Senior Manager, Data Science

VF Corporation is looking for an exceptional SR Manager Data Science, to join our offices in Costa Mesa, California.

Let’s talk about the role!     

The ideal candidate will have 7-8 years of experience in data science, with a strong focus on advanced forecasting. This role will involve developing and implementing advanced models to drive cutting edge innovation across the value chain, with focus on Demand forecasting. Working side-by-side with the business, the resource will drive AI transformation in the business and regional commercial community

Job Details

• Play as an organizational change agents, to support VF transformation in becoming a consumer first and demand driven organization, powered by AI

• Focus on presence, elevate AI narratives and promote AI mission and vision across functions

• Cultivate a network of AI promoters: Prioritize relationship and visibility across leaders in the organization, to drive trust and adoption of key VF AI products and maximize competitive differentiation monetary opportunity

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• Continue building deep knowledge of the organizational success levers, to navigate across complex matrixed ecosystems

• Drive development of next gen forecasting models to fuel our global regional trading activities, with cutting edge decision intelligence and automation.

• Drive AI product design, management and innovation cycles

• Implement a practice of continuous models’ optimization for optimized performance, scalability, accuracy and ultimately monetary impact

• Work closely with data/ cloud Engineers, architect, devops and product owners, to promote cross functional team collaboration and co creation of value-added analytics solutions

• Manage and mentor a distributed team of data scientists, fostering collaboration and ensuring project success and time delivery.

• Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in AI and machine learning, and apply them to enhance our fashion products and services

Skills for Success

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or Engineering, with 7-8 years of experience in developing and managing DSML projects.

• Advanced Forecasting & Time Series Modelling: Extensive experience in time series forecasting using machine learning (XGBoost, LightGBM), deep learning frameworks (e.g., NeuralForecast, N-BEATS), and zero shot models. Proficient in ensemble modelling, hierarchical and multivariate forecasting, as well as probabilistic and prediction intervals.

• Python Expertise: Strong programming skills in Python with deep knowledge of core scientific libraries such as pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, and matplotlib, as well as specialized packages like neural forecast, stats models, prophet, xgboost, and lightgbm.

• Optimization Models: proven experience in applying optimization techniques (e.g., linear/non-linear programming, constrained optimization) for resource allocation and inventory management.

• Model Evaluation & Validation: Skilled in evaluating forecasting models using robust techniques such as time-series cross-validation and back-testing. Strong grasp of key performance metrics including MAE, MAPE, RMSE, SMAPE, and prediction interval coverage.

• Data Management & SQL: Proficient in writing efficient SQL queries to extract, join, and transform data from large-scale relational databases in support of modelling and analysis.

• Version Control & Collaboration: Experienced in using Git and GitHub for source control, code review, and collaborative model development in agile environments.

• Cloud Platforms & MLOps: Hands-on experience with cloud environments including AWS or Azure for scalable data processing and model deployment. Proficient in using Databricks for collaborative development and Spark-based pipelines. Familiar with MLflow for experiment

• Experience in managing medium size team.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.

• Retail/Fashion background will be considered a plus

VF is a global apparel company connecting people to the lifestyles they cherish through our family of iconic brands. At the heart of our journey lies our purpose: We power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet. This is our purpose. It’s the reason we come