Lead Data Scientist (Forecasting)

Guild Education, Inc.; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellness benefits

Education benefits and tuition support

Equity stake in the company

Financial planning resources and tools

Paid family leave and leave policies

Job summary

Guild Education, Inc. is hiring a Lead Data Scientist, Forecasting to scale the impact of our Forecasting and Financial Analytics team.

You’ll own and improve critical components of our most complex forecasting model within a modular system and experimentation framework to drive step-change improvements in forecasting client education benefit programs. The role emphasizes mentoring junior team members, partnering across Analytics, Data Science, Data Engineering, Product, and Technology, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of total experience in analytics, data science, forecasting, or FP&A.
• Experience operationalizing models with backtesting, validation, monitoring, and drift detection.
• Proficiency in Python and/or R, with time-series and ML forecasting knowledge.
• Ability to translate forecasts and uncertainty into clear recommendations for non-technical stakeholders.
• Fluency with AI-assisted development tools like Cursor or Claude Code.
• Strong SQL skills and experience structuring large datasets for reuse.
• A track record of contributing quickly in an existing codebase and collaborating.

Responsibilities

• Own and improve critical forecasting model components within a modular system.
• Scale impact of forecasting and financial analytics on client programs.
• Backtest and experiment to shorten the monthly refresh cycle with rigor.
• Transfer modeling logic into well-structured, tested code with redundancy.
• Partner across Analytics, Data Science, Data Engineering, Product, and Tech teams.
• Mentor junior team members and foster continuous learning.
• Produce insights and recommendations for stakeholders and business metrics.

Skills

Forecasting

Time-series

ML forecasting

Python

R

SQL

Data visualization

Communication of forecast results

Tools

Looker

Tableau

Omni

Databricks

MLflow

Job description

• Guild is hiring a Lead Data Scientist, Forecasting to scale the impact of our Forecasting and Financial Analytics team. You’ll own and improve critical components of our most complex and most important forecasting model — working inside a modern, modular forecasting system and experimentation framework to drive step-change improvements in how well we forecast clients’ education benefit program
• Develop and improve the usage-based forecasting models for critical components of clients’ education benefit with Guild, using advanced statistical and machine learning techniques
• Raise forecast accuracy and shorten the monthly refresh cycle, using a backtesting and experimentation framework to test methodological changes with rigor. Build tooling and process to catch correctable model issues
• Transfer modeling logic out of individual heads into well-structured, documented, tested code, building redundancy on a business-critical forecast
• Partner cross-functionally with Analytics, Data Science, Data Engineering, Product, and Technology teams to improve the data, systems, and infrastructure the forecast depends on
• Mentor and guide junior team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation
• Produce insights, analyses, and recommendations to help internal stakeholders understand forecast drivers and the impact on client and internal business metrics

Benefits

• Well-rounded wellness benefits including free and low cost mental health resources and financial wellbeing support services
• Education benefits and tuition assistance to help your future development and growth
• Equity stake in the company providing ownership and a path to future earnings (when we succeed, we all benefit)
• free one-on-one coaching with a certified financial planner, a platform with budgeting tools, investment and equity management center and many more financial resources through Origin (we believe financial literacy not only supports you personally, but also has a lasting impact in creating positive generational wealth practices)
• Employee Assistance Fund for unforeseen crises, disasters, and/or personal hardships and you need a little extra financial support (funded by the company and fellow Guilders to create a community of support)
• legal support and resources to navigate complicated situations like estate planning name changes, immigration, and more
• 401(k) plan with a range of diverse investment options and personalized retirement advice
• Multiple paths to meet educational and professional goals
• Fertility benefits built into all of our medical plans
• A $10,000 family planning fund to take care of costs that aren’t covered by the medical plans like adoption, surrogacy, and egg freezing expenses
• 12-20 weeks of paid leave and a ramp-up program for Guilders to ease back into work after an extended time away
• An additional 3 weeks of paid leave if you are going through the adoption, surrogacy, or foster process to use prior to your child’s arrival/placement to prepare and attend necessary meeting
• Inclusive guidance and support as you go through your family planning journey through Cleo
• Our on-site childcare center, The Beehive, offering care for children 3 months-6 years of age for employees and their friends and family members located in Colorado
• Personalized 1:1 support for anyone on the parenthood journey with access to a network of clinicians, experts, and specialists through Cleo
• 80 hours of low cost ($2/hr) emergency backup care for times employees unexpectedly find themselves without primary care for the ones they are responsible for
• Dedicated support in finding background-checked care providers to assist with child care, elder care, and chronic care needs through Helpr
• The ability to bring an actively nursing child and companion on work related trips
• Inclusive, affordable medical and behavioral healthcare when you need it
• Open PTO is available so Guilders can rest, recharge, and bring their best selves to work
• 10 Holidays including a collective week off over the 4th of July plus 5 floating holidays for cultural and religious events you celebrate
• Our leave policies are there to support employees and offer 12 weeks of fully paid medical, non-birthing parent, and caregiving leave as of day one of employment while birthing parents receive 18-20 weeks of fully paid leave
• Once Guilders reach 4.5 years of service, they are eligible for a 5-week fully paid sabbatical leave
• Up to 10 days of bereavement leave
• 8 sick days
• Up to 10 days of jury duty

Experience

• Experience with Looker, Tableau, Omni, or similar data visualization tool5+ years of total experience in analytics, data science, forecasting, or financial planning & analysis
• Experience operationalizing models — backtesting, validation, monitoring, drift detection, retraining — ideally on a platform such as Databricks with experiment tracking (e.g., MLflow)
• Proficiency in Python and/or R, with depth across time-series and machine learning forecasting methods and sound judgment about the tradeoffs among accuracy, interpretability, and stability
• The ability to translate forecasts, including their uncertainty, into clear recommendations for non-technical stakeholders
• Fluency with AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, or similar coding agents
• Strong experience with SQL and experience transforming and structuring large datasets into reusable formats
• A track record of getting productive quickly in an existing codebase and improving it collaboratively