Expert Data Scientist (Commercial)

Nestlé Purina North America; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 133,000 - 188,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k match

Healthcare coverage

Job summary

Nestlé Purina North America is seeking a senior leader to drive Digital Transformation by architecting and deploying AI and advanced analytics across marketing and commercial domains.

You will design generative AI applications, guide MLOps and model governance, and mentor data scientists while partnering with brand, sales, and consumer insights to scale AI across retail channels.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Marketing Analytics, Applied Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field
• 7+ years of professional experience in data science, analytics, and ML for commercial/marketing problems
• 5+ years designing, developing and deploying ML solutions in production
• 3+ years Python/SQL for advanced analytics and model development
• 1+ years designing and deploying LLM-based applications
• 1+ years cloud computing platforms (Azure/AWS/GCP) and production AI system design

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, validation, and deployment of advanced ML and AI solutions for commercial and marketing problems
• Design and deploy statistical, predictive, optimization, and Generative AI models for consumer-facing and go-to-market apps
• Operationalize GenAI solutions, including RAG pipelines, agents, copilots, and multimodal AI
• Partner with brand, marketing, sales, and category leaders to frame problems and drive adoption
• Guide model deployment strategies with AIOps/MLOps, governance, and lifecycle management
• Develop reusable frameworks and accelerators to improve scalability and maintainability
• Mentor junior data scientists and provide leadership on emergent AI technologies

Skills

Data science

Machine learning

Python

SQL

LLM/Generative AI

Cloud computing

MLOps

Education

Bachelor's degree in Data Science/related field

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

TensorFlow

scikit-learn

Job description

Driven by integrity and united by the people-and-pet bond, we find strong purpose in the work we do and an even greater joy in those we get to work alongside. Together, we harness the expertise of our long-standing tradition of excellence to embrace possibility and continuously push to do what's never been done before in pet care. Discover your purpose and fuel your passions when you bring your love of pets to a team that prides itself on the power of togetherness—We are Proudly Connected. Purely Driven.

Position Summary

Digital Transformation is at the center of all that we do. With data-driven innovators passionate about making a difference in the lives of pets, we createcutting-edgedigital business models that solve complex problems.You’llbe at the forefront of digital advancements as they happen in real time, as well as ensure weremaina leader and innovator in the pet care category. Have a hand in making a lasting impact within our long-standing history.

• Lead the design, development, validation, and deployment of advanced statistical, machine learning, optimization, and AI solutions to solve complex commercial and marketing business problems
• Design, develop, evaluate, and deploy statistical, predictive, optimization, machine learning, and Generative AI models for consumer-facing and go-to-market applications
• Design and operationalize GenAI solutions, including RAG pipelines, AI agents, copilots, and multimodal AI applications, where appropriate to power marketing and commercial workflow processes
• Partner with brand, marketing, sales, and category leaders to frame business problems, identify analytical opportunities, translate strategic priorities into AI and advanced analytics solutions, and drive adoption across retail and consumer channels.
• Guide model deployment strategies including AIOps/MLOps, monitoring, model governance, and lifecycle management
• Develop reusable frameworks, accelerators, and best practices that improve the scalability and maintainability of AI solutions
• Mentor junior data scientists and provide thought leadership on emerging technologies such as agentic AI, knowledge graphs, and autonomous decision‑making systems

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Marketing Analytics, Applied Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field
• 7+ years of professional experience, with 5+ of those years in data science, advanced analytics, and machine learning applied to commercial, marketing, or consumer-facing problems
• 5+ years of experience designing, developing, validating and deploying machine learning solutions (e.g., TensorFlow, scikit-learn) in production environments, ideally supporting use cases such as marketing mix modeling, customer segmentation, personalization, pricing/promotion, demand or media optimization, or churn/lifetime-value prediction
• 3+ years of experience in Python/SQL for advanced analytics, data engineering, and model development, including work with marketing, sales, e-commerce, loyalty, or syndicated consumer datasets (e.g., Nielsen/IRI, CRM, digital media, or POS data)
• 1+ years of experience designing, fine‑tuning, evaluating, and deploying LLM-based applications for commercial or marketing use cases (e.g., content generation, campaign optimization, or consumer insight mining)
• 1+ years of experience with cloud computing platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP) and production AI system design

Other

• Master's or PhD in Data Science, Applied Statistics, Marketing Analytics, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field (or an MBA) is preferred
• Experience partnering with Marketing, Sales, and Consumer Insights teams to design AI-enabled workflows across areas such as campaign optimization, consumer engagement, pricing and promotion analytics, media/marketing mix modeling, or digital commerce is preferred
• Familiarity with the commercial/CPG go-to-market landscape — including retail media, shopper marketing, category management, or direct-to-consumer channels is preferred
• Knowledge of database systems, data warehousing, and distributed computing frameworks (e.g., SQL, NoSQL, Hadoop, Spark, or Ray) is preferred
• Understanding of agentic AI, knowledge graphs, and autonomous decision‑making systems, along with expertise in GenAI models (e.g., GANs and diffusion models) and building LLM-based solutions such as RAG pipelines, copilots, and multimodal AI applications, is preferred
• Experience operationalizing AI solutions through AIOps/MLOps frameworks, model governance, and enterprise AI lifecycle management, including responsible AI principles such as fairness, explainability, hallucination detection, and AI risk management, is preferred

Don’t meet all the qualifications listed under “other”? These are preferred, but not required. When you apply for a role with Nestlé Purina, we ensure that individual confidentiality is held to the highest regard. We are intentional about creating an inclusive workplace for everyone. We consider our associates our most valuable assets.

Salary: $133,000.00 to $188,000.00 per year

Bonus Eligibility: Yes

The pay range provided is a good faith estimate for the position at the time of posting. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to knowledge, skills and abilities as well as geographic location. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at top of range.

Nestlé offers performance-based incentives and a competitive total rewards package, which includes a 401k with company match, healthcare coverage and a broad range of other benefits. Incentives and/or benefit packages may vary depending on the position. Learn more at https://www.nestlejobs.com/nestle-in-the-us-benefits

It is our business imperative to remain a very inclusive workplace.

To our veterans and separated service members, you're at the forefront of our minds as we recruit top talent to join Nestlé. The skills you've gained while serving our country, such as flexibility, agility, and leadership, are much like the skills that will make you successful in this role. In addition, with our commitment to an inclusive work environment, we recognize the exceptional engagement and innovation displayed by individuals with disabilities. Nestlé seeks such skilled and qualified individuals to share our mission where you’ll join a cohort of others who have chosen to call Nestlé home.

The Nestlé Companies are equal employment opportunity employers. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Prior to the next step in the recruiting process, we welcome you to inform us confidentially if you may require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment experience. Contact us at [e-mail] or please dial 711 and provide this number to the operator: 1-800-321-6467.

This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.

Review our applicant privacy notice before applying at https://www.nestlejobs.com/privacy.

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