Lead Data Scientist—Causal Inference & Experimentation

Discord; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 279,000 - 310,000; Full time

Job summary

Discord in the San Francisco Bay Area is hiring a Staff Data Scientist for the Experimentation Platform. You will shape the vision and roadmap, ensure rigorous experimental design, and help teams run reliable, scalable experiments.

Leading a 50+ person data science organization, you will educate others, conduct causal inference research, and partner with product and engineering. The base US salary ranges from $279,000 to $310,000 plus equity and benefits.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading experimentation platform work, including designing and validating statistical methodologies to ensure the accuracy and reliability of experimental results.
• PhD in a quantitative field (e.g. Statistics, Economics, Political Science, Psychology) or equivalent practical experience, plus 4+ years designing, implementing, and analyzing experiments or causal inference projects.
• Ability to critically evaluate and recommend statistical approaches that balance velocity and reliability across a variety of product launches.
• Strong passion for education, with a track record of communicating complex statistical and experimental design concepts to technical and non‑technical audiences and fostering a culture of data literacy.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and delivering training programs or educational content related to experimentation, causal inference, or statistical analysis, with a track record of fostering a culture of data literacy within an organization.
• Proficient with Python, SQL, R, and/or other statistical programming languages.

Responsibilities

• Formulate the vision and set the roadmap for the future of the Experimentation Platform, in partnership with engineering, product, and data science stakeholders.
• Provide statistical expertise, ensuring that experimentation methodologies and frameworks are sound and aligned with best practices in causal inference and experimental design.
• Partner closely with engineering and product to improve the reliability, scalability, and adoption of experimentation across Discord - including modern AI/LLM tooling where it can accelerate rigor and speed.
• Lead initiatives to educate and train cross-functional teams - including workshops, training sessions, and educational materials - on experimentation design, statistical methodology, and causal inference.
• Empower Discord's Data Science team (50+ members) to adopt more rigorous causal inference methods.
• Lead and conduct original causal inference research on high-priority Discord questions, in partnership with the wider Data Science team.
• Engage directly with experimentation customers - data scientists, product managers, and engineers - to ensure the platform enables fast, reliable, data-driven decisions.

Skills

Python

SQL

R

Education

PhD in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Political Science, Psychology) or equivalent practical experience

Job description

Discord in the San Francisco Bay Area is hiring a Staff Data Scientist for the Experimentation Platform. You will shape the vision and roadmap, ensure rigorous experimental design, and help teams run reliable, scalable experiments.

Leading a 50+ person data science organization, you will educate others, conduct causal inference research, and partner with product and engineering. The base US salary ranges from $279,000 to $310,000 plus equity and benefits.