Principal Data Scientist - Games

Disney Entertainment; Glendale (CA); On-site; USD 158,000 - 212,000; Full time

Job summary

The Walt Disney Company seeks a highly analytical Games Principal Data Scientist to lead advanced analytics for Disney Digital Entertainment. You will partner with Product, Technology, Content, Marketing, and leadership to shape game strategy, optimize player engagement, and influence monetization decisions across Disney’s Epic Games partnership.

You will build scalable data science capabilities, run experiments, and deliver data-driven narratives to senior leadership, guiding long-term business

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of data science or analytics in gaming/entertainment.
• Experience with statistical analysis, forecasting, experimentation, and behavioral analytics on large datasets.
• Strong SQL and Python or R; experience with cloud data ecosystems and analytics platforms.
• Experience with telemetry datasets including player behavior, engagement, and monetization.
• Familiarity with audience segmentation, personalization, or recommendation systems.
• Ability to influence strategic decisions through data storytelling and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead analytics for games product performance and player behavior as the primary data science lead.
• Partner with leadership and cross-functional teams to deliver actionable insights and strategic recommendations.
• Develop and present analyses for senior leadership with clear narratives and executive-ready visuals.
• Develop forecasting models, segmentation approaches, and monetization analyses.
• Analyze gameplay telemetry and streaming data to identify growth opportunities and optimize experiences across Disney games and digital entertainment.
• Define KPIs, instrumentation requirements, and scalable analytics solutions with product teams.
• Conduct deep-dives on progression systems, engagement funnels, and retention monetization to inform strategy.
• Collaborate with engineering to build scalable analytics infrastructure and data pipelines.
• Act as subject matter expert on games analytics and measurement, ensuring best practices across the org.
• Translate complex findings into clear narratives for technical and non-technical audiences.

Skills

Data science

Statistical analysis

Experimentation

Behavioral analytics

Storytelling

Cross-functional collaboration

Data-driven decisions

Education

Bachelor’s degree in quantitative field

Tools

SQL

Python

R

Snowflake

Databricks

AWS

Tableau

Looker

Job description

The Walt Disney Company is seeking a highly analytical, strategic, and collaborative Games Principal Data Scientist to join the Disney Games & Digital Entertainment team. This role will serve as a key individual contributor, driving advanced analytics, predictive modeling, experimentation, and data insights initiatives across Disney’s groundbreaking partnership with Epic Games in the development of an expansive new Disney digital universe connected to Fortnite.

In this high-impact position, you will partner closely with Product, Technology, Content, Marketing, Executive Leadership, and cross-enterprise teams to deliver data-driven insights that shape games product strategy, optimize player and audience engagement, improve monetization outcomes, and influence long-term business decisions. You will help build scalable data science capabilities, experimentation frameworks, dashboards, and behavioral analytics solutions.

This role is ideal for a deeply analytical and curious data science expert who thrives at the intersection of games, data, technology, and storytelling, and who is passionate about transforming complex behavioral datasets into meaningful consumer and business impact.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary games data science and analytics lead for Disney Digital Entertainment, acting as the central source of truth for games product performance, player behavior, and business insights
• Partner closely with leadership, cross-functional leads, and cross-enterprise teams to delivering actionable insights and strategic recommendations that inform critical business and product decisions.
• Develop and deliver data-driven business and product performance analyses for senior leadership by synthesizing complex data into clear narratives, executive-level presentations, and strategy recommendations.
• Develop and apply advanced analytical frameworks, statistical analyses, forecasting models, and behavioral segmentation approaches focused on player engagement, retention, churn, monetization, lifecycle behavior, and content performance.
• Analyze gameplay telemetry, social engagement data, creator content trends, and streaming interaction data, and cross-TWDC engagement signals to identify growth opportunities and optimize user experiences across games and digital entertainment ecosystems.
• Partner closely with cross-functional teams and leadership to define KPIs, measurement frameworks, instrumentation requirements, and scalable analytics solutions that support product development and strategic planning.
• Lead deep-dive analyses on player progression systems, engagement funnels, franchise affinity, personalization opportunities, social behaviors, and monetization trends to support data-informed product strategy.
• Collaborate with data engineering and platform teams to build scalable analytics infrastructure, event pipelines, and trusted datasets and self-service reporting solutions.
• Act as a subject matter expert on games analytics, measurement strategy, and product performance insights, driving best practices across the organization.
• Translate complex analytical findings and technical concepts into clear, compelling narratives and recommendations for technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in data science, advanced analytics, or quantitative product analytics, within gaming, streaming, or entertainment industries.
• Proven experience applying statistical analysis, forecasting, experimentation frameworks, and behavioral analytics techniques to large-scale consumer and telemetry datasets.
• Strong proficiency in SQL and Python or R, with hands‑on experience working within modern cloud data ecosystems and analytics platforms such as Snowflake, Databricks, AWS, Tableau, and Looker.
• Experience working with large-scale event-stream and gameplay telemetry datasets, including player behavior, audience engagement, content performance, progression systems, retention, and monetization analysis.
• Familiarity with audience segmentation, personalization strategies, recommendation systems, or content optimization frameworks that support player engagement.
• Strong understanding of player or consumer lifecycle analytics, engagement measurement, retention analysis, segmentation, monetization optimization, and experimentation methodologies including A/B testing.
• Demonstrated ability to influence strategic decision-making through data-driven storytelling, executive communication, and cross-functional collaboration within fast-paced, matrixed organizations.

The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA is $158,100.00 to $211,900.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

Disclaimer

This position is with Disney Online, which is part of a business we call Disney Consumer Products.

Disney Online is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Disney champions a business environment where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a constantly evolving world.

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