Lead Data Scientist

We are seeking a forward-thinking Lead Data Scientistto drive advanced analytics and AI innovation across our Retail business. This role blends technical depth with strategic leadership, guiding a small team while collaborating across Consumer Dealer Analytics (CDA) to accelerate analytics, insights, and AI adoption. The ideal candidate will be a hands-on modeler, a mentor, and a change agent who thrives in a fast-paced, data-first environment. The Lead Data Scientist will drive advanced analytics and AI innovation across the Retail business, managing a team of two and contributing to CDA-wide AI learning and development. This role blends technical depth with strategic leadership, guiding AI adoption and delivering actionable intelligence.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end development of predictive, prescriptive, and perceptive models to support Retail strategy and operations.
• Manage and mentor a team of data scientists, fostering growth and technical excellence.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, business stakeholders, and external partners to translate complex data insights into actionable strategies.
• Serve as a core member of the CDA AI Learning & Development team, helping shape and deliver AI training and enablement across the organization
• Identify and implement automation opportunities using AI-assisted tools (e.g., Snowflake Cortex, GitHub Copilot, M365 Copilot)
• Champion MLOps practices for scalable, secure, and efficient model deployment.
• Stay current on AI/ML trends and tools, continuously evaluating their impact on business outcomes.

WHO YOU ARE
Required Skills & Experience (Who you are!)

• Bachelor's degree in a related discipline and 6 years' experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 4 years' experience; a Ph.D. and 1 year of experience; or 10 years' experience in a related field
• Degree in Statistics, Applied Math, Economics, or related field.
• Must live within commutable to Atlanta GA or Irvine CA office and work hybrid model 2+ days in office weekly.
• Must have 6+ years of experience in data science, with a strong foundation in statistical modeling, machine learning, and AI. (excluding internship and academics)
• Must have proven leadership experience managing data science teams and cross-functional initiatives.
• Visionary leader who can shape the future of our Decision Science practice.
• Strong command of Python and libraries such as pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, and PyTorch.
• Use of GitHub Copilot and other GenAI tools for AI-assisted coding and productivity.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate technical insights into business value.
• Expertise in SQL, Python, Dataiku, and modern AI tools for code generation, feature engineering, and model optimization.
• Experience with Jupyter Notebooks for exploratory analysis and reproducible workflows.
• Experience with Vertex AI Notebooks for scalable model development and integration with Google Cloud services.
• Expertise with cloud platforms (Snowflake, Azure, AWS) and data governance principles.
• Knowledge of ETL pipelines using APIs, FTP transfers, and curated views.

Expertise in at least two of the following:

• Statistics: GLMs, time series, clustering, PCA.
• Operations Research: Optimization, simulation, heuristics.
• Machine Learning: Supervised/unsupervised models, tuning, deployment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in retail analytics or consumer behavior modeling.
• Exposure to agentic workflows and AI-enhanced productivity tools.
• Participation in AI communities of practice or organizational AI strategy initiatives.
• Exposure to LangChain and LangGraph for building AI agents and chatbots.
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau Pulse, and Lucidchart for visualization, reporting, and process mapping.

USD 119,600.00 - 199,400.00 per year
Compensation:
Compensation includes a base salary of $119,600.00 - $199,400.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.
Benefits:
The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.