Senior/Staff Data Scientist

About Sovrn

Every interesting company solves essential problems for other people. Sovrn is an Advertising Technology Software and Data business that helps Open Web businesses remain independent. We help them understand their business better, operate more efficiently, and make and keep more money.

• We believe in the freedom and free flow of information.
• We believe the Open Web is the largest source of this information.
• We believe in helping Open Web businesses remain Independent.

Through Software platforms and Data solutions products, we help our customers:

• Understand their business better, so they can make better decisions.
• Operate their business more efficiently, so they can invest in what matters most.
• Make (and Keep) more money, so they control their own destiny.

About the Role

The Senior or Staff Data Scientist at Sovrn is a strategic technical leader who drives high-impact data initiatives across the organization. This role requires a unique blend of strategic vision ("the art of the possible") and tactical execution ("think and execute tactically"). You will solve ambiguous problems to deliver measurable business value and influence the future of data science in AdTech. You will guide architecture, experimentation, and product design while ensuring scientific and technical rigor. This position requires technical excellence, business acumen, and leadership.

About the Job

• Operate at the frontier of applied AI as a hands-on practitioner — personally exploring, prototyping, evaluating, and deploying cutting-edge Agentic AI technologies to bring new, grounded insight into product, modeling, and optimization decisions.
• Design, implement, and deploy advanced predictive models, algorithms, and experiments that drive core business outcomes, specifically optimizing ad performance, user engagement, and monetization strategies.
• Analyze large-scale datasets to identify patterns, trends, and optimization opportunities, while maintaining and improving data pipelines and experimentation frameworks to support ongoing research.
• Define and evangelize best practices in modeling, testing, measurement, and data governance, ensuring scientific rigor while balancing practical business constraints and timelines.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to identify high-leverage AI/ML opportunities, translate them into actionable roadmaps, and deliver measurable outcomes.
• Mentor other data scientists through code review, experiment design, and technical feedback and model what it looks like to stay current with fast-moving AI research in a production-focused environment.
• Translate complex data problems into strategic decisions through compelling storytelling and clear communication of findings and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

A successful candidate will have:

• Proven ability to deploy autonomous agents to production including optimizing inference performance, managing latency/cost tradeoffs, and ensuring robust model evaluation at each stage.
• Demonstrates prompt engineering discipline by systematically evaluating prompts across model families using quantitative evaluation.
• Active use of AI tools in daily technical work — integrates coding assistants, orchestration frameworks, and search-augmented workflows in ways that accelerate prototyping and reduce iteration cycles.
• Experience in data science and applied machine learning, with a strong record of delivering business impact.
• Deep technical proficiency across classical ML (supervised/unsupervised), reinforcement learning, and deep learning, with a strong foundation in statistical modeling, A/B testing, and causal inference.
• Proficiency with Python, SQL, cloud-based data ecosystems, modern AI/ML frameworks (e.g., Pandas, Scikit-Learn, PyTorch/TensorFlow, LangChain, Hugging Face, PydanticAI), experience with large-scale datasets and distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Spark, PySpark), and Databricks running on AWS Cloud.
• Strong understanding of ad tech ecosystems (e.g., RTB, DSP/SSP workflows, auctions, and yield optimization) is a big plus.
• Demonstrated ability to influence across technical and non-technical audiences, lead cross-functional initiatives, and work in a collaborative, agile environment (Scrum and Kanban).
• A strategic mindset with strong product intuition and experience working at scale.

We understand that no candidate is perfectly qualified for any job. Experience comes in different forms, many skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. Even more important than your resume is a clear demonstration of accountability and the ability to thrive in a fluid and collaborative environment. We expect you to learn new things in this role and encourage you to apply if your experience is close to what we're looking for.

Location: Sovrn offices are located in Boulder, CO and New York, NY. We believe collaboration and shared purpose lead to deeper relationships, more creative problem-solving, and more learning, faster. For employees located near one of our offices, working in-person is our default. We trust people to use personal agency when focused work or life circumstances call for flexibility. 

Application Deadline: Priority deadline August 31, 2026. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis thereafter until the position is filled.

Compensation and Benefits: In Colorado, the annual base salary for the senior-level position is $155,000 to $185,000 and the staff-level position is $170,000 to $200,000. This range represents the good-faith estimate of compensation at the time of posting. This range may be modified in the future. Individual compensation decisions are based on job-related education, experience, skills, and work location. In addition to base salary, this role may also be eligible for bonus opportunities, commission earnings, and/or equity awards, subject to the terms of the applicable plans. 

Benefits available to eligible employees include medical, dental, and vision insurance; paid holidays; flexible paid time off; paid medical leave; paid parental leave; short- and long-term disability coverage; life insurance; 401(k) plan participation with company match; commuter benefits; and other wellness and employee support programs.

How to Apply: To ensure your application is reviewed, please apply directly to the job posting on our career site. Applications submitted via email will not be considered. Sovrn is committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the application and employment process. If you require accommodation due to a disability or medical condition, please contact peopleops@sovrn.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Sovrn provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Recruitment Agencies: Sovrn does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or Sovrn employees. Sovrn is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.