Senior Data Scientist

Sony Playstation; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 167,200 - 250,800; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental and vision

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Sony Interactive Entertainment in Los Angeles seeks a Senior Data Scientist to advance modelling of player value and long‑term platform impact within the Product Usage & Value Lens partnership. You will own problem definitions, design advanced analyses including causal inference and forecasting, and translate insights into actionable business recommendations for Finance and leadership.

Strong Python and SQL skills, and a Master’s or PhD in a quantitative field are required or highly preferred.

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering decision‑grade analytical solutions in value/incrementality or forecasting.
• Strong grounding in causal inference and impact measurement; assess assumptions carefully.
• Experience owning projects end‑to‑end from definition to delivery and adoption.
• Ability to work with large, complex datasets and translate findings into business impact.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver advanced modelling approaches to quantify player value and long‑term platform impact.
• Measure incremental effects of launches and investments and translate into actionable insights.
• Build optimization and scenario models for long‑range planning under constraints.
• Own ambiguous problem spaces and break them into tractable, measurable solutions.
• Mentor data scientists and communicate results clearly to technical and non‑technical audiences.

Skills

Python

SQL

Causal inference

Machine learning

Stakeholder management

Experimentation

Education

Master's or PhD in operations research

Tools

PySpark

Job description

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

• 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.

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 employee discounts for Sony products. This role may also be eligible for a bonus package.

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

$167,200 — $250,800 USD

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.