Senior Data Scientist

Playstatio; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 167,000 - 251,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) match

Paid time off

Employee discounts for Sony products

Job summary

Sony Interactive Entertainment, home of PlayStation, is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to shape how we invest in player value and platform growth. You will own the definition, development and deployment of advanced models that drive commercial decisions at scale, with a high degree of autonomy and cross-functional collaboration.

This role requires strong quantitative expertise, experience with causal inference and ML, and the ability to communicate complex ideas to Finance leadership.

Qualifications

• Strong quantitative background with a Master’s or PhD in operations research, ML, statistics, economics, or related fields.
• Experience owning projects end-to-end from problem definition to delivery and adoption.
• Ability to work with large, complex datasets and translate them into scalable solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver advanced modelling approaches that quantify player value and long-term platform value.
• Measure incremental impact of launches and investments and translate into actionable insights for stakeholders.
• Build optimization and scenario models for long-range planning under real-world constraints.
• Mentor other data scientists and contribute to best practices across the team.
• Communicate complex modelling approaches clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, including Finance leadership.

Skills

Python

SQL

ML tooling

Data analysis

Education

Master's or PhD in quantitative field

Tools

PySpark

Job description

Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. As a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, we’re part of a proud legacy of innovation and excellence. SIE is a dynamic technology company, delivering cutting-edge hardware and network services to more than 100 million people and an entertainment leader, home to some of the most beloved and recognizable intellectual properties (IP) in the world. Our role at SIE is to create and nurture the experiences under the PlayStation brand, a name synonymous with entertainment excellence and creativity.

Senior Data Scientist, Product Usage & Value Lens (SBG / PBG Finance Partnership)

At PlayStation, Data Science plays a critical role in shaping how we invest in, retain, and delight our global player base. Our Player Value Science team turns understanding of value mechanics into incrementality: we explain what drives value, where it is created or missed, and what to change, so growth can be created and protected.

As a Senior Data Scientist, you will drive the development of advanced modelling and analytical approaches that influence high-stakes commercial and portfolio decisions at scale. Working closely with stakeholders across Finance, Strategy and Platform, you will work on complex and often ambiguous problems with a high degree of autonomy to shape how data informs strategy and investment decisions through a deeper understanding of player behaviour, product usage, and long-term value.

This role combines deep technical expertise with strong commercial judgement. You will own the problem definition and approach, and success will be measured not only by the quality of your work, but by the adoption and impact on business outcomes.

What You'll Do

Design and deliver advanced modelling approaches that quantify player value, incremental impact, and long-term platform value, applying techniques such as causal inference, forecasting, optimization and machine learning where appropriate.

Measure the incremental effect of launches, investments, and external market events, isolating true impact from what would have happened anyway, and translating that into an actionable understanding of where value is created.

Build optimization and scenario models that inform long-range planning and investment decisions under real-world constraints.

Own ambiguous problem spaces, and break down complex business challenges into tractable, measurable solutions.

Partner closely with cross-functional teams across Finance, Strategy and Platform to ensure value-driving products are robust, trusted and adopted, helping stakeholders understand how to recognise and attribute impact.

Evaluate and select modelling approaches based on problem context, balancing rigour, performance, scalability, interpretability, and business impact.

Mentor other data scientists and contribute to best practices across the team.

Communicate complex modelling approaches, assumptions and outcomes clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, including Finance leadership.

What We're Looking For

You combine technical depth with a proactive, solution-oriented mindset, and the ability to influence strategy and inspire others. You thrive on ambiguous, high-value problems, using data to deepen PlayStation's understanding of its players and its portfolio, and inform decisions and strategies that drive sustainable growth.

Proven industry experience delivering impactful, decision-grade analytical and modelling solutions in areas such as customer value, incrementality, forecasting, or investment decisioning.

Experience with optimization or operations research approaches (for example resource allocation, scheduling, or constrained planning problems), or a strong quantitative foundation to pick these up quickly.

Strong grounding in causal inference and impact measurement, with the judgement to critically assess assumptions, recognise when correlation is not enough and select approaches that are proportionate to the problem being solved.

Experience owning projects end-to-end, from problem definition and selecting methods through to delivery and business adoption.

Ability to work with large, complex datasets and translate them into scalable, trustworthy solutions.

Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills, with a track record of influencing commercial or finance partners and communicating results persuasively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Proficiency in Python and SQL, and comfort across the modern analytical and ML tooling ecosystem; experience with PySpark or equivalent distributed data processing tools.

A strong quantitative background, typically a Master's or PhD in operations research, machine learning, statistics, economics, or a related field.

Nice to Have

Background in gaming, e-commerce, or subscription-based businesses.

Experience partnering with Finance or commercial functions on portfolio, investment, or impact-attribution problems.

Industry experience with experimentation frameworks and causal inference.

Expertise in modern machine learning approaches, including applying techniques such as transformers, embeddings, or sequence-based models to real-world behavioural data.

Experience working in agile, fast-paced environments

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location. Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job-related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, this role is eligible for SIE’s top-tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$167,200 - $250,800 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

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Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.

US Voluntary Demographic Question

Voluntary Self-Identification

Our vision at PlayStation is to bring out the best in our global team members by creating a sense of belonging, being a place where they can grow, and ensuring everyone feels valued, heard, and supported so we can push the boundaries of play. That vision begins our candidates, and we are working to better understand the diversity of our candidate population. This data will also be aggregated and sent to the government for reporting purposes. Please know that the completion of this form is entirely voluntary. Your personally identifiable information (name, address, etc) will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you choose to provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file for XX time.

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Identifying yourself as an individual with a disability is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer will be maintained confidentially and will not be seen by selecting officials or anyone else involved in making personnel decisions, nor will it be shared with our accommodations team . Completing the form will not negatively impact you in any way, regardless of whether you have self-identified in the past.