Waste Management (WM), a Fortune 250 company, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. We are strongly committed to a foundation of operating excellence, professionalism and financial strength. WM serves nearly 25 million customers in residential, commercial, industrial and municipal markets throughout North America through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and waste-based energy production projects.
To enable our business to expand our lead in a market increasingly enhanced by technology, Waste Management is undertaking a substantial technology transformation. We are seeking talented Information Technology professionals to join the Waste Management team who are motivated to help us transform the way we design, build and use technology. With your skills and experience, we look for you to combine your technical expertise with industry best practices in an effort to align information technology solutions with Waste Management business strategy.
I. Job Summary
We are seeking a senior, full-time Data Scientist who can take complete ownership of analytics initiatives from problem definition through executive delivery. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise with the ability to translate analysis into clear recommendations, anticipate stakeholder questions, and drive alignment without needing a manager to intermediate or interpret.
This role will be hybrid, present 4 days per week in the Houston corporate office.
II. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each duty satisfactorily. Other ancillary duties may be assigned.
Project Ownership and Stakeholder Communication
Own analytics initiatives end-to-end, from problem framing and data exploration through modeling, validation, deployment, and measurement.
Partner directly with business and senior leaders to clarify objectives, constraints, and success criteria without relying on others to translate technical ideas. Proactively identify opportunities to apply data science to business challenges.
Prepare and deliver executive-ready presentations that explain methodologies and recommendations, and present findings directly to stakeholders while answering questions in real time and defending technical decisions.
Independently manage priorities, scope, timelines, risks, and stakeholder expectations across multiple concurrent efforts.
Modeling and Technical Execution
Design, build, and evaluate advanced statistical, machine learning, AI, and GenAI models, selecting modeling approaches based on business needs, data constraints, and operational feasibility.
Perform advanced data mining, feature engineering, and analysis on large and complex datasets.
Translate model outputs into actionable, operational insights.
Ensure data quality, reliability, and reproducibility; clearly communicate risks and limitations.
Collaborate with engineering and platform teams to integrate models into production workflows
Documentation & Knowledge Sharing
Produce clear, well-structured documentation covering problem definitions, methodologies, assumptions, results, and recommendations.
Create artifacts (slide decks, summaries, dashboards, Confluence pages) that enable reuse without direct hand-holding.
Establish and follow best practices for analytical rigor and reproducibility.
Technical Skills
Advanced statistical, machine learning, AI, and GenAI techniques.
Strong programming skills in Python and/or R.
Advanced SQL and experience with large-scale data platforms Snowflake, PostgreSQL, DataStax/Astra DB).
Cloud and data science platforms (AWS, S3, Spark, SageMaker).
Data visualization and storytelling tools.
Agile tools (Jira, Confluence).
III. Supervisory Responsibilities
May coach and mentor less-experienced personnel and act as team leader on systems projects, possibly requiring up to 30% of time spend performing duties and responsibilities.
IV. Qualifications
The requirements listed below are representative of the qualifications necessary to perform the job.
A. Education and Experience
B. Certificates, Licenses, Registrations or Other Requirements
C. Other Knowledge, Skills or Abilities Required
Advanced knowledge and skills in one or more of the following is required:
V. Work Environment
Listed below are key points regarding environmental demands and work environment of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
Normal setting for this job is: office setting
Benefits
At Waste Management, each eligible employee receives a competitive total compensation package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance and Short Term Disability. As well as a Stock Purchase Plan, Company match on 401K, and more! Our employees also receive Paid Vacation, Holidays, and Personal Days. Please note that benefits may vary by site.
If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for, please click "Apply.
ABOUT WM
WM (WM.com) is North America''s leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions. Previously known as Waste Management and based in Houston, Texas, WM is driven by commitments to put people first and achieve success with integrity. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides collection, recycling and disposal services to millions of residential, commercial, industrial, medical and municipal customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. With innovative infrastructure and capabilities in recycling, organics and renewable energy, WM provides environmental solutions to and collaborates with its customers in helping them pursue their sustainability goals. WM has the largest disposal network and collection fleet in North America, is the largest recycler of post‑consumer materials and is a leader in beneficial use of landfill gas, with a growing network of renewable natural gas plants and the most landfill gas‑to‑electricity plants in North America. WM's fleet includes more than 12,000 natural gas trucks - the largest heavy‑duty natural gas truck fleet in the industry in North America. Healthcare Solutions provides collection and disposal services of regulated medical waste, as well as secure information destruction services, in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. To learn more about WM and the company's sustainability progress and solutions, visit Sustainability.WM.com.
Equal Employment Opportunity
For United States: WM is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, status as a protected veteran or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
For Canada: WM is committed to the principle of equal employment for all applicants and employees, without discrimination on the basis of all grounds protected by applicable human rights legislation. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. Please notify us if you require accommodation.
Real ID
In order to travel by air or access federal property, federal law requires individuals have a REAL ID or an acceptable alternative. This position may require the successful candidate to travel by air for business reasons or service federal property. Accordingly, successful candidates must have, or be willing to obtain, a REAL ID or TSA‑approved alternative.
Waste Management is the largest environmental solutions provider in North America, serving more than 21 million municipal, commercial and industrial customers in the U.S. and Canada. We have invested in developing waste solutions for a changing world. Today, this includes not just disposal and recycling, but personal counseling to help customers achieve their green goals, including zero waste.
Waste Management is North America’s largest residential recycler and a renewable energy provider. We recover the naturally occurring gas inside landfills to generate electricity, called landfill-gas-to-energy. Waste Management’s fleet of natural gas trucks is the largest heavy-duty truck fleet of its kind in North America. With the largest network of recycling facilities, transfer stations and landfills in the industry, our entire business can adapt to meet the needs of every distinct customer segment.
As North America’s leading provider of comprehensive waste management services, our mission is to maximize resource value while minimizing impact in order to further both economic and environmental sustainability for all of our stakeholders.