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Senior Data Scientist

Boston, MA · Hybrid · Permanent

TechnologyData Science$145k – $275k
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What the market looks like

Senior data science hiring has split cleanly in two — one track focused on classical ML and statistical modeling, and a second focused on generative AI, evaluation, and applied research. Mid-senior compensation generally lands in a $145K–$275K base band, with the strongest concentration of roles across technology, financial services, and the more data-mature parts of healthcare. The companies hiring these profiles tend to have real engineering muscle on the other side of the fence, which is part of why the strongest senior data scientists we place are the ones comfortable moving across both tracks — a shift that reflects how the most serious organizations are now structuring their data science function.

Job responsibilities

  • Lead end-to-end data science projects from problem framing through deployment, with clear ownership of business outcomes

  • Translate ambiguous business questions into tractable analytical problems — and push back on the ones that are better answered another way

  • Design and run rigorous experiments, including A/B tests, quasi-experimental approaches, and causal inference where appropriate

  • Build and ship production-grade ML models in partnership with data engineers, ML engineers, and product managers

  • Set and enforce the team's standards for modeling methodology, evaluation, reproducibility, and code quality

  • Partner with product and engineering leadership on technical direction, roadmap priorities, and capability investments

  • Mentor junior data scientists through code reviews, design reviews, and structured feedback

  • Contribute to hiring by interviewing candidates, shaping assessment rubrics, and raising the overall team bar

  • Communicate findings clearly to stakeholders at every level, from engineers to C-suite, in both writing and in person

Candidate requirements

  • 5+ years of data science experience shipping models or analyses that drove real decisions

  • Strong Python (pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch or TensorFlow) and SQL

  • Deep statistical foundation — causal inference, experimentation, and Bayesian methods as appropriate

  • Track record of partnering with engineering to deploy production ML

  • Excellent communication — equally comfortable with engineers, PMs, and executives

  • Experience in technology, financial services, or similarly data-rich industries

Senior Data Scientist | Boston, MA | Axial Search