Lead Applied Scientist, Marketing

Socket.dev; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Launch Potato is seeking a senior data scientist to own the full data science engine for a priority vertical, from business problem framing to deployed model and live ROAS performance.

This hands-on role immerses you in data, modeling, and collaboration with ML engineers, starting with Insurance and Advertiser Quality, with ROAS as the primary metric driving revenue and media efficiency.

BASE SALARY: $175,000 to $200,000 per year, paid semi-monthly.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a hands-on, in-the-weeds applied data science role delivering measurable business impact.
• Experience building and deploying ML solutions in the AWS cloud.
• Expert Python and SQL skills for production modeling and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Own the Insurance vertical's primary modeling work end-to-end with measurable ROAS impact.
• Deliver buying models that maintain positive ROAS and quality.
• Drive lead quality improvements across our brands resulting in revenue growth.
• Produce validated, documented outputs and collaborate with ML engineering partners throughout deployment.

Skills

Python

SQL

Machine Learning

Reinforcement Learning

Multi-armed Bandit

Recommendation Systems

AWS

Modeling

Looker

Tools

Looker

Job description

WHO ARE WE?

Launch Potato is a profitable digital media company that reaches over 30M+ monthly visitors through brands such as FinanceBuzz, All About Cookies, and OnlyInYourState.

As The Discovery and Conversion Company, our mission is to connect consumers with the world’s leading brands through data-driven content and technology.

Headquartered in South Florida with a remote-first team spanning over 15 countries, we’ve built a high-growth, high-performance culture where speed, ownership, and measurable impact drive success.

WHY JOIN US?

At Launch Potato, you’ll accelerate your career by owning outcomes, moving fast, and driving impact with a global team of high-performers.

BASE SALARY: $175,000 to $200,000 per year, paid semi-monthly

MUST HAVE

• Proven experience in digital marketing, performance marketing, or the leadgen industry
• Building adtech algorithms and supporting user acquisition or paid media modeling (highly desired)
• Strong modeling fundamentals: the ability to build effective models that drive business impact
• Multi-year, hands-on experience building and deploying ML solutions in the AWS cloud
• Hands-on experience across core technique areas: multi-armed bandit / reinforcement learning, recommendation and ranking systems (content-based, collaborative filtering, hybrid), funnel and monetization optimization, LTV modeling
• Expert Python and SQL

EXPERIENCE: 5+ years in a hands-on, in-the-weeds applied data science role delivering measurable business impact.

YOUR ROLE

Own the full data science engine for a priority vertical, from business problem to deployed model to live ROAS performance, driving measurable revenue and media efficiency. This is a hands-on, in-the-weeds role: you are heavily immersed in the data and the modeling, framing the business problem directly with stakeholders, building and validating the model, handing the ML-engineering last mile to your ML engineering partner, and staying engaged through deployment, monitoring, and performance analysis.

You will start focusing on Insurance and Advertiser Quality, with scope that broadens over time. Your primary metric is ROAS.

OUTCOMES

• Own the Insurance vertical's primary modeling work end-to-end with measurable ROAS impact
• Deliver buying models that maintain positive ROAS and quality
• Drive lead quality improvements across our portfolio of brands: Messaging, Funnels, Content/Listicles, and more resulting in measurable impact to revenue growth
• Establish trusted, direct partnership with vertical business stakeholders
• Produce trusted output: validated, documented, low correction burden
• Identify and leverage net-new modeling opportunities the business has not flagged

COMPETENCIES

• Business-first framing: Starts with the problem and the metric, not the model.
• Full-stack ownership: Stays engaged from problem definition through deployed performance
• Proactive communication: Closes loops without being chased
• Collaborative: Leans on ML engineering for the last mile rather than working solo
• Coachable: Seeks feedback and turns it into visible behavior change
• Curiosity paired with delivery discipline

NICE TO HAVES

• Sophisticated ML at companies where paid digital media is core to the business model
• Creative embeddings work: incorporating embeddings of creatives, videos, headlines, and search into paid media models
• Insurance domain experience
• Creating state-of-the-art Ad Ranking algorithms
• Modeling against ad-platform data points (Google, Meta, native)
• LLMs / deep learning applied to personalization or content
• Familiarity with Looker

TOTAL COMPENSATION

Base salary is set according to market rates for the nearest major metro and varies based on Launch Potato’s Levels Framework. Your compensation package includes a base salary, profit-sharing bonus, and competitive benefits. Launch Potato is a performance-driven company, which means once you are hired, future increases will be based on company and personal performance, not annual cost of living adjustments.

• base salary
• profit-sharing bonus
• competitive benefits

Since day one, we've been committed to having a diverse, inclusive team and culture. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity company. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion.

We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.