Senior Data Scientist

Waystar; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Benefits package

Paid time off

Parental leave

Education assistance

LinkedIn Learning

Mental health support

401K with match

Pet insurance

Employee resource groups

Job summary

Waystar is seeking a senior data scientist to design and deploy machine learning models and predictive analytics across healthcare payments. You will mentor junior data scientists and collaborate with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to define project requirements and deliverables.

You will build robust data pipelines with data engineers, explore data to identify trends, ensure data quality, and evaluate new technologies to advance Waystar's data science initiatives.

Qualifications

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in data science in fast-paced environments.
• Expert-level proficiency in Python and/or R for data manipulation, statistics, and ML model development.
• Experience with a range of ML techniques (supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement learning, deep learning) and practical applications.
• Strong understanding of statistical modeling, experimental design, hypothesis testing, and causal inference.
• Proficiency in SQL for data querying and large-scale datasets.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP) and big data tech (Spark/Hadoop) is highly desirable.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills with non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects and mentor team members.
• Prior experience in healthcare tech or financial services is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of ML models and predictive analytics solutions to solve critical business problems.
• Mentor and guide junior data scientists, fostering excellence and continuous learning.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define data science project requirements, scope, and deliverables.
• Conduct in-depth data exploration, analysis, and visualization to identify trends and anomalies and present findings clearly.
• Develop and maintain robust data pipelines and infrastructure with data engineers to ensure data quality and accessibility.
• Stay current with data science advancements, evaluating new technologies and methodologies.
• Contribute to Waystar’s data science strategy and identify opportunities for innovation and impact.
• Champion data-driven decision-making and educate stakeholders on analytics value.
• Evaluate and select appropriate statistical methods and ML algorithms for business challenges.

Skills

Python

R

Statistical modeling

Experiment design

Hypothesis testing

Causal inference

SQL

Data visualization

Communication

Leadership

Education

Master’s or Ph.D. in CS/Statistics/Math/Engineering

Tools

AWS/Azure/GCP

Spark/Hadoop

Job description

About This Position

Designs, develops and programs methods, processes, and systems to consolidate and analyze unstructured, diverse “big data” sources to generate actionable insights and solutions for client services and product enhancement. Interacts with product and service teams to identify questions and issues for data analysis and experiments. Develops and codes software programs, algorithms and automated processes to cleanse, integrate and evaluate large datasets from multiple disparate sources. Identifies meaningful insights from large data and metadata sources; interprets and communicates insights and findings from analysis and experiments to product, service, and business managers. Incumbents whose primary role is technical and focused on data storage, warehousing and systems architecture should be matched to Database Engineering or Storage Engineering. Incumbents whose focus is the quantitative analysis of complex business problems and issues using data from internal and external sources to provide insight to decision‑makers should be matched to Business Intelligence. Incumbents whose primary role is technical and focused on designing and building system‑generated reports, reporting tools and dashboards for data generation should be matched to Data Informatics. Incumbents whose focus is primarily on experimental design and advanced or complex statistical analysis and modeling of datasets should be matched to Statistician/Mathematician. This is a product engineering role in which employees work with multiple types of business data. Incumbents whose focus is primarily on analysis and modeling of financial, marketing or pricing data should be matched to Finance, Market Research or Pricing as appropriate. May be internal operations‑focused or external client‑focused, working in conjunction with Professional Services and outsourcing functions.

About This Position

Designs, develops and programs methods, processes, and systems to consolidate and analyze unstructured, diverse “big data” sources to generate actionable insights and solutions for client services and product enhancement. Interacts with product and service teams to identify questions and issues for data analysis and experiments. Develops and codes software programs, algorithms and automated processes to cleanse, integrate and evaluate large datasets from multiple disparate sources. Identifies meaningful insights from large data and metadata sources; interprets and communicates insights and findings from analysis and experiments to product, service, and business managers. Incumbents whose primary role is technical and focused on data storage, warehousing and systems architecture should be matched to Database Engineering or Storage Engineering. Incumbents whose focus is the quantitative analysis of complex business problems and issues using data from internal and external sources to provide insight to decision‑makers should be matched to Business Intelligence. Incumbents whose primary role is technical and focused on designing and building system‑generated reports, reporting tools and dashboards for data generation should be matched to Data Informatics. Incumbents whose focus is primarily on experimental design and advanced or complex statistical analysis and modeling of datasets should be matched to Statistician/Mathematician. This is a product engineering role in which employees work with multiple types of business data. Incumbents whose focus is primarily on analysis and modeling of financial, marketing or pricing data should be matched to Finance, Market Research or Pricing as appropriate. May be internal operations‑focused or external client‑focused, working in conjunction with Professional Services and outsourcing functions.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of sophisticated machine learning models and predictive analytics solutions to solve critical business problems.
• Mentor and guide junior data scientists, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous learning within the team.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams (engineering, product, business stakeholders) to define data science project requirements, scope, and deliverables.
• Conduct in‑depth data exploration, analysis, and visualization to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies, presenting findings clearly and concisely to diverse audiences.
• Develop and maintain robust data pipelines and infrastructure in collaboration with data engineers to ensure data quality, accessibility, and integrity.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, evaluating and recommending new technologies and methodologies.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of Waystar’s data science initiatives, identifying opportunities for innovation and impact.
• Champion data‑driven decision‑making throughout the company, educating and influencing stakeholders on the power of data science.
• Evaluate and select appropriate statistical methods and machine learning algorithms for various business challenges, ensuring rigor and validity.

What You’ll Need

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in data science, with a proven track record of delivering impactful data‑driven solutions in a fast‑paced environment.
• Expert‑level proficiency in Python and/or R for data manipulation, statistical analysis, and machine learning model development.
• Extensive experience with various machine learning techniques (e.g., supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement learning, deep learning) and their practical applications.
• Strong understanding of statistical modeling, experimental design, hypothesis testing, and causal inference.
• Proficiency in SQL for data querying and manipulation, with experience working with large‑scale datasets.
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and big data technologies (e.g., Spark, Hadoop) is highly desirable.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects, mentor team members, and drive successful outcomes.
• Prior experience in the healthcare technology or financial services industry is a plus.

About Waystar

Through a smart platform and better experience, Waystar helps providers simplify healthcare payments and yield powerful results throughout the complete revenue cycle. Waystar’s healthcare payments platform combines innovative, cloud‑based technology, robust data, and unparalleled client support to streamline workflows and improve financials so providers can focus on what matters most: their patients and communities. Waystar is trusted by 1M+ providers, 1K+ hospitals and health systems, and is connected to over 5K commercial and Medicaid/Medicare payers. We are deeply committed to living out our organizational values: honesty; kindness; passion; curiosity; fanatical focus; best work, always; making it happen; and joyful, optimistic & fun. Waystar products have won multiple Best in KLAS® or Category Leader awards since 2010 and earned multiple #1 rankings from Black Book™ surveys since 2012. The Waystar platform supports more than 500,000 providers, 1,000 health systems and hospitals, and 5,000 payers and health plans. For more information, visit waystar.com or follow @Waystar ("https://twitter.com/Waystar") on Twitter.

WAYSTAR PERKS

• Competitive total rewards (base salary + bonus, if applicable)
• Customizable benefits package (3 medical plans with Health Saving Account company match)
• We offer generous paid time off for our non‑exempt team members, starting with 3 weeks + 13 paid holidays, including 2 personal floating holidays. We also offer flexible time off for our exempt team members + 13 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave (including maternity + paternity leave)
• Education assistance opportunities and free LinkedIn Learning access
• Free mental health and family planning programs, including adoption assistance and fertility support
• 401(K) program with company match
• Pet insurance
• Employee resource groups

Waystar is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We celebrate, value, and support diversity and inclusion. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, marital status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Job Category: Technology/Engineering

Job Type: Full time

Req ID: R3342