Lead Data Scientist, Forecasting

Guild Education, Inc.; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care options through Collective

401k

Vacation policy

Paid sick leave

Parental leave

Disability insurance

Wellness benefits

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Guild Education, Inc. is seeking a Lead Data Scientist, Forecasting to scale our Forecasting and Financial Analytics team. You will own and improve the most complex forecasting model within a modern system, driving improvements in forecast accuracy for clients' education benefit programs.

The role requires deep expertise in time-series methods, SQL, Python/R, and operationalizing models on platforms like Databricks with MLflow. Remote-friendly but primarily Denver-based with hybrid options.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of total experience in analytics, data science, forecasting, or financial planning & analysis.
• Proficiency in Python and/or R, with time-series and forecasting methods.
• Experience transforming large datasets into reusable formats.
• Experience operationalizing models (backtesting, validation, monitoring, retraining).
• Experience with Looker, Tableau, Omni, or similar data visualization tools.

Responsibilities

• Develop and improve usage-based forecasting models for clients' education benefit with Guild.
• Increase forecast accuracy and shorten monthly refresh cycle with backtesting and experimentation framework.
• Translate modeling logic into well-structured, tested code with redundancy for critical forecasts.
• Collaborate with Analytics, Data Science, Data Engineering, Product, and Tech teams to improve data and infrastructure.
• Mentor junior team members and foster a culture of learning and innovation.
• Produce analyses and recommendations to help stakeholders understand forecast drivers and impacts.

Skills

SQL

Python

R

Time-series forecasting

Forecasting models

Data visualization

Tools

Databricks

MLflow

Looker

Tableau

Omni

Job description

To thrive as a company and meet our impact goals, we must cultivate a culture of high-performance. You can read about our culture principles here.

We know managers are often the single-largest driver of employee satisfaction and growth, and our talent is our biggest asset. Because of that, we’ve identified consistent expectations for all of Guild’s people managers — helping you know what to expect from your experience here.

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.

As a Lead Data Scientist, Forecasting, You Will

• 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.

You are a strong fit for this role if you have:

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

We are committed to equal pay for equal work and believe in compensation transparency. All salary ranges are standardized nationwide and will not vary by region. This role offers a competitive total compensation package, including a base salary of $140,000 - $200,000 and stock options. Compensation offered will be based on a combination of factors such as experience, competencies, and internal equity.

Posting Date

10/26/26

• This role will stay open for a minimum of 3 days.

Guild partners with the country’s most innovative employers, including Chipotle, Target, Walgreens, JPMorgan Chase, Hilton, Spectrum, PepsiCo, Tyson, and more, to build the talent needed for today and a resilient workforce for tomorrow. Guild helps employers identify, develop, and mobilize internal talent, enabling workers to gain skills for in-demand roles and companies to stay agile.

By connecting employees to real-world learning, coaching, and career support, and providing companies with actionable talent insights, Guild transforms all talent into high-impact contributors and positions companies for long-term, sustainable growth. For more information, visit https://www.guild.com.

Guild is a female-founded, certified B Corp. The company has been recognized by Fortune’s Change the World list (2021, 2025), the Forbes Cloud 100 (2020–2025), Great Place to Work (2022–2025), CNBC’s Disruptor 50 (2021–2024), TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies (2022), Inc.’s Best-Led Companies (2021), Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas (2020), and B Lab’s Best for the World (2019), among many others.

Benefits

Guild is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let your recruiter know. We currently offer the following benefits:

• Access to low-cost, high-quality health care options through Collective Health and Kaiser (due to coverage limitations, Kaiser is currently only available in CA & CO)
• Access to a 401k to help save for the future
• Vacation policy to rest and recharge
• 8 days of fully-paid sick leave, to take the time to heal and or recover
• Family-friendly benefits, including 12 weeks of parental leave for non-birthing parents and 18-20 weeks for birthing parents; 2-week ramp-up period for when employees return from a leave of 6 weeks or more; as well as employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, employer-sponsored life insurance, fertility and caregiving 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

Our home and headquarters in Denver, but some of our roles allow for remote work, allowing us to reach the best talent across the US. Please refer to the job location referenced below the job posting title to determine location. Roles based outside of our Denver office can sit in any of the following 32 states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI and Washington D.C. State locations and specifics are subject to change as our hiring requirements shift.