSkills = normalize(supportingSkills, "Candidate supporting skills");
+        if (!Double.isFinite(commercialJavaYears) || commercialJavaYears < 0) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+                    "Candidate commercial Java years must be a finite, non-negative number");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Compatibility bridge from the single configured candidate in application.yml. */
+    public static CandidateMatchingProfile fromLegacy(JobPilotProperties.Candidate candidate) {
+        Objects.requireNonNull(candidate, "Legacy candidate configuration is required");
+        return new CandidateMatchingProfile(candidate.homeCountry(),
+                asSet(candidate.backendSkills(), "Candidate backend skills"),
+                asSet(candidate.supportingSkills(), "Candidate supporting skills"),
+                candidate.currentStudent(), candidate.finalYearStudent(),
+                candidate.commercialJavaYears());
+    }
+
+    /** Configured lists may repeat an entry; deduplication belongs to normalization, not binding. */
+    private static Set<String> asSet(Collection<String> values, String name) {
+        Objects.requireNonNull(values, name + " are required");
+        return new LinkedHashSet<>(values);
+    }
+
+    private static Set<String> normalize(Collection<String> values, String name) {
+        Objects.requireNonNull(values, name + " are required");
+        Set<String> normalized = new LinkedHashSet<>();
+        for (String value : values) {
+            normalized.add(Objects.requireNonNull(value, name + " must not contain null entries")
+                    .toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT));
+        }
+        return Set.copyOf(normalized);
+    }
+
+    private static String requireText(String value, String name) {
+        if (value == null || value.isBlank()) throw new IllegalArgumentException(name + " is required");
+        return value;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/jobpilot/matching/JobMatchingService.java b/src/main/java/com/jobpilot/matching/JobMatchingService.java
index 05d6173..63f8d7c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/jobpilot/matching/JobMatchingService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/jobpilot/matching/JobMatchingService.java
@@ -12,24 +12,33 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.Set;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 
 @Service
 public class JobMatchingService {
     private final Clock clock;
-    private final JobPilotProperties.Candidate candidate;
-    private final Set<String> backendSkills;
-    private final Set<String> supportingSkills;
+    private final CandidateMatchingProfile defaultCandidate;
 
     public JobMatchingService(Clock clock, JobPilotProperties properties) {
         this.clock = clock;
-        this.candidate = properties.candidate();
-        this.backendSkills = lowerSet(candidate.backendSkills());
-        this.supportingSkills = lowerSet(candidate.supportingSkills());
+        this.defaultCandidate = CandidateMatchingProfile.fromLegacy(properties.candidate());
     }
 
+    /** Production entry point: scores against the single configured candidate. */
     public ScoreCard score(Job job, ExtractedRequirements r) {
+        return score(job, r, defaultCandidate);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Deterministic scoring against an explicit candidate. The candidate is an input, never
+     * state fetched during calculation, so the same job can be scored for several candidates.
+     */
+    public ScoreCard score(Job job, ExtractedRequirements r, CandidateMatchingProfile candidate) {
+        Objects.requireNonNull(candidate, "Candidate matching profile is required");
+        Set<String> backendSkills = candidate.backendSkills();
+        Set<String> supportingSkills = candidate.supportingSkills();
         String text = (job.getTitle() + " " + job.getDescription() + " " + job.getLocation()).toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT);
         List<String> strengths = new ArrayList<>();
         List<String> risks = new ArrayList<>();
@@ -41,7 +50,7 @@ public ScoreCard score(Job job, ExtractedRequirements r) {
         if (has(text, "computer science", "informatics", "software", "technical degree", "related field")) formal += 5;
         else if (r.requiredEducation() == null) formal += 4;
         if (!r.finalYearMandatory() || candidate.finalYearStudent()) formal += 6;
-        if (romaniaEligible(job, r)) formal += 6;
+        if (romaniaEligible(job, r, candidate)) formal += 6;
         if (formal >= 19) strengths.add("Formal eligibility is compatible with a current student in Romania");
 
         int backendMatches = (int) r.technologies().stream().map(String::toLowerCase).filter(backendSkills::contains).distinct().count();
@@ -63,7 +72,7 @@ public ScoreCard score(Job job, ExtractedRequirements r) {
         int location = locationScore(job, r);
         if (location >= 8) strengths.add("Location and work format suit Bucharest or Romania");
 
-        int experience = experienceScore(r.requiredExperienceYears(), r.internshipOrTrainee());
+        int experience = experienceScore(r.requiredExperienceYears(), r.internshipOrTrainee(), candidate);
         if (experience >= 8) strengths.add("Commercial experience expectations are entry-level compatible");
 
         int freshness = freshness(job);
@@ -124,7 +133,7 @@ else if (years != null && years >= 2) {
                 experience, freshness, penalties, List.copyOf(strengths), List.copyOf(risks), List.copyOf(blockers));
     }
 
-    private int experienceScore(Double years, boolean trainee) {
+    private int experienceScore(Double years, boolean trainee, CandidateMatchingProfile candidate) {
         if (years == null) return trainee || candidate.commercialJavaYears() == 0 ? 10 : 7;
         if (years <= 0) return 10;
         if (years <= 1) return 8;
@@ -157,7 +166,7 @@ private int locationScore(Job job, ExtractedRequirements r) {
         return 2;
     }
 
-    private boolean romaniaEligible(Job job, ExtractedRequirements r) {
+    private boolean romaniaEligible(Job job, ExtractedRequirements r, CandidateMatchingProfile candidate) {
         if (job.getLocationEligibility() == LocationEligibility.BUCHAREST_LOCAL
                 || job.getLocationEligibility() == LocationEligibility.REMOTE_ROMANIA_ELIGIBLE) return true;
         String remote = String.valueOf(r.remoteEligibility()).toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT);
@@ -177,8 +186,4 @@ private boolean has(String text, String... values) {
         for (String value : values) if (text.contains(value)) return true;
         return false;
     }
-
-    private Set<String> lowerSet(List<String> values) {
-        return values.stream().map(value -> value.toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT)).collect(java.util.stream.Collectors.toUnmodifiableSet());
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/jobpilot/matching/CandidateMatchingProfileTest.java b/src/test/java/com/jobpilot/matching/CandidateMatchingProfileTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bfbf898
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/com/jobpilot/matching/CandidateMatchingProfileTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+package com.jobpilot.matching;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatThrownBy;
+
+import com.jobpilot.common.UrlCanonicalizer;
+import com.jobpilot.config.JobPilotProperties;
+import com.jobpilot.extraction.DeterministicRequirementExtractor;
+import com.jobpilot.jobs.domain.ExtractedRequirements;
+import com.jobpilot.jobs.domain.Job;
+import com.jobpilot.jobs.domain.RawJob;
+import com.jobpilot.jobs.service.JobNormalizer;
+import com.jobpilot.support.TestProperties;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.time.Clock;
+import java.time.Instant;
+import java.time.ZoneOffset;
+import java.util.LinkedHashSet;
+import java.util.Set;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+class CandidateMatchingProfileTest {
+    private final Clock clock = Clock.fixed(Instant.parse("2026-07-17T12:00:00Z"), ZoneOffset.UTC);
+    private final JobNormalizer normalizer = new JobNormalizer(clock, new UrlCanonicalizer());
+    private final DeterministicRequirementExtractor extractor = new DeterministicRequirementExtractor();
+    private final JobMatchingService matching = new JobMatchingService(clock, TestProperties.create());
+
+    @Test
+    void legacyDefaultAndEquivalentExplicitProfileScoreIdentically() throws Exception {
+        Job job = job("Java Developer Intern", "strong-java-internship.txt", "Bucharest, Romania");
+        ExtractedRequirements requirements = extractor.extract(job);
+
+        CandidateMatchingProfile explicit = new CandidateMatchingProfile("Romania",
+                Set.of("Java", "Spring Boot", "REST", "SQL", "PostgreSQL", "JPA", "Maven", "JUnit"),
+                Set.of("React", "TypeScript", "JavaScript", "HTML", "CSS", "Git", "CI/CD",
+                        "GitHub Actions"),
+                true, false, 0);
+
+        assertThat(matching.score(job, requirements, explicit))
+                .isEqualTo(matching.score(job, requirements));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void sameVacancyScoresDifferentlyForDifferentCandidates() throws Exception {
+        Job job = job("Java Developer Intern", "strong-java-internship.txt", "Bucharest, Romania");
+        ExtractedRequirements requirements = extractor.extract(job);
+
+        CandidateMatchingProfile javaCandidate = new CandidateMatchingProfile("Romania",
+                Set.of("Java", "Spring Boot", "REST", "SQL", "PostgreSQL"),
+                Set.of("Git", "CI/CD"), true, false, 0);
+        CandidateMatchingProfile dataCandidate = new CandidateMatchingProfile("Romania",
+                Set.of("Python", "Django", "Pandas", "NumPy", "Airflow"),
+                Set.of("Git", "CI/CD"), true, false, 0);
+
+        ScoreCard javaScore = matching.score(job, requirements, javaCandidate);
+        ScoreCard dataScore = matching.score(job, requirements, dataCandidate);
+
+        assertThat(javaScore.javaBackend()).isPositive();
+        assertThat(dataScore.javaBackend()).isZero();
+        assertThat(javaScore.score()).isGreaterThan(dataScore.score());
+        assertThat(dataScore.risks()).anyMatch(value -> value.contains("Java/backend"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void convertsLegacyCandidateConfigurationWithoutLosingValues() {
+        JobPilotProperties.Candidate legacy = TestProperties.create().candidate();
+
+        CandidateMatchingProfile profile = CandidateMatchingProfile.fromLegacy(legacy);
+
+        assertThat(profile.homeCountry()).isEqualTo("Romania");
+        assertThat(profile.backendSkills()).containsExactlyInAnyOrder("java", "spring boot",
+                "rest", "sql", "postgresql", "jpa", "maven", "junit");
+        assertThat(profile.supportingSkills()).contains("react", "github actions");
+        assertThat(profile.currentStudent()).isTrue();
+        assertThat(profile.finalYearStudent()).isFalse();
+        assertThat(profile.commercialJavaYears()).isZero();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void copiesSkillCollectionsDefensively() {
+        Set<String> backendSkills = new LinkedHashSet<>(Set.of("Java"));
+
+        CandidateMatchingProfile profile = new CandidateMatchingProfile("Romania",
+                backendSkills, Set.of("Git"), true, false, 0);
+        backendSkills.add("Python");
+
+        assertThat(profile.backendSkills()).containsExactly("java");
+        assertThatThrownBy(() -> profile.backendSkills().add("python"))
+                .isInstanceOf(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void rejectsMissingCandidateValues() {
+        assertThatThrownBy(() -> new CandidateMatchingProfile(null, Set.of("Java"), Set.of(), true, false, 0))
+                .isInstanceOf(IllegalArgumentException.class);
+        assertThatThrownBy(() -> new CandidateMatchingProfile("Romania", null, Set.of(), true, false, 0))
+                .isInstanceOf(NullPointerException.class);
+        assertThatThrownBy(() -> new CandidateMatchingProfile("Romania", Set.of("Java"), null, true, false, 0))
+                .isInstanceOf(NullPointerException.class);
+        assertThatThrownBy(() -> new CandidateMatchingProfile("Romania", Set.of("Java"), Set.of(), true, false, -1))
+                .isInstanceOf(IllegalArgumentException.class);
+        assertThatThrownBy(() -> CandidateMatchingProfile.fromLegacy(null))
+                .isInstanceOf(NullPointerException.class);
+    }
+
+    private Job job(String title, String fixture, String location) throws Exception {
+        String text;
+        try (var stream = getClass().getResourceAsStream("/fixtures/" + fixture)) {
+            text = new String(stream.readAllBytes(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+        }
+        return normalizer.normalize(new RawJob("fixture", fixture, "https://example.com/" + fixture,
+                title, "Example", location, text, "Internship", clock.instant(), null, text));
+    }
+}