Principal Data Scientist

yoodliinc; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work environment

Equity

Startup culture

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Yoodli in Seattle, WA is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to own the data function end-to-end. You will define measurement standards, build the platform's data foundation, and enable data-driven decisions across teams.

You’ll lead an experimentation program for product and AI features, work with executives, and mentor engineers as the data org grows in a hybrid office model requiring in-person presence three days a week.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in data science, product analytics, or closely related field.
• Deep expertise in SQL and Python, and comfort shipping production-grade analytical code.
• Experience running an experimentation program with power analysis and guardrails.
• Experience evaluating LLM or other generative systems and designing rubrics.
• Fluency with modern data stacks (dbt, Snowflake, BigQuery) and BI tooling.
• Demonstrated influence on product strategy at the exec level.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to present clearly.
• Nice to have: NLP or conversational AI; startup experience.

Responsibilities

• Own the measurement strategy for the platform, defining metrics and targets.
• Design and run the experimentation program—A/B tests, holdouts, LLM evaluation.
• Build the data foundation: pipelines, semantic layer, dashboards, and models.
• Partner with product, design, and engineering to turn questions into analyses.
• Work directly with customers' BI teams to quantify impact with Yoodli.
• Build models turning communication signals into product value.
• Translate analysis into executive recommendations and defend them.
• Set the technical bar for data and mentor engineers and PMs.

Skills

8+ years in data science

Executive-level influence

Excellent communication

Tools

SQL

Python

dbt

Snowflake

BigQuery

Looker

Mode

Hex

Job description

Who we are

Yoodli is a venture-backed company building an AI Platform for Human Skills, helping people get measurably better in their careers by supporting them in the flow of work.Our team includes former employees from Google, Apple, Microsoft, Tableau, and beyond, united by a passion for empowering people using AI. We're headquartered in the heart of Seattle, and we're having a lot of fun along the way. Our culture is built on failing fast, iterating constantly, and taking bold bets. We value humility, a bias for action, and the belief that we win together.We've raised $60M, including a $40M Series B led by WestBridge Capital, backed by Madrona, Neotribe, Cercano, and incubated at the Allen Institute for AI. We're valued at $300M and grew revenue 900% year over year.Our customers include Google Cloud, Snowflake, Databricks, RingCentral, SAP, FranklinCovey, Korn Ferry, Sandler Training, Toastmasters, and many more, with learners in over 150 countries. Google Cloud certified 15,000+ reps without scaling headcount. Snowflake recovered 1,200+ manager hours per quarter. Harness cut training review time by 75%.We've been featured in TechCrunch, Axios, The Information, Forbes, Fast Company, and more. Try the platform free at yoodli.ai .

What we are hoping you will bring

You believe in the mission and care deeply about helping people achieve more by communicating better. As our most senior data scientist, you will own the data function end to end: the infrastructure, the standards, and the judgment calls that decide what we build next.This is a principal-level, high-autonomy role. You'll set the measurement strategy for a product whose core output is generated by LLMs, which means defining what "measurable skills development" means in numbers and then proving we move it. You'll be the person leadership turns to when a decision needs evidence, and the person the product team turns to when a metric looks wrong. You'll also help our customers quantify their own impact with Yoodli, which makes this work directly commercial.You won't have a team to start, though you may build one over time as the role evolves. Either way, you'll raise the data bar for everyone here by example.This role is hybrid with an expectation of 3 days a week in the office - you'll need to be based in the Greater Seattle Area.

What you'll do

Own the measurement strategy for the platform: define the metrics that say whether learners are actually improving, and hold the company to them

Design and run the experimentation program - A/B tests, holdouts, and rigorous LLM evaluation - and set the standards other teams build on

Build the data foundation: pipelines, semantic layer, dashboards, and models that serve both internal decisions and customer-facing analytics

Partner with product, design, and engineering to turn ambiguous questions into analyses that change what we ship

Work directly with customers' BI and enablement teams so they can tell the story of impact with Yoodli inside their own organizations

Build models that turn communication signal into product value - scoring, skill progression, benchmarking, and churn or expansion prediction

Translate analysis into a clear recommendation for executives and the board, and defend it

Set the technical bar for data at Yoodli: review others' analyses, mentor engineers and PMs on experiment design, and lay the groundwork for a team

What you’ll bring

• 8+ years in data science, product analytics, or a closely related field, including time as the most senior data person on a product or business line
• Deep expertise in SQL and Python, and comfort shipping production-grade analytical code
• A track record of running an experimentation program, not just individual tests - power analysis, sequential testing, guardrail metrics, and the discipline to call a result null
• Experience evaluating LLM or other generative systems: building eval sets, designing rubrics, measuring quality when there is no clean ground truth
• Fluency with modern data stacks (dbt, Snowflake, BigQuery) and BI tooling (Looker, Mode, Hex, or similar), and the judgment to choose what a company this size actually needs
• Demonstrated influence on product strategy at the exec level - you can show a decision that went a different way because of your analysis
• Excellent communication skills, and the ability to be the clearest thinker in a room full of opinions
• Nice to have: speech analytics, NLP, or conversational AI; embedded or customer-facing analytics; early-stage startup experience
• Ability to be on-site at our Seattle,WA office M, T, and TH

Why Yoodli

• Mission-driven company helping millions improve how they communicate
• The data function is yours to define, with executive visibility from day one
• Collaborative, inclusive team with room to grow
• Competitive compensation and meaningful equity
• Base Salary: $200k - $220k
• Flexible work environment
• Startup culture