Staff Data Scientist

rdccareers; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 170,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Realtor.com, the leading real estate platform, seeks a Staff Data Scientist to own measurement and analytics across consumer experiences, from search to personalization. You will partner with Product, Engineering, and leadership to define what gets measured and why, and to set the roadmap for multi-quarter experiments.

As a player-coach you will mentor senior data scientists, raise the bar on rigorous analysis, and push AI-native approaches.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data science, statistics, or machine learning.
• Track record of owning ambiguous, high-visibility analytics initiatives end-to-end.
• Strong understanding of A/B testing and causal inference methods.
• Experience mentoring data scientists.

Responsibilities

• Own high-visibility, cross-team analytics initiatives end-to-end.
• Define measurement, experimentation roadmaps, and metrics definitions.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to shape analytics roadmap across consumer initiatives.
• Mentor senior and mid-level data scientists, elevating analytic rigor.
• Translate analytical findings for executive audiences and stakeholders.

Skills

Data science leadership

Experimentation fundamentals

A/B testing/Causal inference

ML engineering/analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Stats/Math/OR related

Master's degree (preferred)

PhD (optional)

Tools

Python

Snowflake

Amplitude

dbt

Airflow

Streamlit

MCPs

Windsurf

Job description

Recognized as the No. 1 site trusted by real estate professionals, Realtor.com® has been at the forefront of online real estate for over 25 years, connecting buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights and expert guidance to find their perfect home. Through its robust suite of tools, Realtor.com® not only makes a significant impact on the real estate industry at large, but for consumers, navigating the biggest purchase they will make in their life, by providing a user experience that is easy to use, easy to understand, and most of all, easy to make decisions.

Join us on our mission to empower more people to find their way home by breaking barriers to entry, making the right connections, and building confidence through expert guidance.

Who We Are

Realtor.com® is your one stop shop for homebuyers, sellers, and renters. We make it easy for consumers to choose a place to live whether it's renting a condo or buying new construction. For over 20 years, millions of home shoppers and renters have turned to Realtor.com® to find their dream home or rental.

Top Reasons to Apply:

• You'll set the data science strategy for one of the highest-traffic sites in real estate, with visibility at VP+ leadership-and the backing to fix things at the root: better tracking, scalable pipelines, and higher data quality standards across the company, not just your own team.
• This is a real staff-level IC role, not a stepping stone into management. You'll go beyond standard A/B testing into geo-experiments, synthetic controls, and other causal inference methods for problems that don't have a textbook answer, while mentoring senior data scientists and setting the team's technical direction.
• Industry-Leading AI and Modern Tech Stack: Realtor.com is recognized by vendors as a top-tier leader in AI adoption. You'll work daily with a modern analytics stack-Python, Snowflake, Amplitude, dbt, and Airflow-plus advanced AI-native tools like Streamlit, MCPs, and Windsurf, at the frontier of how the industry applies AI to data science.

About the Role

This is a senior technical leadership role on the Consumer Data Science & Analytics team, responsible for measurement and analytics strategy across http://Realtor.com's consumer product experiences-spanning content and visualization, search and personalization, and other high-priority consumer initiatives. As a Staff Data Scientist, you'll operate as a player-coach: owning the most ambiguous, highest-visibility analytical problems end-to-end while setting the technical bar and mentoring other data scientists on the team.

You'll partner directly with Product, Engineering, and senior leadership to define what gets measured and why, shape multi-quarter experimentation and measurement roadmaps, and exercise the judgment to say no to low-value ad hoc requests in favor of the analyses that move the business..

What You'll Do

• Own a high-visibility, cross-team initiative end to end-from framing the business question through method selection, execution, and socializing recommendations with senior stakeholders-with minimal oversight.
• Set the analytical and experimentation standards for the team: design the test-and-learn frameworks, causal inference approaches, and metrics definitions other data scientists build on.
• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to shape the measurement and analytics roadmap across consumer initiatives (e.g., AI-backed search & recommendations, ), reasoning independently about tradeoffs like inventory vs. user preference, cold-start, and test design.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to Senior and mid-level data scientists, reviewing analytical approaches and elevating the rigor of the team's work.
• Identify and prioritize the highest-leverage analytical opportunities across the consumer product portfolio, protecting time and focus for the initiatives with the greatest business impact.
• Champion and model AI-native ways of working-agentic workflows, LLM-assisted analysis, and self-service tooling-to accelerate the team's output and set the standard for how the org uses AI.
• Represent the data science function in cross-functional planning, translating complex analytical and statistical findings into clear recommendations for both technical and executive audiences.

What You'll Bring

• 8+ years of experience in data science, applied statistics, or machine learning and a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in computer science, statistics, mathematics, operations research, or a related quantitative field. (6+ years with a Master's, 3+ years with a Ph.D.)
• A track record of owning ambiguous, high-visibility analytical initiatives end-to-end and driving them to measurable business impact, without close oversight.
• Deep experimentation fundamentals-A/B testing, power analysis, and causal inference methods (e.g., difference-in-differences, synthetic control, propensity score matching) for settings where standard testing isn't feasible.
• Strong technical