diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/README.md b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/README.md
index ae1094739c0..b90fd022717 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/README.md
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/README.md
@@ -53,8 +53,9 @@ it looks like this:
         "redis": []
     },
 
-    "optimization_target": "score",
-    "optimization_direction": "min"
+    "optimization_targets": {
+        "score": "min"
+    }
 }
 ```
 
@@ -78,12 +79,13 @@ It has a mixture of parameters from different components of the framework. for e
 
 At runtime, these values will be pushed down to the `AzureVMService` configuration, e.g., [`service-linux-vm-ops.jsonc`](../services/remote/azure/service-linux-vm-ops.jsonc).
 
-Likewise, parameters
+Likewise, the parameter
 
 ```jsonc
 {
-    "optimization_target": "score",
-    "optimization_direction": "min"
+    "optimization_targets": {
+        "score": "min"
+    }
 }
 ```
 
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/experiment_RedisBench.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/experiment_RedisBench.jsonc
index e33beab7b4d..3da9e89e1cf 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/experiment_RedisBench.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/experiments/experiment_RedisBench.jsonc
@@ -41,6 +41,5 @@
         "redis": []
     },
 
-    "optimization_target": "score",
-    "optimization_direction": "min"
+    "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"}
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_default_opt.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_default_opt.jsonc
index f48d2f2e149..88006219ae0 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_default_opt.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_default_opt.jsonc
@@ -5,8 +5,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
-        "optimization_direction": "min",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 100
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_flaml.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_flaml.jsonc
index 47d92aff6ee..f20fc278186 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_flaml.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_flaml.jsonc
@@ -5,9 +5,8 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
-        "optimization_direction": "min",
         "max_suggestions": 100,
-        "optimizer_type": "FLAML"
+        "optimizer_type": "FLAML",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"}
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_smac.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_smac.jsonc
index 3eb40c11468..5a7cf88bbba 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_smac.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mlos_core_smac.jsonc
@@ -5,8 +5,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
-        "optimization_direction": "min",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 100,
         "optimizer_type": "SMAC",
         "output_directory": null  // Override to have a permanent output with SMAC history etc.
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mock_opt.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mock_opt.jsonc
index 1d3dec27cb2..ec9ee44ce14 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mock_opt.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/optimizers/mock_opt.jsonc
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.MockOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 5,
         "seed": 42
     }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/common-defs-subschemas.json b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/common-defs-subschemas.json
index 00a353426f3..e7676af4ab5 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/common-defs-subschemas.json
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/common-defs-subschemas.json
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
                 "uniqueItems": true
             }
         },
-
         "experiment_id": {
             "description": "The name of the experiment. Controls trial reuse and sometimes used to disambiguate certain resources definitions.  Note: changes to this value will result in a new experiment being created, which may be necessary upon certain config or script changes.",
             "type": "string",
@@ -31,6 +30,14 @@
             "description": "Config ID to use (or resume) for the experiment.",
             "type": "integer",
             "minimum": 0
+        },
+        "optimization_targets": {
+            "description": "Names of the optimization targets and their directions.",
+            "type": "object",
+            "additionalProperties": {
+                "enum": ["min", "max"]
+            },
+            "minItems": 1
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/globals-schema.json b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/globals-schema.json
index 3df7cb245e0..015b4a6e62c 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/globals-schema.json
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/cli/globals-schema.json
@@ -10,11 +10,9 @@
             "type": "string",
             "pattern": "/schemas/cli/globals-schema.json$"
         },
-
         "tunable_params_map": {
             "$ref": "./common-defs-subschemas.json#/$defs/tunable_params_map"
         },
-
         "experiment_id": {
             "$ref": "./common-defs-subschemas.json#/$defs/experiment_id"
         },
@@ -23,6 +21,9 @@
         },
         "config_id": {
             "$ref": "./common-defs-subschemas.json#/$defs/config_id"
+        },
+        "optimization_targets": {
+            "$ref": "./common-defs-subschemas.json#/$defs/optimization_targets"
         }
     },
     "additionalProperties": {
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/optimizers/optimizer-schema.json b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/optimizers/optimizer-schema.json
index 32db42f9e66..92bcee5574b 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/optimizers/optimizer-schema.json
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/optimizers/optimizer-schema.json
@@ -12,15 +12,8 @@
             "$comment": "config properties common to all optimizer types.",
             "type": "object",
             "properties": {
-                "optimization_target": {
-                    "description": "The name of the metric to optimize.",
-                    "type": "string",
-                    "example": "score"
-                },
-                "optimization_direction": {
-                    "description": "Whether to minimize or maximize the optimization target.",
-                    "enum": ["min", "max"],
-                    "example": "min"
+                "optimization_targets": {
+                    "$ref": "../cli/common-defs-subschemas.json#/$defs/optimization_targets"
                 },
                 "max_suggestions": {
                     "description": "The maximum number of additional (in the case of merging experiment data or resuming experiments) config suggestions to run when we launch the app, or no limit if 0 is provided. Note: configs may be repeated in more than one trial.",
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/optimizers/base_optimizer.py b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/optimizers/base_optimizer.py
index 5825c3467c9..91b0c77b2ca 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/optimizers/base_optimizer.py
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/optimizers/base_optimizer.py
@@ -34,8 +34,7 @@ class Optimizer(metaclass=ABCMeta):     # pylint: disable=too-many-instance-attr
 
     # See Also: mlos_bench/mlos_bench/config/schemas/optimizers/optimizer-schema.json
     BASE_SUPPORTED_CONFIG_PROPS = {
-        "optimization_target",
-        "optimization_direction",
+        "optimization_targets",
         "max_suggestions",
         "seed",
         "start_with_defaults",
@@ -78,8 +77,15 @@ def __init__(self,
         self._start_with_defaults: bool = bool(
             strtobool(str(self._config.pop('start_with_defaults', True))))
         self._max_iter = int(self._config.pop('max_suggestions', 100))
-        self._opt_target = str(self._config.pop('optimization_target', 'score'))
-        self._opt_sign = {"min": 1, "max": -1}[self._config.pop('optimization_direction', 'min')]
+
+        opt_targets: Dict[str, str] = self._config.pop('optimization_targets', {'score': 'min'})
+        if not isinstance(opt_targets, dict):
+            raise ValueError(f"optimization_targets should be a dict: {opt_targets}")
+        # TODO: Implement multi-target optimization.
+        if len(opt_targets) != 1:
+            raise NotImplementedError("Multi-target optimization is not implemented.")
+        (self._opt_target, opt_dir) = list(opt_targets.items())[0]
+        self._opt_sign = {"min": 1, "max": -1}[opt_dir]
 
     def _validate_json_config(self, config: dict) -> None:
         """
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_direction.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_direction.jsonc
index 2dc83df55f8..64f5b142b3e 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_direction.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_direction.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
-        "optimization_direction": "INVALID"
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "INVALID"}
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_target.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_target.jsonc
index 4c6dd8d6d41..d24483043e2 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_target.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_target.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": ["latency", "throughput"],
-        "optimization_direction": "min"
+        "optimization_targets": ["latency", "throughput"]
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_target_old_style.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_target_old_style.jsonc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3e967c76a66
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_optimization_target_old_style.jsonc
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+    "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
+
+    "config": {
+        "optimization_target": "latency",
+        "optimization_direction": "min"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_schema_ref.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_schema_ref.jsonc
index 06e81d95b22..85354c14752 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_schema_ref.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_schema_ref.jsonc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.MockOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score"
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"}
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_space_adapter_type.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_space_adapter_type.jsonc
index b23efb585d8..a1923c3fab4 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_space_adapter_type.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/bad_space_adapter_type.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         // space_adapter_type only accepts certain values
         "space_adapter_type": "unknown"
     }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/config_bad_type.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/config_bad_type.jsonc
index 7f435469c38..843a392e0a8 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/config_bad_type.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/config_bad_type.jsonc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.MockOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "seed": "wrong type"
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_opt_config.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_opt_config.jsonc
index cafac3605e3..59aff2689dc 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_opt_config.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_opt_config.jsonc
@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.InvalidOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score"
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"}
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_space_adapter_config.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_space_adapter_config.jsonc
index 053a57b0689..d5d596140c5 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_space_adapter_config.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/invalid_space_adapter_config.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "space_adapter_type": "IDENTITY",
         "space_adapter_config": {
             // IDENTITY space adapter doesn't accept any config values
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/missing_opt_class_config.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/missing_opt_class_config.jsonc
index 231f50034cb..621709f213e 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/missing_opt_class_config.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/missing_opt_class_config.jsonc
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_bad_optimizer_type.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_bad_optimizer_type.jsonc
index 9da4bd0f0c2..6e9094537e4 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_bad_optimizer_type.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_bad_optimizer_type.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         // optimizer_type only accepts certain values
         "optimizer_type": "unknown"
     }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_flaml_bad_arg.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_flaml_bad_arg.jsonc
index ca84e43c918..383af65f0bb 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_flaml_bad_arg.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_flaml_bad_arg.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "optimizer_type": "FLAML",
         "base_estimator": "foo"
     }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_random_bad_conf.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_random_bad_conf.jsonc
index 60d9cb03baf..d721bbadc95 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_random_bad_conf.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_random_bad_conf.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "space_adapter_type": null,
         "optimizer_type": "RANDOM",
         "random_seed": 0
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_smac_bad_probability.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_smac_bad_probability.jsonc
index 9498c5ae205..a02a0141306 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_smac_bad_probability.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/invalid/mlos_opt_smac_bad_probability.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
     "config": {
         // Here we do our best to list the exhaustive set of full configs available for the base optimizer config.
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false,
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_extra.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_extra.jsonc
index a541e233fdd..aa4ee005832 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_extra.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_extra.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "optimizer_type": "SMAC",
         // base_estimator is only valid for optimizer_type == SKOPT
         "base_estimator": "gp"
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_extra.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_extra.jsonc
index 6891319e947..dbfa9830682 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_extra.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_extra.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false,
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mock_opt_extra_outer.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mock_opt_extra_outer.jsonc
index 5b1259232f2..5311c617cc0 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mock_opt_extra_outer.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/mock_opt_extra_outer.jsonc
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     "extra_outer": "should not be here",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/one_shot_opt_extra.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/one_shot_opt_extra.jsonc
index e400acced86..5a7ecea4117 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/one_shot_opt_extra.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/bad/unhandled/one_shot_opt_extra.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.one_shot_optimizer.OneShotOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "extra_param": "should not be here"
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/grid_search_opt_full.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/grid_search_opt_full.jsonc
index 89a782a9735..cb042135384 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/grid_search_opt_full.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/grid_search_opt_full.jsonc
@@ -6,9 +6,8 @@
     ],
     "config": {
         "max_suggestions": 100,
-        "optimization_direction": "max",
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "max"},
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": true
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_flaml_null_full.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_flaml_null_full.jsonc
index 0be5f47165a..1ad4488b708 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_flaml_null_full.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_flaml_null_full.jsonc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
     "config": {
         // Here we do our best to list the exhaustive set of full configs available for the base optimizer config.
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 10,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false,
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_random_identity_full.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_random_identity_full.jsonc
index 01f13fc8a77..e30cd09ffeb 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_random_identity_full.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_random_identity_full.jsonc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
     "config": {
         // Here we do our best to list the exhaustive set of full configs available for the base optimizer config.
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false,
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_full.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_full.jsonc
index 24fdbda7aaa..a3a4d9859c9 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_full.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_full.jsonc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
     "config": {
         // Here we do our best to list the exhaustive set of full configs available for the base optimizer config.
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false,
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_null_full.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_null_full.jsonc
index dd4a93c2cbf..3e5b26ebc51 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_null_full.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mlos_opt_smac_null_full.jsonc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
     "config": {
         // Here we do our best to list the exhaustive set of full configs available for the base optimizer config.
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false,
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mock_opt_full.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mock_opt_full.jsonc
index 3dfd052fc10..9ff6b14ac1e 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mock_opt_full.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/mock_opt_full.jsonc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
     "config": {
         // Here we do our best to list the exhaustive set of full configs available for the base optimizer config.
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/one_shot_opt_full.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/one_shot_opt_full.jsonc
index 3b5d2f34a4e..c6d70a2087f 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/one_shot_opt_full.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/full/one_shot_opt_full.jsonc
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
     "config": {
         // Here we do our best to list the exhaustive set of full configs available for the base optimizer config.
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "start_with_defaults": false
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_partial.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_partial.jsonc
index 1159d982adb..e62fc18d0fc 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_partial.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mlos_opt_smac_llamatune_partial.jsonc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.mlos_core_optimizer.MlosCoreOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "max_suggestions": 20,
         "seed": 12345,
         "optimizer_type": "SMAC",
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mock_opt_schema_partial_config.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mock_opt_schema_partial_config.jsonc
index 4419da9d566..00be235e7b0 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mock_opt_schema_partial_config.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/mock_opt_schema_partial_config.jsonc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.MockOptimizer",
 
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
         "seed": 12345
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/one_shot_opt_partial.jsonc b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/one_shot_opt_partial.jsonc
index 330e176a023..6178a845599 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/one_shot_opt_partial.jsonc
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/config/schemas/optimizers/test-cases/good/partial/one_shot_opt_partial.jsonc
@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
 
     "class": "mlos_bench.optimizers.OneShotOptimizer",
     "config": {
-        "optimization_target": "score"
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"}
     }
 }
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/conftest.py b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/conftest.py
index 907a2d98a57..7149a79c933 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/conftest.py
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/conftest.py
@@ -59,8 +59,7 @@ def mock_opt_no_defaults(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MockOptimizer:
         tunables=tunable_groups,
         service=None,
         config={
-            "optimization_target": "score",
-            "optimization_direction": "min",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
             "max_suggestions": 5,
             "start_with_defaults": False,
             "seed": SEED
@@ -77,8 +76,7 @@ def mock_opt(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MockOptimizer:
         tunables=tunable_groups,
         service=None,
         config={
-            "optimization_target": "score",
-            "optimization_direction": "min",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
             "max_suggestions": 5,
             "seed": SEED
         },
@@ -94,8 +92,7 @@ def mock_opt_max(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MockOptimizer:
         tunables=tunable_groups,
         service=None,
         config={
-            "optimization_target": "score",
-            "optimization_direction": "max",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "max"},
             "max_suggestions": 10,
             "seed": SEED
         },
@@ -111,8 +108,7 @@ def flaml_opt(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MlosCoreOptimizer:
         tunables=tunable_groups,
         service=None,
         config={
-            "optimization_target": "score",
-            "optimization_direction": "min",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
             "max_suggestions": 15,
             "optimizer_type": "FLAML",
             "seed": SEED,
@@ -129,8 +125,7 @@ def flaml_opt_max(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MlosCoreOptimizer:
         tunables=tunable_groups,
         service=None,
         config={
-            "optimization_target": "score",
-            "optimization_direction": "max",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "max"},
             "max_suggestions": 15,
             "optimizer_type": "FLAML",
             "seed": SEED,
@@ -155,8 +150,7 @@ def smac_opt(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MlosCoreOptimizer:
         tunables=tunable_groups,
         service=None,
         config={
-            "optimization_target": "score",
-            "optimization_direction": "min",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
             "max_suggestions": SMAC_ITERATIONS,
             "optimizer_type": "SMAC",
             "seed": SEED,
@@ -177,8 +171,7 @@ def smac_opt_max(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MlosCoreOptimizer:
         tunables=tunable_groups,
         service=None,
         config={
-            "optimization_target": "score",
-            "optimization_direction": "max",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "max"},
             "max_suggestions": SMAC_ITERATIONS,
             "optimizer_type": "SMAC",
             "seed": SEED,
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/grid_search_optimizer_test.py b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/grid_search_optimizer_test.py
index c56b66b9e1c..177511758c6 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/grid_search_optimizer_test.py
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/grid_search_optimizer_test.py
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def grid_search_opt(grid_search_tunables: TunableGroups,
     max_iterations = len(grid_search_tunables_grid) * 2 - 3
     return GridSearchOptimizer(tunables=grid_search_tunables, config={
         "max_suggestions": max_iterations,
-        "optimization_direction": "max",
+        "optimization_targets": {"score": "max"},
     })
 
 
diff --git a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/llamatune_opt_test.py b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/llamatune_opt_test.py
index da2acfb6363..3ddcec3417a 100644
--- a/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/llamatune_opt_test.py
+++ b/mlos_bench/mlos_bench/tests/optimizers/llamatune_opt_test.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ def llamatune_opt(tunable_groups: TunableGroups) -> MlosCoreOptimizer:
             "space_adapter_config": {
                 "num_low_dims": 2,
             },
-            "optimization_target": "score",
+            "optimization_targets": {"score": "min"},
             "max_suggestions": 10,
             "optimizer_type": "SMAC",
             "seed": SEED,