Principal Data Scientist

Unity; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 217,000 - 317,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Employee stock ownership

Generous vacation

Parental leave

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Unity, the world’s leading game engine, seeks a Principal Data Scientist for its Ads and AI team in Mountain View. You will own revenue growth and ML product initiatives, mentoring peers and staying hands-on with data.

You’ll drive vector initiatives, supply analytics, and sales insights across the ads ecosystem. You’ll partner with PM, Engineering, Sales, and Finance to shape strategy, translate business questions into analytics, and present findings to executive leaders to influence strategic

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Economics, CS, ML, Statistics, or related field.
• Strong statistical analysis and experimentation in Python or R.
• Deep experience analyzing an advertising business or two-sided marketplace.
• Understanding of market dynamics: supply, demand, and advertiser behavior.
• Experience presenting analysis to C-level leaders and influencing decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead analysis behind Unity's ads revenue, supply/demand drivers, and growth opportunities.
• Present findings and recommendations to executive leadership and shape ensuing decisions.
• Collaborate with PM, Eng, Sales, and other leaders to inform strategy.
• Transform large-scale data into actionable insights using quantitative analysis and experimentation.
• Define success metrics, track performance, and measure ML/product impact.
• Mentor team members and translate business questions into analytical work to drive decisions.

Skills

Statistical analysis

Experimentation

Python

R

Large-scale data

Mentoring

Education

Advanced degree in Economics/CS/ML/Statistics

Job description

The opportunity

We're growing the Data Science team behind Unity's ads business, transforming large-scale data into actionable insights. The team informs every stage of the ads product lifecycle: from identifying opportunities to evaluating performance and shaping long‑term strategy across supply, demand, and customer insights. We do that in partnership with PM, Engineering, Sales, and Finance, and directly with the executive leaders who set direction for Ads and AI.

The opportunity

We're growing the Data Science team behind Unity's ads business, transforming large-scale data into actionable insights. The team informs every stage of the ads product lifecycle: from identifying opportunities to evaluating performance and shaping long‑term strategy across supply, demand, and customer insights. We do that in partnership with PM, Engineering, Sales, and Finance, and directly with the executive leaders who set direction for Ads and AI.
As a Principal Data Scientist on this team, you'll have strong ownership over revenue growth and overall business success, working across key areas within Ads and AI: Vector initiatives, supply‑side analytics, and sales insights. You'll establish a product analytics culture, take ownership of high‑impact ML products, and define how data drives decisions. This is a technical leadership role rather than a management one: you'll mentor other data scientists, lead the initiatives that need a senior voice, and stay hands‑on in the data.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead the analysis behind Unity's ads business: what drives revenue, how supply and demand behave, and where growth comes from
• Present analysis and recommendations directly to C-level and executive leaders, and shape the decisions that follow
• Collaborate closely with PM, Engineering, Sales, and other multi‑functional leaders to inform strategy and support decisions
• Transform large‑scale datasets into actionable insights, using quantitative analysis, experimentation, and data mining to support product and business success
• Define success metrics, track performance, and measure the impact of ML and product initiatives
• Guide product decisions by uncovering trends, identifying opportunities, providing data‑driven recommendations and driving product roadmaps
• Mentor other team members and serve as a subject matter expert, translating business questions into analytical work that drives decisions and identifies process improvements

What We’re Looking For

• Advanced degree in Economics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Mathematics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Strong statistical analysis and experimentation practice in Python, R, or equivalent, applied to large‑scale data and user behavior
• Deep experience analyzing an advertising business or a two‑sided marketplace
• Deep understanding of market dynamics: how supply, demand, and advertiser behavior interact in an ads ecosystem
• Experience presenting analysis and recommendations directly to C-level and executive leaders, and influencing decisions at that level
• Experience leading technical work without formal authority: mentoring, setting direction, and bringing peers along

You might also have

• Experience in AdTech, performance marketing, mobile games industry or SaaS (marketplace) products
• Hands‑on work with agentic or LLM‑based analytics tooling
• Experience developing, deploying, or analyzing ML products and models in a production environment

Additional Information

Gross base salary:
Zone A: $243,800 - $317,000 USD
Zone B: $217,000 - $282,000 USD
Zone C: $192,100 - $249,700 USD

This range reflects the anticipated base salary for this position. Beyond base salary, this role may be eligible for equity awards and participation in our company incentive plans (such as annual discretionary bonuses or sales commissions). The final offer amount will depend on several factors, including geographic location and the candidate’s relevant experience, professional background, and skill set.

Benefits

At Unity, we want our team members to thrive. We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support well‑being and work‑life balance.

Please note: Benefits eligibility, specific offerings, and coverage vary based on the country and employment status.

While specific benefits vary, here are some of the ways we strive to take care of our eligible team members globally:

• Comprehensive health, life, and disability insurance
• Commute subsidy
• Employee stock ownership
• Competitive retirement/pension plans
• Generous vacation and personal days
• Support for new parents through leave and family‑care programs
• Office food snacks
• Mental Health and Wellbeing programs and support
• Employee Resource Groups
• Global Employee Assistance Program
• Training and development programs
• Volunteering and donation matching program

Life at Unity

Unity [NYSE: U] is the world’s leading game engine, powering play for more than 3 billion consumers each month. The top mobile games in the world, the most played PC indie titles, the most innovative console games, and virtually all of the top XR and Web Games are developed, deployed, and grown in Unity. Unity also enables teams across industries like automotive, manufacturing, and healthcare to design, simulate, and collaborate in 3D — closing the gap between ideas and reality. For more information, please visit www.unity.com.

Unity is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment and celebrate our employees across age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law. Our differences are strengths that enable us to support the growing and evolving needs of our customers, partners, and collaborators. If you have a disability that means there are preparations or accommodations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please fill out this form to let us know.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

This position requires the incumbent to have a sufficient knowledge of English to have professional verbal and written exchanges in this language since the performance of the duties related to this position requires frequent and regular communication with colleagues and partners located worldwide and whose common language is English.

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