Associate Principal Data Scientist

Activision Publishing Inc. in; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 143,000 - 265,000; Full time

Job summary

As an Associate Principal Data Scientist at a leading company in the gaming industry, you will lead large-scale data initiatives and apply advanced statistical and machine learning techniques. This role requires a Master's or PhD and offers a competitive salary and a suite of benefits supporting employee well-being. The company values diversity and encourages all qualified candidates to apply.

Benefits

Comprehensive health benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation and holidays

Mental health & well-being programs

Relocation assistance if required

Qualifications

• 14+ years of experience in data science and machine learning.
• Experience mentoring and influencing teams.
• Strong understanding of statistical methods and frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and execution of large-scale data science initiatives.
• Apply machine learning techniques for system development.
• Mentor senior data scientists and uphold scientific rigor.

Skills

Python

SQL

Machine Learning

Statistical Modeling

Communication

Collaboration

Systems Thinking

Education

Master's degree or PhD in a quantitative field

Tools

Big Data tools (e.g., Spark, Hive)

Cloud Computing Platforms (e.g., GCP, AWS)

Job description

Associate Principal Data Scientist (Finance)

Associate Principal Data Scientist (Finance)

Job Title: Associate Principal Data Scientist

Requisition ID: R025545

Job Description:

Your Role Within Our Kingdom

We are seeking an Associate Principal Data Scientist -a highly experienced and technically deep individual contributor who leads through influence, owns high-impact initiatives, and drives scientific excellence across experimentation and modeling.

Responsibilities :

• Lead the design and execution of large-scale data science initiatives, shaping the roadmap for experimentation and modeling across teams.
• Apply advanced statistical, optimization, and machine learning techniques (e.g., time-series, regression/classification, recommendation engines, reinforcement learning , and genAI) to drive system understanding and develop data-powered solutions across the organization.
• Own design and evaluation of experimentation for optimization systems.
• Provide technical direction, mentor senior data scientists, and set high standards for scientific rigor, communication, and reproducibility.
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Game Studios to frame ambiguous problems, scope solutions, and influence strategy.
• Champion innovation by evaluating new methodologies and tools, and by raising the bar for scalable, interpretable, and actionable data science.

Skills to Create Thrills

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in a quantitative field (e.g., Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Operations Research).
• 14+ years of industry experience (or equivalent post-graduate experience) in data science, experimentation, statistical modeling, and machine learning, including work with large-scale systems.
• Proficient in Python and SQL; familiarity with big data tools (e.g., Spark, Hive) and cloud computing platforms (e.g., GCP, AWS).
• Strong systems thinking-able to zoom out and define strategy while also diving deep into code and analysis.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with demonstrated experience partnering across Product, Engineering and Business teams.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring, influencing, and elevating the technical bar across a data science organization.

Bonus Points

• Experience working with advertising data products or monetization systems.
• Prior work with mobile gaming studios or player behavior modeling.
• Experience in developing or maintaining experimentation platforms.
• Familiarity with modern data orchestration and versioning (e.g., Airflow, dbt, MLflow).

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women, veterans, and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to [e-mail]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for 'Every World' - we've got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/ .

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $143,060.00 - $264,846.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role's range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.