Associate Director, Data Science

Company description Spark Foundry was built during the most transformative time in the history of advertising and marketing. We deliver everything a traditional media agency has to offer and have grown into one of the world's most successful agencies by helping brands evolve their marketing by leveraging identity, commerce, artificial intelligence, and more to connect with people. Transformation is part of our DNA. Spark Foundry's start-up spirit delivers high-touch approaches and a never-ending desire to challenge the status quo. Combined with Publicis Media's powerhouse soul leveraging connected data assets, advanced AI applications, and investment clout, we "Bring HEAT to Brands." No other agency possesses the expertise that we do to address today's most pressing challenges to drive business transformation through media. Overview The Associate Director of Data Science is responsible for leading advanced audience development and data and technology enablement to drive client growth. This role is both strategic and hands-on, working with large individual- and transaction-level datasets to design and deliver best-in-class data science solutions that enable clients to identify, target, engage, and measure audiences with precision and efficiency. The data scientist must be able to translate across technical and non-technical stakeholders in both directions: from client requirements to innovative data science solutions, and from quantitative results to business-relevant, actionable insights. Responsibilities Navigate a complex, multi-source data environment and creatively identify appropriate datasets and methodologies for ever-changing client questions Monitor data quality and maintain data science pipelines for client data assets, including 1PD and 3PD Develop, deploy, and maintain ML and AI workflows for identifying and targeting relevant audiences, including propensity/classification models as well as unsupervised clustering/segmentation Develop and execute novel methods of analyzing audiences, such as customer profiling, customer journeys, purchase predictions/recommendations, etc. Collaborate with strategy teams to translate technical outputs into relevant business insights and recommendations, including client-facing discussions and dashboards Collaborate with analytics teams to develop and implement testing frameworks for closed-loop audience measurement Develop and implement a test-and-learn roadmap to continuously refine data-driven strategies, enabling rapid optimization Contribute to data science team- and practice-building initiatives, e.g. presenting case studies in cross-functional forums, creating collateral around data capabilities, and pursuing internal research projects Document and share optimized, reusable code with data science colleagues using Git Continuously innovate, staying current with the latest technological developments and applying them to current workflows Independently set, communicate, and deliver against realistic expectations and timelines Guide the development of client data strategy and promote the adoption of data-driven processes across planning, activation, and measurement Proactively identify and pursue new use cases and opportunities to use data science capabilities to solve client challenges Qualifications 4+ years of data science experience in advertising, marketing, or related fields, with agency experience preferred Advanced degree in Statistics, Data Science, or other quantitative fields preferred Deep theoretical and practical understanding of statistical/ML techniques and experimental design Hands-on experience with granular, disaggregated data, particularly behavioral consumer datasets and/or media logs; engagement with publisher walled gardens (AMC, ADH, etc.) a plus Advanced proficiency with SQL for big data analytics and Python for production-ready workflow development Experience with Databricks or similar cloud-based big data platforms, e.g. Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift Experience building agentic workflows and integrating AI solutions into existing data and tech stacks Additional information Our Publicis Groupe motto "Viva La Différence" means we're better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent. Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off. If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact USMTTACompliance@publicis.com. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Compensation Range: USD $112,290.00 - USD $179,712.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 10/7/2026.