Lead Data Scientist

Job Role - Sr. / Lead Data ScientistJob Location - Pune (Hybrid)Experience - 10+ YearsAbout the RoleWilliams-Sonoma is seeking an experienced Lead Data Scientist to join our Data & AI organization and help drive intelligent decision-making across our retail and digital ecosystem. This role sits at the intersection of advanced analytics, machine learning, and emerging AI capabilities, with a strong focus on translating data into measurable business impact.The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on expertise in applied data science and machine learning, along with the ability to lead complex initiatives end-to-end from problem framing and experimentation to production deployment. You will partner closely with product, merchandising, marketing, supply chain, and engineering teams to deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.Responsibilities:Lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced analytical and machine learning solutions to solve high-impact business problems across retail and e-commerce domains.Apply statistical modeling, predictive analytics, and experimentation to generate actionable insights that inform business strategy and decision-making.Perform deep exploratory data analysis (EDA) on large, complex datasets and clearly communicate findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.Partner with business leaders, product managers, and engineering teams to define analytical objectives, data requirements, and success metrics.Mentor and provide technical leadership to data scientists and ML engineers, fostering best practices in modeling, experimentation, and production readiness.Architect, optimize, and maintain scalable data science workflows and feature pipelines using Spark and other big-data technologies.Collaborate with ML and platform teams to operationalize models, ensuring reliability, performance, and monitoring in production environments.Evaluate and continuously improve deployed models through performance tracking, retraining strategies, and post-launch analysis.Stay current with emerging trends, tools, and best practices in data science, machine learning, and applied AI, and assess their relevance to retail use cases.Contribute to team standards, code reviews, documentation, and knowledge sharing to raise the overall data science maturity of the organization.Criteria:Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.8+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or advanced analytics roles, with demonstrated impact in production environments.Strong proficiency in Python and common data science libraries (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn), with experience in at least one deep learning framework (TensorFlow or PyTorch).Solid experience with big-data and distributed computing technologies such as Spark and Hadoop.Hands-on experience working with cloud-based data platforms and modern data ecosystems.Deep understanding of statistical methods, machine learning algorithms, feature engineering, and model evaluation techniques.Proven strength in exploratory data analysis, data storytelling, and translating analytical insights into business recommendations.Experience leading projects, influencing stakeholders, and mentoring junior team members.Prior experience in retail, e-commerce, or consumer-focused businesses is highly desirable.Excellent problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to diverse audiences.

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