Data Scientist – Search, Recommendations & Personalization

ISOFT; Cincinnati (OH); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

ISOFT is seeking a highly experienced Data Scientist to join its Search, Recommendations & Personalization team in Cincinnati. This role focuses on building intelligent machine learning solutions that improve how users discover products, promotions, coupons, deals, and content across digital channels.

The ideal candidate develops and deploys production-grade recommendation systems, search relevance models, ranking algorithms, and personalization features, collaborating with Product Owners and ML

Qualifications

• 8 years of professional experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, Applied Science, or a related discipline.
• Proven experience building production recommendation systems, personalization platforms, ranking models, search relevance systems, or similar customer-facing machine learning products.
• Strong expertise in Python, Apache Spark, SQL, Machine Learning, Statistical Modeling.
• Experience with Microsoft Azure, Databricks, Large-scale cloud data platforms.
• Strong experience with feature engineering and model optimization.
• Experience designing experiments and evaluating model performance through A/B testing and related methodologies.
• Ability to translate ambiguous business challenges into measurable analytical solutions.
• Demonstrated success operating in complex environments with minimal direction.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize machine learning models that power personalization, recommendations, and search experiences.
• Build and enhance recommendation systems for products, promotions, coupons, deals, and content.
• Develop features and analytical datasets from large-scale customer, transaction, and behavioral data.
• Perform feature engineering, statistical analysis, model evaluation, and performance optimization.
• Design and execute A/B tests and other experimentation frameworks to measure model effectiveness and business impact.
• Partner with Product Owners to translate business objectives into scalable machine learning solutions.
• Collaborate closely with Machine Learning Engineers to operationalize, deploy, and scale models in production environments.
• Explore opportunities to leverage Agentic AI workflows and emerging AI technologies where they create measurable business value.
• Communicate technical findings, recommendations, and insights to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Drive improvements in customer engagement, personalization, and product discovery experiences.

Skills

Python

Apache Spark

SQL

Machine Learning

Statistical Modeling

Feature Engineering

A/B Testing

Recommendation Systems

Tools

Microsoft Azure

Databricks

LangChain

LangGraph

Job description

Role: Data Scientist -- Search, Recommendations & Personalization

Location: Cincinnati, OH (Local Preferred; Open to Strong Remote Candidates)

Duration: 12-month contract, with a high likelihood of extension/conversion

Position Details:

• Work Authorization: Available on W2 or C2C basis


• Interview Process:
  
  
  
  • Ropes Assessment
  
  
  • Internal Screening with Account Executive
  
  
  • Technical panel with team
  
  
  
  


• Feedback Timeline: 24-48 hours after interview


• Start Date: ASAP

Position Overview:

Isoft is seeking a highly experienced Data Scientist to join its Search, Recommendations & Personalization team. This team is responsible for building intelligent, customer-facing machine learning solutions that improve how users discover products, promotions, coupons, deals, and content across digital channels.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in developing and deploying recommendation systems, search relevance models, ranking algorithms, and personalization solutions in production environments. You will work closely with Product Owners and Machine Learning Engineers to transform business challenges into scalable machine learning solutions that drive engagement, conversion, and customer satisfaction.

This is an opportunity to contribute to a highly visible initiative focused on creating next-generation digital customer experiences through advanced machine learning, experimentation, and AI-driven innovation. The role aligns with broader enterprise efforts supporting search, recommendation, ranking, and personalization platforms.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and optimize machine learning models that power personalization, recommendations, and search experiences.


• Build and enhance recommendation systems for products, promotions, coupons, deals, and content.


• Develop features and analytical datasets from large-scale customer, transaction, and behavioral data.


• Perform feature engineering, statistical analysis, model evaluation, and performance optimization.


• Design and execute A/B tests and other experimentation frameworks to measure model effectiveness and business impact.


• Partner with Product Owners to translate business objectives into scalable machine learning solutions.


• Collaborate closely with Machine Learning Engineers to operationalize, deploy, and scale models in production environments.


• Explore opportunities to leverage Agentic AI workflows and emerging AI technologies where they create measurable business value.


• Communicate technical findings, recommendations, and insights to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.


• Drive improvements in customer engagement, personalization, and product discovery experiences.

Required Qualifications:

• 8 years of professional experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, Applied Science, or a related discipline.


• Proven experience building production recommendation systems, personalization platforms, ranking models, search relevance systems, or similar customer-facing machine learning products.


• Strong expertise in:
  
  
  
  • Python
  
  
  • Apache Spark
  
  
  • SQL
  
  
  • Machine Learning
  
  
  • Statistical Modeling
  
  
  
  


• Experience with:
  
  
  
  • Microsoft Azure
  
  
  • Databricks
  
  
  • Large-scale cloud data platforms
  
  
  
  


• Strong experience with feature engineering and model optimization.


• Experience designing experiments and evaluating model performance through A/B testing and related methodologies.


• Ability to translate ambiguous business challenges into measurable analytical solutions.


• Demonstrated success operating in complex environments with minimal direction.


• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience within retail, grocery, eCommerce, marketplace, or consumer technology organizations.


• Experience developing recommendation, search, personalization, or ranking systems at scale.


• Familiarity with modern GenAI and LLM-powered development workflows.


• Knowledge of Agentic AI concepts and frameworks.


• Hands-on experience with:
  
  
  
  • LangChain
  
  
  • LangGraph
  
  
  
  

Must-Have Technologies

• Python


• SQL


• Apache Spark


• Databricks


• Microsoft Azure


• Machine Learning


• Statistical Modeling


• Feature Engineering


• A/B Testing


• Recommendation Systems

Nice-to-Have Technologies

• Agentic AI


• LangChain


• LangGraph

What Success Looks Like

In this role, you will help shape the future of search, recommendation, and personalization capabilities by leveraging large-scale behavioral and transaction data to deliver intelligent customer experiences. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong ownership, thrive in ambiguity, and effectively partner across product, engineering, and business teams to build impactful machine learning solutions.

Ideal Background:

Candidates with experience in:

• Recommendation Systems


• Search Relevance


• Ranking Models


• Personalization Platforms


• Customer Analytics


• eCommerce & Retail Machine Learning


• Consumer-Facing AI/ML Products