Staff Data Scientist

This is a Full Time Job

Job Summary:

Office of Technology Enablement (OTE)
The Office of Technology Enablement (OTE) is Disney's central engine for transforming emerging tech into real world magic. We orchestrate company-wide efforts in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and mixed reality, empowering every segment-from Studios and ESPN to Parks and Experiences-to unlock new value and delight our guests in responsible, innovative ways.

We are seeking an experienced Staff Data Scientist-a trusted technical counterpart to the Manager, AI Enablement and a catalyst for data driven innovation across Disney's businesses. Many of our engagements begin as a simple hunch: a leader senses that smarter data-or the right model-could unlock something special. You'll lead the journey from exploratory discovery through model deployment, guiding partners from discovery to production while nurturing a scalable data flywheel.

If you are a hands-on expert who can go deep on ML and inspire cross functional teams to move fast and responsibly, we'd love to meet you.

Key Responsibilities
• Opportunity Discovery and Diagnostic Investigation – Engage segment partners to surface hypotheses, perform data sleuthing to size value, and craft lean proofs of concept to validate ROI in weeks, not months.
• Experiment Design and Insight Reporting – Structure A/B tests or causal studies, measure impact, and package results into clear, decision ready insights for executives and creative leaders.
• Data Science and ML Delivery – Design, train, and deploy predictive models, statistical analyses, and machine learning systems that drive guest and business impact.
• Data Flywheel and MLOps – Stand up cloud native pipelines, feature engineering workflows, and monitoring that keep models healthy post launch.
• Stakeholder Storytelling – Translate complex findings into compelling narratives and decision frameworks for product, creative, and executive audiences.
• People Leadership – Recruit, mentor, and coach 1–2 data scientists/engineers; codify reusable assets and best practices.
• Responsible AI and Governance – Ensure all work aligns with Disney's Responsible AI guardrails in partnership with Legal, Privacy, and Security.

Required Qualifications
• BS in advanced Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science in comparable field of study + 7 years of experience or PhD in advanced Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science in comparable field of study + 3 years of experience.
• Expert proficiency in Python, SQL, and modern ML/DL libraries (scikit learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch); solid grounding in statistical modeling, experiment design, and causal inference.
• Hands on experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure and big data frameworks such as Snowflake, Spark, or Databricks.
• Proven ability to move from whiteboard idea to production solution and influence cross functional teams through data storytelling.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals (version control, testing, CI/CD); familiarity with data visualization or experimentation platforms (e.g., Looker, Tableau, Optimizely).

Preferred Qualifications
• Domain knowledge in media, streaming, sports, parks, or consumer products.
• Experience with LLMs, vector search, and retrieval augmented generation.
• Background in causal inference or experimentation platforms.
• Prior experience hiring or leading small technical teams.

Reporting & Collaboration
• Reports directly to the Director, ML Architecture & Engineering and partners daily with the Manager, AI Enablement and Staff Architect to align technical design with product outcomes.

Ready to turn data hunches into headline making magic? Apply today.

#DISNEYTECH

The hiring range for this position in Burbank is $152,200.00 to $204,100.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered