Principal Data Scientist

AutoTrader.ca; Ontario; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading automotive marketplace as a Principal Data Scientist, leveraging AI and machine learning to shape innovative solutions for millions of users. This role requires extensive experience, strategic vision, and hands-on capability to drive transformation in a dynamic environment. If you have a passion for machine learning and want to influence the industry significantly, this opportunity is for you.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in data science or applied AI.
• Expert programming in Python and SQL with a strong portfolio.
• Experience with GenAI/LLM technologies and MLOps.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and deployment of AI models for personalization and optimization.
• Shape strategic direction for Data Science initiatives across the organization.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to innovate and drive product goals.

Skills

Data Science

Machine Learning

Generative AI

Python

SQL

MLOps

Cloud Infrastructure

Stakeholder Management

Communication

Education

Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related discipline

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Docker

AWS

Job description

TRADER Corporation is a trusted Canadian leader in online media, dealer and lender services. The company is comprised of AutoTrader.ca, AutoSync and Dealertrack Canada. AutoTrader.ca (AutoHebdo.net in Quebec) offers the largest inventory of new cars and used cars in Canada, receiving over 25 million monthly visits to its marketplace. With over 3,500 subscribers and counting, AutoSync is the largest and fastest growing dealer and OEM software provider in Canada. The platform's suite of connected automotive software solutions brings advertising, conversion and operational support together, synchronizing the entire retail process. AutoSync's diverse range of offerings includes: vAuto, EasyDeal, xtime, Motoinsight, Activix, TAdvantage and TRFFK. Dealertrack is Canada’s largest automotive financing portal, enhancing efficiency and profitability for all major segments of the automotive, marine, recreational vehicle, motorcycle and powersport retail industries. Over 6.5 million credit applications are submitted via the Dealertrack Canada portal each year. Collateral Management is a national, end-to-end, managed technology solution that offers industry insight and multi-channel collection strategies to maximize funds recovered. Collateral Management helps you remain compliant in all jurisdictions, alleviating your exposure to reputational and financial risks. Visit tradercorporation.com to learn more.

TRADER Corporation's parent company AutoScout24 is the largest pan-European online car marketplace with over 2 million listings and more than 43,000 dealer customers. With AutoScout24, users can find, finance, buy, subscribe for and sell used and new cars. The marketplace provides inspiration on vehicles and makes hard decisions easy.

Since 1998, AutoScout24 has been offering private users, car dealers and other cooperation partners from the automotive, financial and insurance services sector a comprehensive digital platform for car trading. The online marketplace includes used and new cars, motorcycles as well as commercial vehicles. AutoScout24 has over 30 million users per month, more than 43,000 dealers and around 500 employees. In addition to Germany, AutoScout24 is also represented in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Austria.

More information on www.autoscout24.de

Experience leveraging AI, Generative AI (GenAI) to enhance engineering productivity, automate repetitive tasks, and optimize workflows. Candidates should demonstrate the ability to integrate AI-driven solutions into their daily work—such as code generation, debugging, reviews, documentation, and decision support—to improve efficiency for themselves and their teams. A proactive approach to exploring and implementing AI tools that drive innovation and streamline development processes is highly valued.

Join our global Data Science team and take a leadership role in shaping the future of the automotive marketplace through cutting-edge AI and machine learning. As a Principal Data Scientist, you’ll spearhead high-impact AI initiatives that influence millions of users worldwide, with a focus on both strategic vision and hands-on innovation.

In this role, you’ll collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and business teams to design, build, and scale AI solutions that set us apart in the industry. You’ll bring deep technical expertise, a passion for innovation, and a strong product mindset to develop ML products that solve real-world problems and deliver measurable business value.

Our ideal candidate is an experienced data science leader who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment that combines the stability of an industry leader with the agility of a startup culture. You are curious, proactive, and committed to continuous learning, especially in emerging areas like Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs).

You should be comfortable engaging with all levels of the organization, from peers to executives, and possess the ability to distill complex information into clear, actionable strategies that drive business decisions and create value.

What You’ll Do:

1. Shape the strategic direction and vision of Data Science across the organization by identifying transformative AI/ML opportunities and championing the team’s evolving role in a rapidly advancing GenAI landscape.
2. Lead the design and deployment of predictive and generative AI models that power personalization, pricing, search, and optimization in marketplace and fintech domains.
3. Collaborate with product leaders to align ML initiatives with strategic business goals and drive product innovation through data-driven experimentation and modeling.
4. Architect scalable ML infrastructure and automated workflows using cloud-native tools (e.g., AWS, EC2, Kubernetes) to support efficient model training, deployment, and analytics across diverse datasets.
5. Ensure long-term performance and compliance of production AI models through robust governance and monitoring.
6. Provide technical leadership and mentorship to data scientists, shaping an innovative team culture and fostering high-performance and continuous learning.
7. Serve as a cross-functional technical leader, shaping company-wide technical initiatives beyond data science. Partner with engineering, product, and platform teams to influence architecture, innovation agendas, and technical standards across the organization.
8. Act as a senior technical advisor, leading resolution of complex modeling issues and acting as the escalation point for critical incidents.
9. Lead the exploration and strategic application of GenAI, identifying high-impact use cases and guiding their integration across products and platforms.

What You’ll Need

• Advanced academic credentials in a quantitative field such as Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related discipline
• 10+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI, with a strong portfolio of high-impact projects in production
• Expert-level programming skills in Python and SQL, and fluency with leading ML/AI frameworks (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch)
• Direct experience with GenAI/LLM technologies, including tools like Hugging Face, LangChain, OpenAI APIs, vector databases, and fine-tuning methods
• Deep knowledge of machine learning algorithms (supervised, unsupervised, deep learning), including model evaluation, explainability, and selection for business-critical use cases
• Strong hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS), containerization (Docker), and orchestration (Jenkins, Airflow)
• Proven capability in MLOps, including CI/CD pipelines, model monitoring, versioning, and automated retraining
• Experience deploying and serving models through APIs (e.g., Flask, FastAPI) in both real-time and batch-processing environments
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, able to translate complex concepts into actionable insights for non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated success mentoring teams, guiding technical strategy, and advocating for best practices in experimentation, reproducibility, and ethical AI
• Experience working in agile product development environments (Scrum/Kanban); experience influencing product roadmaps is a strong plus

Bonus Points

• Experience in e-commerce, marketplaces, or high-scale consumer platforms
• Familiarity with automotive data and applications in pricing, inventory optimization, or recommendation systems
• Contributions to open-source AI/ML projects, publications, or presentations at industry conferences

If this opportunity excites you, but you're unsure whether your background checks every box, we value passion, curiosity, and a growth mindset. Reach out and tell us what strengths you would bring to the team. We look forward to hearing from you!