Senior MAQR (ML & Quantitative Research) Data Scientist

TWG AI; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus structure

Full range of medical benefits

Financial benefits

Job summary

A leading technology firm in Santa Monica is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to join their Machine Learning, AI & Quantitative Research group. The role involves ownership of the complete model lifecycle, from problem formulation to production deployment. The ideal candidate has a Master's or PhD in a quantitative field and significant experience with Python and machine learning. The position emphasizes collaboration and ethical AI practices, alongside competitive compensation including bonuses and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in a relevant quantitative field with significant data science experience.
• 6+ years of Python for data analysis and model development.
• Proven ability in end-to-end ML model deployment.

Responsibilities

• Own the full model lifecycle from formulation to deployment.
• Develop predictive models and analyze experiments with statistical rigor.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver data-driven solutions.

Skills

Python

Data analysis

Machine Learning

Statistical analysis

Feature engineering

Education

Master's degree in a quantitative field

PhD in a quantitative field

Tools

Cloud platforms

MLOps

Job description

At TWG Group Holdings, LLC ("TWG Global"), we drive innovation and business transformation across a range of industries—including financial services, insurance, technology, media, and sports—by leveraging data and AI as core assets. Our AI-first, cloud-native approach delivers real-time intelligence and interactive business applications, empowering informed decision-making for both customers and employees.

We prioritize responsible data and AI practices, ensuring ethical standards and regulatory compliance. Our decentralized structure enables each business unit to operate autonomously, supported by a central AI Solutions Group, while strategic partnerships with leading data and AI vendors fuel game-changing efforts in marketing, operations, and product development.

You will collaborate with management to advance our data and analytics transformation, enhance productivity, and enable agile, data-driven decisions. By leveraging relationships with top tech startups and universities, you will help create competitive advantages and drive enterprise innovation.

At TWG Global, your contributions will support our goal of sustained growth and superior returns, as we deliver rare value and impact across our businesses.

The Role

Join our growing Machine Learning, AI & Quantitative Research (MAQR) group as a Senior Data Scientist. MAQR is a small, high-ownership team embedded across a diverse portfolio of businesses — from financial services and insurance to marketplace trading platforms and operations. We don't have a narrow mandate. We build what needs to be built, ship it to production, and measure what matters.

This role is for a data scientist who is as comfortable wrangling a messy operational dataset as they are designing a production inference pipeline. You bring rigor without rigidity — you know when a logistic regression is the right answer and when it isn't. You've built things that run in the real world, not just in notebooks.

We operate with a startup mindset inside a well-capitalized holding company. You will have real ownership, real clients, and real impact.

Key Responsibilities

Algorithm to Production

• Own the full model lifecycle: from problem formulation and feature engineering through training, validation, and deployment in a live production environment
• Build and maintain ML pipelines that run reliably — not just models that score well offline
• Instrument models for monitoring, drift detection, and retraining triggers in production systems
• Work closely with engineers to integrate models into product workflows, operational tooling, and client-facing applications

Applied Science & Experimentation

• Develop predictive models, time series forecasts, anomaly detection systems, and causal inference frameworks across varied business contexts
• Design and analyze experiments — from A/B tests to geo-randomized trials — with proper statistical rigor
• Translate ambiguous business problems into well-scoped data science problems; define success metrics before modeling begins
• Review relevant literature and apply state-of-the-art methods where warranted; resist overengineering where simpler approaches perform just as well

Collaboration & Communication

• Partner with cross-functional teams — business leads, engineers, product managers, and analysts — to deliver solutions aligned with real objectives
• Translate model outputs and technical trade-offs into clear, accessible communication for business stakeholders
• Contribute to AI governance standards and champion responsible, explainable AI practices across client engagements

Requirements

• Master's degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Operations Research, Engineering, or related) plus 6+ years of applied data science experience, OR PhD in a quantitative field plus 3+ years of hands‑on industry experience
• At least 6+ years of Python (or equivalent) for data analysis, model development, and production-ready scripting
• At least 4+ years of end-to-end ML model development and deployment — not just training, but shipping to production
• Demonstrated fluency across the data science stack: wrangling, feature engineering, modeling, evaluation, and deployment tooling
• Strong statistical foundations: hypothesis testing, regression, Bayesian reasoning, model validation, and uncertainty quantification
• Proven ability to bring definition and structure to large, ambiguous problems
• Clear communicator who can explain model trade-offs to an engineer and business impact to an executive

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with cloud platforms and cloud-native ML workflows
• MLOps familiarity: pipeline orchestration, model registries, CI/CD for ML, and inference infrastructure
• Experience with large-scale or real-time data (streaming, event-driven, high-volume batch processing)
• Background in time series forecasting, causal inference, or combinatorial optimization
• Experience in financial services, insurance, marketplace integrity, or operations-heavy industries
• Knowledge of quantitative finance, econometrics, or portfolio methods — useful context, not a requirement
• Ability to write production-quality, maintainable code beyond model scripts
• Experience working Agile with cross-functional, client-facing teams

About MAQR

MAQR is the internal ML, AI, and quantitative research function of TWG Global AI, a subsidiary of TWG Global Holdings, operating in joint venture with Palantir. Our client portfolio spans asset management, financial services, insurance, marketplace platforms, and field services operations. We build bespoke data science solutions tailored to each engagement — often across multiple industries simultaneously.

If you want a role where the scope changes fast, the problems are genuinely hard, and getting things into production is the scoreboard, MAQR is the right team. We value craft, intellectual honesty, and delivery.

Benefits

Position Location

This position is located in Santa Monica, CA.

Compensation

The base pay for this position is $190,000-200,000. A bonus will be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits.

TWG is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.