SENIOR DATA SCIENTIST
County of Los Angeles
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Job summary
The County of Los Angeles seeks a Senior Data Scientist to lead advanced analytics addressing homelessness, housing, and workforce challenges. You will design predictive models, baselines, and outcome tracking systems leveraging data across employment and housing domains to support program decisions.
As a technical and strategic lead, you will guide cross‑functional teams, ensure data quality, and translate findings for nontechnical stakeholders while advancing data‑driven policies and services
Qualifications
- Two years of experience in complex data science projects.
- Bachelor’s degree in a field such as Data Science, ML, Math, Statistics, Business Analytics, Psychology, or Public Health with data science coursework; or higher with two years lead experience.
Responsibilities
- Oversee complex data science projects from conception through implementation with actionable insights for decisions.
- Provide technical oversight to small teams of data scientists and analysts.
- Lead discovery with stakeholders to document business requirements and frame problems.
- Identify and transform data sources (internal, external, structured, unstructured) for use cases.
- Support data collection, integration, and retention with IT; guide data engineers/architects.
- Review proposals on data science tools and ensure documentation and quality.
- Develop and deploy advanced analytic products (e.g., predictive scoring, NLP classifiers) and produce dashboards.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
OPEN COMPETITIVE - EMERGENCY APPOINTMENT
SENIOR DATA SCIENTIST
EW1764A-EA
PERMANENT
OPEN COMPETITIVE - EMERGENCY APPOINTMENT
This is a Reposting in order to re-open the filing period. Applications will be accepted starting at 5:00 p.m. (PT) on August 18, 2026, until the needs of the service are met. The application filing period is subject to closure without notice.
The LA County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency for homelessness, and the County is working to revise and expand our response to help all who are affected. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to help us in the mission of addressing issues like housing, mental health, and substance use. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.
Department of Economic Opportunity is seeking qualified candidates to fill a Senior Data Scientist vacancy.
Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.
During your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighted 100%.
Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Senior Data Scientist.
The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) is LA County’s central economic and workforce development hub helping residents connect to new career pathways, start and certify a business, and access life-changing opportunities. We’re working to advance equity and inclusive, sustainable growth through all DEO programs and services by targeting economic benefits to the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, small businesses and residents in LA County.
Our Vision: An equitable economy with thriving communities, inclusive and sustainable growth, and opportunity and mobility for all.
Our Mission: DEO creates quality jobs, helps small businesses and high-road employers start and grow, and builds vibrant local communities and spaces.
The Senior Data Scientist will serve as a technical and strategic lead, leveraging advanced analytics to integrate and interpret workforce, employment, and housing data to drive meaningful change for individuals at risk of homelessness in Los Angeles County. Working closely with programs such as WIOA, LA:RISE, and other programs, this position will design predictive models and outcome tracking systems that identify vulnerable populations, recommend targeted employment interventions, and measure the impact of workforce development initiatives on housing stability and prevention. By synthesizing insights across economic support domains, the Senior Data Scientist enables the development of data-driven strategies, improve service delivery, and implement proactive solutions that foster self-sufficiency and lasting housing security for those most in need.
Economic Opportunity Headquarters
510 S Vermont Ave 11th Fl
Los Angeles CA 90020
Economic Opportunity offers a hybrid telework schedule subject to the needs of the department.
- Collaborates with division, departmental, and countywide stakeholders to solicit, define, and manage highly complex data science projects from conception through implementation; ensures that projects result in actionable insights and recommendations that can be used to support business decisions and allocate resources; and provides ongoing consultation during program implementation of recommendations as necessary to ensure program fidelity.
- Provides technical oversight to small teams of Data Scientists and Predictive Data Analysts as necessary to ensure project success.
- Leads the discovery process with departmental stakeholders to document business requirements and frame business problems so that appropriate corresponding data science techniques and products can be identified and deployed.
- Collaborates with other department subject matter experts to understand, identify, and select available and relevant sources of data for use cases, including internal, external, structured, and unstructured data sources; and provides guidance to other department data experts in the selection and transformation of such sources.
- In conjunction with the Information Technology organization, supports collection, integration, and retention requirements for large sets of structured and unstructured data from disparate sources; acts as a resource for senior data engineers and architects in the selection and design of systems for use by the data science team.
- Reviews proposals by Data Scientists and analysts regarding selection and improvement of data science tools and ensures that the team’s tools and systems are well documented.
- Conducts and coordinates statistical inference of data and conveys findings and conclusions orally, in writing, visually, in presentations, and by developing interactive tools as appropriate to
communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, including technical and nontechnical staff, stakeholders, and members of the public.
- Works with program staff to understand the implications of analyses and to ensure that findings are actionable and support data-driven program, policy, and operational decision-making.
- Assists in implementing recommended business process changes in ways retain fidelity to best practices identified through the analysis and recognize the operational realities underlying existing business processes; provides ongoing consultation as recommended changes and new programs grow and evolve, including recommending modifications to adopted goals and metrics.
- Coordinates with various functional teams to develop and implement products, services, tools, or business process changes resulting from the analysis.
- Creates and validates advanced analytic products (e.g., Recommender Engines, Auto Classification algorithms, Predictive Scoring, geo-spatial clustering, NLP classifier, etc.) and places them in production; works with nontechnical program managers and staff to understand analytic products and to integrate them into departmental programs.
- Recommends ongoing improvements to methods and algorithms that lead to findings, including new information.
- Creates and monitors performance of automated-detection systems and provides business metrics for overall project to show improvements initially and over multiple iterations. Provides ongoing tracking and monitoring of performance of decision systems and statistical models and troubleshoots and implements enhancements and fixes to systems as needed.
- Develops and maintains a high level of expertise in statistical programming languages and packages and other software tools and provides training and support to Data Scientists and Predictive Data Analysts as necessary; and ensures the quality of code and programming logic generated by the data science team.
Two (2) years of experience carrying out complex data science projects that included independently developing and applying methods to identify, collect, process, structure, and analyze data using statistical prediction, inference, and optimization to support data-driven program design and management, at a level equivalent to the Los Angeles County class of Data Scientist.
A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a field of applied research such as Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Business Analytics, Psychology, or Public Health that included 12 semester or 18 quarter units of coursework in data science, predictive analytics, quantitative research methods, or statistical analysis -AND- Six (6) years of experience, including two (2) years in a lead capacity, applying and overseeing the application of machine learning, predictive analytics, data management, and hypothesis-driven data analysis to make actionable recommendations to support program, policy, and operational decision-making. A Master’s or Doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in a field of applied research such Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Business Analytics, Psychology, or Public Health may substitute for up to two (2) years of experience.
Experience is evaluated on the basis of a verifiable 40-hour week. Prorated part-time experience will be accepted. Include the number of hours worked per week for each position. To receive credit for the required education, a legible copy of the diploma or official transcript for each degree that displays the degree awarded and date conferred must be submitted as proof of meeting the educational requirement. The official diploma or transcript can be attached to the application or emailed to DEORecruitment@opportunity.lacounty.gov. Please reference exam number EW1764A-EA in the subject line. International degrees in a foreign language must be translated to English and evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards.
- Proven ability to lead and execute complex projects involving machine learning, statistical inference, predictive modeling, and data-driven program design especially as applied to workforce, or housing domains.
- Experience integrating and analyzing large, diverse datasets from employment, housing, social services, and health sectors, and generating actionable insights to inform and improve workforce and housing interventions.
- Demonstrated success providing technical oversight to teams of data scientists or analysts, collaborating with stakeholders from workforce agencies (like WIOA, LA:RISE), and housing organizations to achieve measurable population-level outcomes.
- Strong written, visual, and oral communication skills, with the ability to translate complex analytical findings into clear recommendations for nontechnical program managers, operational staff, and policymakers.
- Hands-on experience creating predictive scoring systems, automated flagging systems for risks (eviction/housing instability), and other production-level analytics tools that directly support program staff and client-facing interventions.
A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.
This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10-pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.
During your initial work period, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent appointment.
The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except for a very limited number of positions, you will not be asked to provide information about a conviction history unless you receive a contingent offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct or adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and consider potential mitigating factors, including, but not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about a conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed.
The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. The Department of Human Resources is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.
Final appointment is contingent upon verification of U.S. citizenship or the right to work in the United States.
Resources to help current and prospective employees plan a career with Los Angeles County are available. To explore career paths to and from nearly all job titles, please visit our interactive Career PathFinder application at http://career-pathfinder.hr.lacounty.gov.
Pursuant to the County Charter and County policy, in all open competitive examinations (i.e., examinations open to everyone), the County of Los Angeles will add a credit of 10 percent of the total credits specified for such examination to the final passing score of an honorably discharged veteran, as well as the spouse of a deceased or disabled veteran, who served in the Armed Forces of the United States under specific conditions. For more information on veteran’s credit, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/205102_PPG_115.pdf
The County of Los Angeles is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is committed to non-discrimination in the County workforce, regardless of age (40 and over); ancestry; color; ethnicity; religious creed; protected family or medical leave status; disability; marital status; medical condition; genetic information; military and veteran status; national origin; race ; sex; gender; sexual orientation; or any other characteristic protected by State or federal law. For more information, please visit: https://employee.hr.lacounty.gov/eeo-programs/
The County of Los Angeles complies with all federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application process, please contact the testing accommodation coordinator listed on the job posting. Hearing impaired applicants with telephone teletype equipment may leave messages by calling the teletype phone number on the job posting. For more information on accommodations, please visit: https://hr.lacounty.gov/accessibility/
The County of Los Angeles is a Fair Chance employer. Except as otherwise permissible under applicable laws, you will not be asked to provide information about conviction history unless you receive a conditional offer of employment. The County will make an individualized assessment of whether your conviction history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and will also consider potential mitigating factors, which may include, but is not limited to, evidence and extent of rehabilitation, recency of the offense(s), and age at the time of the offense(s). If asked to provide information about conviction history, any convictions or court records which are exempted by a valid court order do not have to be disclosed. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with County Fair Chance Policies and the Fair Chance Act (Gov. Code Section 12952).
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