Staff Applied Data Scientist

SWARM Engineering; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

SWARM is seeking a Staff Applied Data Scientist to serve as a technical leader and bridge between complex business challenges and advanced data science solutions, fully remote in the United States.

You will mentor the data science team, collaborate with customers on implementations, and drive technical direction, focusing on operational planning problems and scalable software systems. The role offers a high-visibility impact and opportunities to shape SWARM's platform.

Qualifications

• Degree in a quantitative field or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong Python programming with modular, object-oriented design and data libraries (scikit-learn, Pandas, NumPy).
• Proven experience applying data science and optimization to real-world operational planning.
• Experience leading or mentoring data scientists and cross-functional teams.
• Excellent communication and client-facing skills during implementations.
• Experience with SQL and data processing tools, plus cloud platforms.
• Ability to translate customer problems into scalable software solutions.

Responsibilities

• Architect end-to-end data science solutions for operational planning.
• Lead and mentor the data science team and oversee code quality.
• Collaborate with customers during implementations to gather requirements.
• Drive technical direction and influence product and engineering decisions.
• Develop internal DS infrastructure and workflows.

Skills

Python programming

SQL data handling

Leadership experience

Customer-facing skills

Data science & optimization

Education

Degree in quantitative field

Tools

scikit-learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Pandas

NumPy

Docker/Kubernetes

Cloud platforms

Job description

SWARM Staff Applied Data Scientist Remote · Full time

SWARM is looking for a highly motivated and strategic Staff Applied Data Scientist to serve as a technical leader and key bridge between complex business challenges and cutting‑edge data science solutions. In this role, you will not only design and deploy advanced algorithmic solutions, but you will also mentor and guide our data science team, collaborate directly with customers on implementations, and drive technical direction. We are specifically looking for a candidate with proven real‑world experience solving operational planning problems who can translate customer pain points into robust, scalable, and maintainable software systems.

About SWARM

SWARM Engineering (“SWARM”) is an AI-powered optimization platform that automates complex operational decisions across supply chain, workforce, production, and logistics. SWARM's AI-powered decision intelligence models customers' entire operations and surfaces the right decisions, before volatility steals or erodes margins. SWARM is a fully remote company with employees spread across the United States, and contractors worldwide.

Description

Key Responsibilities

Technical & Strategic Leadership

• Architect End-to-End Solutions: Define the technical vision, architectural standards, and best practices for data science projects, ensuring models are robust, scalable, and maintainable in production environments
• Drive Business & Operational Impact: Identify high-value opportunities to apply optimization, machine learning, and statistical modeling specifically to solve real-world operational planning challenges
• Data Science Infrastructure & Innovation: Lead the development of internal data science infrastructure, tools, and workflows, while exploring side projects and emerging technologies to keep our technical stack cutting‑edge

Team Management & Mentorship

• Manage & Guide the DS Team: Provide technical leadership, coaching, and career mentorship to the data science team, fostering a culture of high performance, collaboration, and continuous learning
• Resource & Project Planning: Work with leadership to scope, prioritize, and allocate team resources effectively across customer implementations and core product development
• Code & Architecture Reviews: Oversee technical quality by conducting rigorous code reviews, establishing testing standards, and enforcing software engineering best practices across the team

Customer Engagement

• Direct Customer Engagement: Actively participate in customer implementations to uncover root business problems, deeply empathizing with user workflows and operational constraints
• Translate Requirements to Roadmap: Bridge the gap between non-technical stakeholders, business domain experts, and engineers by translating complex customer requirements into actionable data science deliverables
• Validation & Value Realization: Collaborate directly with clients during deployment phases to test hypotheses, validate solution, and demonstrate quantifiable business ROI

Qualifications

Required

• Degree in a quantitative field (e.g., Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Operations Research) or equivalent practical experience
• Strong Software Engineering Foundation: Advanced programming skills in Python with ability to write modular, object-oriented code, and experience with relevant libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Pandas, NumPy)
• Proven Track Record: Extensive experience applying data science and mathematical optimization to real-world operational planning, supply chain, or scheduling problems
• Leadership Experience: Prior experience managing, leading, or mentoring data scientists and driving cross-functional alignment across product, engineering, and business stakeholders
• Customer-Facing Aptitude: Excellent communication and consultative skills, with a track record of building trust directly with customers during technical implementations
• Experience with data manipulation and cleaning using SQL and/or other data processing tools
• Experience with cloud platforms
• Strong problem-solving skills and a passion for data-driven decision‑making

Even Better

• Experience with modeling libraries like CVXPy, Gurobi, or Google OR-Tools
• Experience with Microsoft Azure
• Experience with CI/CD principles
• Experience with Docker/Kubernetes
• Experience with LLMs (OpenAI, Gemini)
• Advanced proficiency or fluent in Spanish

Why SWARM

• Impact That Matters: Help build technology that makes food systems, manufacturing, and global supply chains more resilient in a decade of volatility
• Cutting-Edge AI: Shape the market narrative for a platform at the frontier of optimization, decision intelligence, and agentic AI
• High-Visibility Role: Report directly to the SVP Data Science & Engineering to drive a function that is at the heart of the company
• Long-Term Impact: What you help build will shape how SWARM is understood by customers, partners, and the market for years to come

Compensation

The salary below is the base salary range for this position. The actual base salary determination will be made based on candidate's experience, location, and other relevant factors. In addition to base salary, the candidate may also be eligible for commissions, performance bonuses, and equity.

Salary

$140,000 - $150,000 per year