Sr. Data Scientist Lead

CrowdStrike Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Market-leading compensation and equity

Comprehensive wellness programs

Generous vacation and holidays

Paid parental and adoption leaves

Professional development opportunities

Employee networks and community groups

Vibrant office culture and amenities

Great Place to Work Certified

Job summary

CrowdStrike Inc. is seeking a Sr. Data Scientist Lead to guide a team of data scientists at the intersection of Machine Learning, Big Data, and Security.

You will shape the direction of ML initiatives for threat detection and agentic AI, mentoring your team while collaborating across security, engineering, and product functions. The role requires deep ML expertise and cybersecurity knowledge, with hands-on work when needed to advance malware detection and behavioral threat analysis.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a STEM field or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years in data science and ML, with 2+ years in leadership or team lead capacity.
• Proven track record leading ML projects from research to production deployment.
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity concepts, threat landscape, and security operations.
• Programming proficiency in Python and experience with ML frameworks and big data technologies.
• Experience mentoring and developing data scientists and ML engineers.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of 3 data scientists, providing technical guidance, career development, and performance management.
• Establish technical standards and best practices for ML development, deployment, and monitoring.
• Define and drive the technical strategy for machine learning initiatives in threat detection and agentic AI for security.
• Lead ML projects from initial research through production deployment, ensuring successful delivery and measurable impact.
• Plan and prioritize team roadmaps, balancing research innovation with delivery of production ML systems.
• Stay current with emerging trends in ML and cybersecurity, and evaluate new technologies for potential adoption.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including security research, engineering, and product to align ML capabilities with business objectives.
• Partner with security domain experts to identify high-impact opportunities where ML can enhance threat detection and response.
• Communicate complex technical concepts and ML insights to stakeholders across the organization.
• Guide the development of advanced models for malware detection, behavioural threat analysis, and AI-driven security automation.
• Drive research initiatives that result in publications, blog posts, patents, and other contributions to the ML and security communities.
• Contribute to hands-on technical work when needed, maintaining deep expertise in ML systems and security applications.

Skills

Python

ML frameworks

Big data technologies

Mentoring/leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication to stakeholders

Threat detection basics

ML deployment/ops

Education

Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in CS/DS/Math/Physics or related STEM

Bachelor’s degree with equivalent experience

Tools

AWS

Job description

As a global leader in cybersecurity, CrowdStrike protects the people, processes and technologies that drive modern organizations. Since 2011, our mission hasn’t changed — we’re here to stop breaches, and we’ve redefined modern security with the world’s most advanced AI-native platform. We work on large scale distributed systems, processing almost 3 trillion events per day and this traffic is growing daily. Our customers span all industries, and they count on CrowdStrike to keep their businesses running, their communities safe and their lives moving forward. We're proud to work for a mission-driven company leveraging AI to transform the way we work. CrowdStrikers drive their careers through flexibility and autonomy while also being expected to contribute to a culture of responsible AI adoption, experimentation, and innovation. We use an AI-first mindset as a force multiplier to proactively and continuously accelerate execution, build expertise, uncover insights, and solve complex problems. We’re always looking to add talented CrowdStrikers to the team who have limitless passion, a relentless focus on innovation and a fanatical commitment to our customers, our community and each other. Ready to join a mission that matters? The future of cybersecurity starts with you.

About the Role:

CrowdStrike’s CTO Labs team is seeking a Sr. Data Scientist Lead to lead a team of data scientists at the intersection of Machine Learning, Big Data, and Security. This is a leadership role where you will guide a team working on cutting-edge threat detection and agentic AI systems for cybersecurity.

As a technical leader, you will drive the strategic direction of machine learning initiatives, mentor and develop your team, and collaborate across functions to deliver innovative security solutions. You’ll leverage CrowdStrike’s unique cybersecurity data—processing nearly a trillion behavioural events per day and over 2000 terabytes of malware samples—to advance our threat detection capabilities and explore new frontiers in AI-driven security.

This role requires a unique combination of deep machine learning expertise and cybersecurity domain knowledge, as you’ll bridge the gap between data science and security operations to deliver meaningful impact for our customers.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead and mentor a team of 3 data scientists, providing technical guidance, career development, and performance management
• Establish technical standards and best practices for ML development, deployment, and monitoring
• Define and drive the technical strategy for machine learning initiatives in threat detection and agentic AI for security
• Lead ML projects from initial research through production deployment, ensuring successful delivery and measurable impact
• Plan and prioritize team roadmaps, balancing research innovation with delivery of production ML systems
• Stay current with emerging trends in ML and cybersecurity, and evaluate new technologies for potential adoption
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including security research, engineering, and product to align ML capabilities with business objectives
• Partner with security domain experts to identify high-impact opportunities where ML can enhance threat detection and response
• Communicate complex technical concepts and ML insights to stakeholders across the organization
• Guide the development of advanced models for malware detection, behavioural threat analysis, and AI-driven security automation
• Drive research initiatives that result in publications, blog posts, patents, and other contributions to the ML and security communities
• Contribute to hands‑on technical work when needed, maintaining deep expertise in ML systems and security applications

What You’ll Need:

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, or related STEM field, OR Bachelor’s degree with equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience in data science and machine learning, with at least 2 years in a technical leadership or team lead capacity
• Proven track record of leading ML projects from research to production deployment
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity concepts, threat landscape, and security operations; candidates with dual expertise in both machine learning and security domains are particularly well-suited for this role
• Programming proficiency in Python and experience with ML frameworks and big data technologies
• Experience mentoring and developing data scientists and ML engineers
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders

Bonus Points:

• Deep expertise in cybersecurity, including experience in threat intelligence, malware analysis, or security operations
• Experience with agentic AI systems, LLMs, or autonomous security automation
• Track record of working with very large, sparse, high-dimensional datasets in production environments
• Experience with advanced ML techniques including semi-supervised learning, online learning, and model optimization for reducing false positives
• Strong knowledge of ML operations, including model monitoring, A/B testing, and production ML infrastructure
• Comfortable working in cloud environments (AWS) and Linux systems
• Proven ability to set technical vision and drive innovation in ML systems
• Experience hiring, building, and scaling high-performing data science teams
• Strategic mindset with ability to balance research exploration with pragmatic business outcomes

Additional Qualifications:

• Published research, patents, or contributions to the ML or security communities

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Benefits of Working at CrowdStrike:

• Market leader in compensation and equity awards
• Comprehensive physical and mental wellness programs
• Competitive vacation and holidays for recharge
• Paid parental and adoption leaves
• Professional development opportunities for all employees regardless of level or role
• Employee Networks, geographic neighborhood groups, and volunteer opportunities to build connections
• Vibrant office culture with world class amenities
• Great Place to Work Certified™ across the globe

CrowdStrike is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where everyone is valued for who they are and empowered to succeed. We support veterans and individuals with disabilities through our affirmative action program.

CrowdStrike is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy or pregnancy‑related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, veteran status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, membership or activity in a local human rights commission, status with regard to public assistance, or any other characteristic protected by law. We base all employment decisions--including recruitment, selection, training, compensation, benefits, discipline, promotions, transfers, lay–offs, return from lay‑off, terminations and social/recreational programs--on valid job requirements.

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