Lead Data Scientist, Ad Tech & ML Innovation

Disney Entertainment; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 222,000; Full time

Job summary

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to lead ML and data science initiatives across ad decisioning, forecasting, experimentation, and user experience optimizations. You will mentor teammates, design data-driven approaches, and collaborate with product managers and engineers to drive measurable impact.

The role emphasizes building scalable data solutions for advertising platforms across Disney properties and preparing the team for evolving AI-driven

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, statistics or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of data science experience at leading internet or creative technology companies; advertising domain a bonus.
• Experience creating ML datasets and rigorous dataset labeling or evaluation processes.
• Strong interest to learn about generative mixed media, diffusion-based tech.
• Proficient in SQL, Python, Java or R; familiar with Tableau.
• Strong communication and business acumen.

Responsibilities

• Drive data science innovations across ad serving areas including inventory forecasting and ad experience.
• Translate business questions into data science framework; develop data analysis and models.
• Define and evaluate key metrics across product areas.
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures for labeling and evaluations.
• Deliver data insights and provide data-driven recommendations to cross-team stakeholders.
• Design and analyze A/B tests for ML algorithm iterations.
• Establish strong partnerships with product, engineering and program management; mentor team members.

Skills

SQL

Python

Java

R

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS, statistics or related field

Tools

Tableau

Airflow

Databricks

SageMaker

Job description

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to lead ML and data science initiatives across ad decisioning, forecasting, experimentation, and user experience optimizations. You will mentor teammates, design data-driven approaches, and collaborate with product managers and engineers to drive measurable impact.

The role emphasizes building scalable data solutions for advertising platforms across Disney properties and preparing the team for evolving AI-driven