Director, Data Science

Job Description

About the role and why it’s unique:

At Underdog Fantasy, we’re building the most innovative and engaging fantasy sports experience. Our Analytics & Data Science team plays a crucial role in shaping the future of our business by leveraging data to drive decision-making and build better, more personalized products and experiences for our users. We’re looking for a Director of Data Science to lead a team of talented data scientists in developing customer LTV, churn prediction, MMM, propensity, and uplift models, as well as recommender systems to power personalized user experiences.

• Lead and mentor a team of data scientists, fostering a collaborative and high-performing culture.
• Develop predictive models, including customer LTV, churn prediction, MMM, and propensity models, ensuring they drive measurable business outcomes.
• Build and refine recommender systems to personalize CRM communications, promotions, and in-app user experiences.
• Work closely with engineering teams to productionize models and integrate them into existing workflows.
• Partner with product, marketing, and CRM teams to design and implement data-driven personalization strategies.
• Act as a thought partner to stakeholders across the business, translating complex data science problems into actionable insights.
• Stay informed on industry trends and emerging techniques in data science and machine learning.
• Promote best practices in model development, validation, and monitoring to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Who you are:

• 10+ years of experience in data science, with 4+ years in a leadership role.
• Proven expertise in building and deploying machine learning models, including at least one or more of LTV, churn prediction, MMM, and recommender systems.
• Strong understanding of personalization techniques and strategies.
• Proficiency in Python, R, SQL, and modern machine learning frameworks.
• Ability to lead and inspire a team, fostering a culture of collaboration and professional growth.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to convey complex ideas to technical and non-technical audiences.
• A strategic thinker who aligns data science initiatives with business objectives.

Even better if you have:

• Experience in the sports or real-money-gaming industry.
• Background in optimizing CRM and marketing strategies through data science.
• Experience deploying machine learning models in production environments.

Our target starting base salary range for this position is between $208,000 and $235,000, plus target equity. The starting base salary will depend on a number of factors including the candidate’s skills and experience, among other things.

What we can offer you:

• Unlimited PTO (we're extremely flexible with the exception of the first few weeks before & into the NFL season)
• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave
• A $500 home office allowance
• A connected virtual first culture with a highly engaged distributed workforce
• 5% 401k match, FSA, company paid health, dental, vision plan options for employees and dependents

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