Staff Data Scientist - ML, Gen AI & Agentic AI

At Niagara, we're looking for Team Members who want to be part of achieving our mission to provide our customers the highest quality most affordable bottled water.

Consider applying here, if you want to:

• Work in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment with a chance to make an impact.
• Develop lasting relationships with great people.
• Have the opportunity to build a satisfying career.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages for our Team Members.

Staff Data Scientist - ML, Gen AI & Agentic AI

The Staff Data Scientist is a senior individual contributor who serves as a technical lead across Machine Learning, Generative AI, and Agentic AI initiatives. The role designs, develops, and scales advanced models, RAG-powered GenAI systems, and agentic workflows that power analytics across CPG growth, demand forecasting, pricing, supply chain, and manufacturing. It emphasizes rigorous feature engineering, robust validation and deployment patterns, and clear business communication to drive adoption and value.

Essential Functions

• Design, build, and scale ML models for demand forecasting, growth analytics, price/pack elasticity, segmentation, trade promotion analysis, and supply-chain optimization.
• Develop end-to-end ML pipelines with strong feature engineering, validation, deployment, and model monitoring/observability.
• Deliver interpretable, production-ready models embedded into analytics products and decision experiences.
• Build RAG-powered GenAI solutions with retrieval design, prompting strategies, grounding, and evaluation frameworks.
• Develop tool-using and orchestrated agentic workflows to accelerate analytics and automate decision support.
• Partner with APM&I/product management and business leaders to translate prioritized use cases into measurable outcomes; DS owns the analytic/agent approach and validates performance; APM&I owns value framing and business sign-off.
• Communicate complex ML/GenAI concepts clearly to technical and business stakeholders, including model behavior, risks, and trade-offs.
• Implement Responsible AI practices covering safety, bias mitigation, privacy, evaluation, and telemetry.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship without direct reports, guiding best practices, reviewing code/approaches, and elevating team capability.
• Contribute to enterprise AI governance, including model/agent documentation, risk assessments, access control, versioning, testing standards, and audit readiness.
• Foster cross‑functional collaboration, identifying opportunities to leverage GenAI across manufacturing, supply chain, commercial operations, HR, legal, and corporate functions.
• Analytics Product Expertise Strong knowledge of agile analytics product delivery, full-stack development (Data Engineering, Data Science, UX/UI), and industry best practices.
• Product & Project Management Skilled in developing Product Briefs, managing roadmaps, backlog prioritization, release planning, sprint metrics, and cross-team coordination while ensuring business value-driven outcomes.
• Business & Process Understanding deep comprehension of business processes, functional digital capabilities (Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Finance, Sales & Marketing), and high-quality analytics delivery.
• Change & People Management skilled in managing change initiatives, fostering collaboration, and balancing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications:

• 8+ years in Data Science/ML.

• Experience in CPG/retail growth, demand forecasting, pricing, and promotional analytics.

• Proficiency in Python, SQL, Snowflake, Azure ML/Databricks.

• Practical experience with ML techniques and emerging GenAI/LLM workflows.

• Strong communication and stakeholder alignment skills.

• experience may include a combination of work experience and education

• Preferred Qualifications:

• 10-12+ years analytics experience.

• Experience with agent frameworks, vector databases, hybrid search.

• Experience operationalizing ML/LLM systems with CI/CD and observability.

• Familiarity with Power BI and analytics experience design.

• experience may include a combination of work experience and education

Competencies

• Strategy & Technical Leadership - Ability to define enterprise AI strategy, set technical direction for GenAI and agentic AI programs, and guide long‑term architectural decisions.
• LLMOps & Governance - Deep understanding of model/agent lifecycle management, evaluation frameworks, monitoring, guardrails, Responsible AI principles, and enterprise governance processes.
• Stakeholder Influence - Strong capability to communicate complex AI concepts to executive audiences, drive alignment across product and business teams, and influence cross‑functional decisions.
• AI Solution Delivery & Integration - Experience integrating models and agents into applications, microservices, or enterprise platforms (Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, Oracle AI Agent Studio).
• Analytical & Systems Thinking - Strong ability to break down ambiguous problems, synthesize complex information, and design solutions that balance technical depth with business impact.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration - Proven ability to work effectively with product, engineering, IT, operations, and business stakeholders to unlock enterprise‑wide value.
• Executive Communication & Storytelling - Skilled at creating compelling narratives, visualizations, and recommendations that drive strategic decisions.

This position embodies the values of Niagara's LIFE competency model, focusing on the following key drivers of success:

• Lead Like an Owner

• Provides strategic input and oversight to departmental projects

• Skilled in reducing costs and managing timelines while prioritizing long run impact

• Leads/facilitates discussions to get positive outcomes for the customer

• Makes strategic and sustainable data driven decisions which prioritize the needs of the customer over departmental/individual goals

• InnovACT

• Continuously evaluates existing programs and processes, and develops new initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce waste

• Creates, monitors, and responds to departmental performance metrics to drive continuous improvement

• Communicates a clear vision, organizes resources effectively, and adjusts the strategy as needed when managing change

• Find a Way

• Demonstrates ability to think analytically and synthesize complex information

• Effectively delegates technical tasks to subordinates

• Works effectively with depts, vendors, and customers to achieve organizational success

• Identifies opportunities for collaboration in strategic ways

• Empowered to be Great

• Engages in long term talent planning

• Provides opportunities for the development of all direct reports

• Understands, identifies, and addresses conflict within own team and between teams

Education

• Minimum Required:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science/Data Science/Statistics or other related field

• Preferred:

• Master's Degree in Computer Science/Data Science/Statistics or other related field

Certification/License:

• Required: N/A
• Preferred: Agentic AI / Gen AI / Machine Learning or Advanced Analytics certifications.

Typical Compensation Range

Pay Rate Type: Salary

$136,778.46 - $198,328.77 / Yearly

Bonus Target: 10% Annual

Benefits

Our Total Rewards package is thoughtfully designed to support both you and your family:

Regular full-time team members are offered a comprehensive benefits package, while part-time, intern, and seasonal team members are offered a limited benefits package.

• Paid Time Off for holidays, sick time, and vacation time
• Paid parental and caregiver leaves
• Medical, including virtual care options
• Dental
• Vision
• 401(k) with company match
• Health Savings Account with company match
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Expanded mental wellbeing benefits including free counseling sessions for all team members and household family members
• Family Building Benefits including enhanced fertility benefits for IVF and fertility preservation plus adoption, surrogacy, and Doula reimbursements
• Income protection including Life and AD&D, short and long-term disability, critical illness and an accident plan
• Special discount programs including pet plans, pre-paid legal services, identity theft, car rental, airport parking, etc.
• Tuition reimbursement, college savings plan and scholarship opportunities
• And more!

https://careers.niagarawater.com/us/en/benefits

• *Los Angeles County applicants only Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the California Fair Chance Act, and any other applicable local and state laws.

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