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Lead Data Scientist, Ad Research

The Walt Disney Company

Seattle, WA

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JOB DETAILS
SALARY
$155,700–$208,700 Per Year
SKILLS
A/B Testing, Advertising, Algorithms, Alliance/Partner Management, Analysis Skills, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business Skills, Business Strategy, Communication Skills, Computer Science, Data Analysis, Data Management, Data Modeling, Data Science, Data Warehousing, Digital Video, Entertainment and Media, Forecasting, Internet Technology, Java, Leadership, Machine Learning, Mentoring, Metrics, Multimedia, Multiplatform/Cross-Platform, Online Marketing, Pricing, Process Modeling, Product Design, Product Development, Product Engineering, Production Support, Project/Program Management, Python Programming/Scripting Language, R Programming Language, SQL (Structured Query Language), Scientific Research, Sports, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Standards Development, Statistics, Storytelling, Tableau, Team Player, Technical Support, Training Data Sets, User Interface/Experience (UI/UX)
LOCATION
Seattle, WA
POSTED
30+ days ago
Technology is at the heart of Disney’s past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more – all working to build and advance the technological backbone for Disney’s media business globally.


The team marries technology with creativity to build world-class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world.


Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here:


+ Building the future of Disney’s media: Our Technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.

+ Reach, Scale & Impact: More than ever, Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company’s brands and stories. Disney+. Hulu. ESPN. ABC. ABC News…and many more. These products and brands – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally.

+ Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.


Ad Platforms is responsible for Disney’s industry-leading ad technology and products – driving advertising performance, innovation, and value in Disney’s sports, news, and entertainment content, across all media platforms.


The research/AI team is the dedicated AI/ML and data science arm of the Ad Platform organization. Its mission is to advance AI and machine learning capabilities across Ad Platform by delivering scalable, high impact AI/ML and data science solutions that enhance ad decisioning, forecasting, experimentation and ad experience. We are seeking a Lead Data Scientist to join this innovative team. This role is a critical leadership opportunity for a seasoned data science professional who thrives at the intersection of advanced analytics, machine learning, and business strategy.


As a Lead Data Scientist, you will spearhead ML and data science initiatives that shape the future of advertising technology. You will support generative AI production development through rigorous evaluation and data generation pipelines. You will be responsible for designing and executing ML and data science solutions that drive measurable impact across ad decisioning, forecasting, experimentation, and user experience optimization, as well leading evaluation and optimization of generative AI mixed media advertisement creation and enhancement technologies.


WHAT YOU’LL DO


+ Drive innovation and apply data science and statistical analysis in a variety of areas to enhance every aspect of advertising serving, including inventory forecasting, ad experience, ad pacing, pricing, targeting, advertising creation and enhancement, and efficient ad delivery.

+ Translate business questions into data science framework; develop data analysis and data models for complex ad challenges with fast turnaround.

+ Develop rigorous evaluation pipelines for generative AI technologies, including visual generations (image, video) and/or LLM-based agentic generations.

+ Define and evaluate key metrics in various product areas.

+ Partner closely with generative AI specialists to support the creation of datasets for generative AI modeling applications.

+ Develop Standard Operating Procedures for human-driven evaluations or labeling.

+ Deliver data insights and provide data-driven recommendations to cross-team stakeholders.

+ Design and analyze A/B tests for machine learning algorithm iterations.

+ Establish strong partnership with stakeholders, including product managers, engineers and program managers, in a collaborative environment.

+ Mentor team members and support their technical growth.


WHAT TO BRING


+ Bachelor's in computer science, statistics or equivalent experience

+ At least 7 years of relevant industry experience in data science at leading internet or creative technology companies. Experience in the advertising domain is a strong bonus.

+ Experience creating ML datasets and rigorous dataset labeling or evaluation processes for models.

+ Strong interest to learn about generative mixed media, generative video, and diffusion-based technology.

+ Solid knowledge of data science and statistics. Strong communication skills and business acumen.

+ Proficient in SQL, Python, Java, or R. Familiar with Tableau, and/or other visualization tools.

+ Experience designing and building machine learning models.

+ Passionate about understanding the ad business, applying data science to relevant business scenarios, and seeking innovation opportunities to enhance business effectiveness.

+ Interested in supporting rapid prototyping, generative AI, and creative technologies, including applications to advertisement creation and enhancement.

+ Experienced building data-driven services and applications for production.

+ A proven track record of thriving in a fast-paced, data-driven, and collaborative work environment is required.


NICE-TO-HAVES


+ MS or PhD in computer science, statistics or equivalent experience

+ Experience in digital video advertising or digital marketing domain

+ Experience in production-grade development, rapid prototyping, or generative AI related research using LLMs, generative imagery or video, or agentic flows. Otherwise a strong interest to learn.

+ Experience with Airflow, data warehouse, Databricks or Sagemaker.


#DISNEYTECH


The hiring range for this position in Los Angeles, CA area is $155,700 - $208,700 per year and Seattle Area is $163,100 - $218,700. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.

Job ID: 10142041

Location: Seattle,Washington

Job Posting Company: Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology
The Walt Disney Company and its Affiliated Companies are Equal Employment Opportunity employers and welcome all job seekers including individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or apply for a position, email Candidate.Accommodations@Disney.com with your request. This email address is not for general employment inquiries or correspondence. We will only respond to those requests that are related to the accessibility of the online application system due to a disability.

About the Company

T

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the global leader in high-quality entertainment and innovative technology. Begin a career that delivers unparalleled creative content and experiences to audiences around the world.
COMPANY SIZE
10,000 employees or more
INDUSTRY
Entertainment Venues and Theaters
WEBSITE
https://jobs.disneycareers.com

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