Senior Analyst, Search and Recommendations

CarMax Business Services; United States; On-site; USD 88,000 - 133,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid sick time

Vacation time

Holiday pay

Equity and bonus potential

Onsite work four days a week

Job summary

CarMax is seeking a Senior Data Scientist for the Personalization Data Science Team to advance search and recommendation systems with rigorous experimentation.

You will work alongside data scientists and ML engineers to design tests, analyze results, and translate insights into product improvements that drive the digital shopping experience.

Qualifications

• 3+ years analytical experience in e-commerce or data-rich environments.
• Strong SQL and Python for manipulation and analysis.
• Solid statistics background: hypothesis testing and experiments.
• Experience with large datasets using Spark/Databricks preferred.
• Ability to build and maintain BI reports (Tableau/PowerBI/Looker).
• Clear communication with product managers and executives.

Responsibilities

• Analyze large-scale behavioral data (search, clicks, purchases) to surface insights.
• Design and interpret A/B tests and holdout analyses for feature changes.
• Partner with data scientists on model development and monitoring.
• Translate complex findings into narratives for cross-functional teams.
• Develop dashboards and reports to track key metrics over time.
• Collaborate with Product, Strategy, Technology, and Operations teams.

Skills

SQL

Python (Pandas)

Statistics

Experiment design

Big data tools

BI dashboards

Education

Bachelor's degree in quantitative field

Tools

Spark

Databricks

Tableau

PowerBI

Looker

Job description

8901 - Corp Office West Crk - 12800 Tuckahoe Creek Parkway, Richmond, Virginia, 23238 CarMax, the way your career should be!

About The Team

The Personalization data science team builds and maintains search algorithms and recommender systems that are at the forefront of creating a modern, engaging, digital shopping experience for our customers. We see millions of customers every week across web and mobile. We deploy custom deep learning embedding models, ranking and segmentation algorithms, and are constantly testing new approaches. Our systems are used in dozens of product use cases across the retail and wholesale businesses, which means we partner with many diverse teams throughout the organization.

About The Role

Understanding our business - the used vehicle market, our customers, and our digital products - is at the heart of what we do on this team. Our data is massive, rich, and often challenging to work with. In this role you will develop deep expertise about our business through data: via ad-hoc analysis, supporting ML model development and management, and especially through the design and execution of rigorous statistical tests that help us understand what's actually working and what’s not. You'll be embedded with data scientists and ML engineers, which means you'll see how models are built, not just how they perform. You'll help shape what we test, how we measure success, and what we learn. If you love data, get excited about the mechanics of search and recommendations, and want to see your analysis directly influence product decisions, this role is for you.

What You Will Do – Essential Responsibilities

• Analyze large-scale behavioral data (search queries, click-through rates, purchase patterns, inventory turnover) to surface insights about customer preferences and system performance
• Design, execute, and interpret statistical tests (A/B tests, holdout experiments, pre/post analyses) to measure the impact of algorithm changes and new features
• Partner with data scientists on model development, validation, and ongoing monitoring - acting as a bridge between model performance metrics and business outcomes
• Translate complex findings into clear narratives for technical and non-technical stakeholders alike
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting that help the team and partners track key metrics over time
• Partner closely with cross functional teams in Product, Strategy, Technology, and Operations

Qualifications and Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in an analytical role, preferably in e-commerce, marketplace, or another data-rich environment
• Strong SQL skills and experience with Python (e.g. pandas, matplotlib) for data manipulation and analysis
• Solid foundation in statistics, including hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and experimental design - you should be comfortable explaining why a test result is or isn't significant
• Experience working with large datasets using tools like Spark, Databricks, or similar is preferred
• Ability to build and maintain reports in BI tools (Tableau, PowerBI, Looker, etc.), or interest in learning
• Clear communication skills - you can explain a complex analysis to a product manager or executive without losing them
• Genuine enthusiasm for how search and recommendation systems work, even if you haven't built them yourself
• Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field (statistics, economics, math, engineering, or similar)

Work Location and Arrangement

This role will be based out of the CarMax Technology Innovation Center (Richmond, VA) and associates will work onsite 4 days per week.

Work Authorization: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Sponsorship will not be considered for this specific role.

Salary

The annual salary for this position is: $88,400.00 - $132,600.00. May be eligible for bonus and equity.

Benefits

• Except as otherwise required by state law, CarMax Associates are entitled to the following paid sick, vacation, and holiday time.
• Associates that are considered full-time hourly or commission/incentive eligible: To earn up to 48 hours of sick time per year accrued on a per pay period basis and between 80 hours and 200 hours per year of vacation time after a 90 day waiting period depending on years of continuous service with the Company.
• For 8 hours of pay for each of a total of 6 paid scheduled holidays per year plus 1 floating holiday. If such an Associate does work on a scheduled holiday due to business need, they are eligible for Holiday Premium Pay.
• Associates considered full-time salaried are entitled to paid time away with no specified limit as needed for sick, vacation, bereavement, jury duty, holidays, floating holiday, etc. subject to manager approval.
• For more details about benefits, please visit our CarMax Benefits website.

Upon an applicant's request, CarMax will consider reasonable accommodation to complete the CarMax Job Application.

About CarMax

CarMax disrupted the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity experience customers want and deserve. This innovative thinking around the way cars are bought and sold has helped us become the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, with over 200 locations nationwide. Our amazing team of more than 25,000 associates work together to deliver iconic customer experiences. Along the way, we help every associate grow their career and achieve their best, at work and in their community. We are recognized for our commitment to training and diversity and are one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®.