Senior Research Data Scientist, YouTube Ads

YouTube; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 174,000 - 252,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

15% bonus target

Benefits (Google)

On-site in Mountain View

Job summary

YouTube is seeking a data-driven optimization expert in Mountain View, on-site, to build backend systems and large-scale models aligning advertisers’ goals with real-time ad selection and measurable results.

You’ll use statistics, auction theory, risk management, and machine learning to translate problems into deployable models, and to collect and validate data with SQL, R, and Python.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Operations Research, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• 5 years of work experience using analytics to solve product or business problems, including coding (Python, R, SQL) and querying databases or performing statistical analysis, or 3 years with a PhD.

Responsibilities

• Partner with stakeholders to translate business questions into tractable analysis, metrics, or models.
• Design and evaluate optimization systems using custom data infrastructure or existing data models.
• Collect information on goals and data infrastructure to guide model development.
• Own end-to-end data gathering and validation across sources using SQL, R, and Python.

Skills

Data analytics

Statistical modeling

Auction theory

Education

Master’s degree in quantitative field

PhD (optional)

Tools

Python

R

SQL

Job description

Work on optimization that helps advertisers get better results on YouTube. In this on-site role in Mountain View, CA, you will build backend systems and large-scale optimization models that connect advertisers’ business goals to real-time ad selection and measurable performance improvements. You’ll use mathematical and statistical modeling, auction theory, risk management, and machine learning to translate defined problems into models that can be evaluated and deployed.

Salary for this position is USD 174,000 to 252,000 per year. The role also includes a 15% bonus target and equity, along with benefits (learn more at Google).

What you’ll do

• Partner with stakeholders across cross-project and team settings to clarify business or product questions, translating those questions into tractable analysis, evaluation metrics, or mathematical models.
• Design and evaluate optimization systems using custom data infrastructure or existing data models, applying specialized knowledge to solve problems with limited precedent.
• Collect information on business goals, priorities, and organizational context, along with current and upcoming data infrastructure, to guide model development.
• Own the end-to-end workflow for gathering, extracting, and compiling data across sources using tools such as SQL, R, and Python, including formatting, re-structuring, or validating data quality and reviewing datasets for analysis readiness.

Required qualifications

• Master’s degree in Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Operations Research, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• 5 years of work experience using analytics to solve product or business problems, including coding (for example, Python, R, SQL) and querying databases or performing statistical analysis, or 3 years with a PhD.

Preferred qualifications

• 8 years of work experience using analytics to solve product or business problems, including coding (for example, Python, R, SQL) and querying databases or performing statistical analysis, or 6 years with a PhD.

Technologies

• Python
• R
• SQL