Senior Data Science & AI Leader Hands-On

Ulta Beauty, Inc.; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 123,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability benefits

Job summary

Ulta Beauty, Inc. is seeking a Sr. Manager of Data Science to lead a team of data scientists within the Enterprise AI pillar.

You will translate business needs into data-driven roadmaps, guide model development, and ensure responsible AI practices at scale. This is a hands-on leadership role with collaboration across Technology, Product, and Operations. The role emphasizes mentoring, strategic planning, and delivering production-ready Data Science solutions that drive measurable outcomes and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of progressive technology experience in Data Science and Machine Learning, including significant people-leadership responsibility in complex environments.
• Strong knowledge of Data Science and AI practices, technologies, methods, and operating considerations (e.g., multivariate regression, statistical inference, supervised/unsupervised learning, LLMs, RAG).
• Proficiency in Python and scientific related frameworks (e.g., Scikit-Learn, NumPy, SciPy).
• Hands-on experience with Databricks and enterprise cloud platforms (preferably GCP).
• Demonstrated experience leading technical teams and translating strategy into priorities and outcomes.
• Strong leadership in budgeting, vendor management, and organizational capability building.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Data Scientists with clear development plans.
• Contribute hands-on to solution design, code reviews, model troubleshooting, and complex problem-solving.
• Establish and enforce Data Science best practices for coding, version control, experimentation, and responsible AI.
• Elevate modeling rigor through statistical inference, experimentation, and model evaluation.
• Oversee end-to-end Data Science development from framing to deployment and monitoring.
• Drive delivery quality across concurrent Data Science initiatives and ensure scalable models.
• Explain approaches and results to senior stakeholders and influence decisions across the business.
• Collaborate with Product, Operations, Engineering and other leaders to identify opportunities and translate challenges into Data Science solutions.
• Mentor the team and drive continuous learning and adoption of modern methods and tools.
• Stay current with new Data Science techniques and partner with leadership on innovative use cases.

Skills

Data science leadership

People leadership

Python

Databricks

GCP

Model development

Communication

Executive storytelling

Education

Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field

Tools

Databricks

Python frameworks

Scikit-Learn

NumPy

SciPy

GCP

Job description

Ulta Beauty, Inc. is seeking a Sr. Manager of Data Science to lead a team of data scientists within the Enterprise AI pillar.

You will translate business needs into data-driven roadmaps, guide model development, and ensure responsible AI practices at scale. This is a hands-on leadership role with collaboration across Technology, Product, and Operations. The role emphasizes mentoring, strategic planning, and delivering production-ready Data Science solutions that drive measurable outcomes and