Associate Director Data Science

Associate Director, Data Science

This role is to be based near one of our offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Oakland or New York.

About us

We turn customer challenges into growth opportunities. Material is a global strategy partner to the world’s most recognizable brands and innovative companies. Our people around the globe thrive by helping organizations design and deliver rewarding customer experiences.

We use deep human insights, design innovation and data to create experiences powered by modern technology. Our approaches speed engagement and growth for the companies we work with and transform relationships between businesses and the people they serve.

About the Associate Director, Data Science position

Material is seeking an Associate Director of Data Science who is passionate about helping clients make data-driven decisions. This role focuses on customer analytics using consumer surveys, first party datasets (CRM/CDP), and/or digital behaviors.

You have experience integrating disparate data sources to transform both structured and unstructured data into meaningful insights using data-oriented programming languages, statistical modeling/machine learning, and/or business intelligence (BI) visualization software. This position requires not only strong technical and analytical acumen, but also the ability to translate findings into structured “data narratives” that resonate with non-technical clients.

The ideal candidate has a background in statistical modeling, extraction and transformation in enterprise data warehouses, and experience with AI/ML. While this role is primarily analytics-focused, our team is part of a broader data and analytics practice, offering opportunities for collaboration on AI applications.

Your role will encompass these areas of responsibility:     

Technical

• Extract, cleanse, and combine data from multiple sources and systems.
• Build statistical models to extract insights and predictions of client KPIs.
• Data manipulation in relational databases and/or data warehouses.
• Collaborate with research and strategy teams, manage clients, synthesize, and execute statistical analyses.
• Develop and continually improve multi-source data architecture and analytics procedures, systems, workflows, and data pipelines in collaboration with analysts, data scientists, and data engineers.
• Assess impact of data quality and coverage on downstream analytics; creatively problem-solve against blockers

Managerial

• Deliver executive-ready analytics reviews and strategic points of view supported by quantitative and statistical analysis and clear, concise communication.
• Collaborate with team members to build client relationships and to deliver complex results and presentations , including recommendations for improvement.
• Scale personal impact through formal and informal leadership of junior analysts.
• Develop analytic plans and troubleshoot deviations from established plans.
• Prioritize and respond to ad-hoc requests for analysis and data needs quickly and accurately.
• Contribute to the development of end-to-end, data-driven solutions.
• Stay current on industry best practices to be able to formulate and execute point-of-view documentation.
• Manage multiple simultaneous projects and workstreams.

Ideal experience:

• ~3+ years relevant experience in a dedicated data science or analytics role
• Proficiency in Python or R.
• Experience with data preparation and processing in data warehouses (Snowflake, Big Query and Amazon Web Services) for data mining.
• Expertise translating model insights and predictions into story-driven reports and presentations for stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to use data science to drive and communicate business impact.
• Familiarity with quantitative analysis and research methodologies.
• Experience managing and prioritizing work streams for 2-3 stakeholders and departments in different geographies.

Bonus experience:

• Familiarity with clickstream data providers such as Disco, Luth, Verto, MFour, Behavix.
• Experience analyzing survey data.
• Experience with cloud-computing.
• Familiarity with time series models.
• Experience with complex B2C stakeholder ecosystems, including CRM platforms (Salesforce, Hubspot), CDPs (mParticle, Treasure Data, Segment), and ESPs (Salesforce, Braze, Marketo).
• Hands-on experience with dashboarding software: Tableau, Power BI, or Data Studio.
• Understanding of research methodologies for agile test & learn programs.

This growth path for this role includes managerial responsibilities, thus opportu