Principal Data Scientist

ZipRecruiter; Austin (TX); Remote; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

MNTN is seeking a Principal Data Scientist to enhance algorithms and modeling for Connected TV advertising. This senior-level position involves data exploration, model development, and collaboration with cross-functional teams to improve targeting and advertising performance. Candidates should have extensive experience in machine learning and strong coding skills, particularly in Python and SQL.

Benefits

100% remote within the US

Flexible vacation policy

Annual vacation allowance for travel-related expenses

Three-day weekend every month

Competitive compensation

100% healthcare coverage

401k plan

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for dependent care

Access to coaching and professional development

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data science with ML/optimization in production.
• Deep expertise in predictive modeling and targeting optimization.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement novel algorithms for targeting precision.
• Own end-to-end model development, from data exploration to deployment.
• Collaborate with product and engineering leadership.

Skills

Predictive modeling

Optimization

Machine Learning

Python

SQL

Communication

Tools

scikit-learn

XGBoost

Spark

Job description

Job DescriptionJob Description

At MNTN, we put our people first, full stop. This allows our company culture to be defined by our team members, and their shared values, like trust, ambition, quality, radical honesty, and compassionate leadership. It's why we all really love working for the Hardest Working Software in Television (and also why we were named one of Ad 's Best Places To Work in 2024.)

We pride ourselves on bringing unrivaled performance and simplicity to Connected TV advertising. Our self-serve technology makes running TV ads as easy as search and social and helps brands drive measurable conversions, revenue, site visits, and more. It's what led MNTN to being named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2023. You can learn more about us and everything we do by visiting https://mountain.com/.

We're committed to innovation that empowers, not replaces. At MNTN, AI is a tool for growth, enhancing efficiency while keeping a people-first approach. Our goal is to streamline workflows and drive new solutions—without compromising the human element that makes our company great.

So if wanting to do more, own more, and make a bigger impact comes naturally to you, then you may be the person we're looking for to join us in our next stage of growth.

MNTN is looking for a Principal Data Scientist to lead the development of advanced algorithms and modeling approaches that drive performance and targeting precision across our entire advertising platform. This is a high-impact, senior-level role responsible for foundational work that will affect every advertiser we serve.

You'll focus on two core mandates:

• Expanding Converter Reach: Growing the number of households we can confidently predict are likely to convert for any given brand.
• Improving Precision: Increasing the accuracy of our predictions about which households will convert, ensuring that spend is used efficiently and results are maximized.

You'll work with vast, diverse datasets—from consumer site behavior and purchase history to ad exposure and response—and partner closely with engineering, product, and analytics teams to deploy solutions that scale.

What You'll Do:

• Design and implement novel algorithms to identify high-likelihood converters at household level across verticals and audiences.
• Build and productionize predictive models that directly power our targeting, bidding, and optimization engines.
• Own end-to-end model development: from data exploration and feature engineering through validation, deployment, and performance monitoring.
• Develop and evangelize measurement frameworks to quantify and monitor precision and performance gains across all campaigns.
• Collaborate with product and engineering leadership to translate scientific strategy into system architecture and roadmap decisions.
• Serve as a thought leader and technical mentor within the Targeting department, helping raise the bar for scientific rigor and business impact.
• Stay ahead of academic and industry trends, ensuring our methods are state-of-the-art.

What You'll Bring:

• 8+ years of experience in data science, with a proven track record of delivering ML/optimization solutions in a production environment.
• Deep expertise in predictive modeling, uplift modeling, targeting optimization, and/or large-scale personalization systems.
• Strong coding skills in Python, SQL, and experience with ML/analytics libraries (scikit-learn, XGBoost, Spark, etc).
• Fluency in causal inference methods, probabilistic modeling, and experimentation frameworks.
• Familiarity with advertising data ecosystems: user behavior data, conversion tracking, pixel and event data, graphs, etc.
• Exceptional communication and cross-functional collaboration skills—able to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• : Experience with graph databases.

MNTN Perks:

• 100% remote within the US
• Flexible vacation policy
• Annual vacation allowance for travel related expenses
• Three-day weekend every month of the year
• Competitive compensation
• 100% healthcare coverage
• 401k plan
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for dependent, medical, and dental care
• Access to coaching, therapy, and professional development

About MNTN:

Our recruiters will always reach out using an email address ending with @mountain.com OR @mntn.com. If you're contacted by someone without that address and they mention a Reference Code (which we never use), then that ain't us folks. Tell those trolls to take a hike–you're waiting to climb a MNTN.

MNTN provides advertising software for brands to reach their audience across Connected TV, web, and mobile. MNTN Performance TV has redefined what it means to advertise on television, transforming Connected TV into a direct-response, performance marketing channel. Our web retargeting has been leveraged by thousands of top brands for over a decade, driving billions of dollars in revenue.

Our solutions give advertisers total transparency and complete control over their campaigns all with the fastest go-live in the industry. As a result, thousands of top brands have partnered with MNTN, including Build with Ferguson, OneWheel, Tarte, Decked, and University.

#LI-Remote