About the Role
Databricks is seeking a Principal Data Scientist to be the statistical authority within the Data Science organization. This pivotal individual contributor role involves providing high-level, data-driven insights to the CEO, C-suite, and Board of Directors, influencing critical company decisions. The ideal candidate will bridge rigorous analytical work with executive communication, driving a data-first culture across Databricks.
The Impact You Will Have
- Executive translation. Convert complex data science findings into clear, actionable insights for top leadership, directly influencing the company's most important decisions.
- Statistical authority. Act as the company's leading statistical expert, ensuring the highest level of analytical rigor in executive decision-making and advancing statistical method application within Databricks.
- Org-wide uplevel. Elevate communication standards across the entire Data Science organization through coaching, setting best practices, and co-authoring key executive-facing deliverables.
- Strategic insights. Conduct deep strategic analyses on key areas such as revenue, platform health, operational efficiency, and competitive positioning, generating judgment-rich insights.
- Cross-functional influence. Collaborate with engineering VPs, product leaders, and executive staff to embed a data-driven decision-making culture company-wide, serving as a trusted analytical advisor.
- External thought leadership. Represent Databricks as a data science thought leader at industry events and in publications, helping to attract top talent.
- Methodology and standards. Develop and refine company-wide scientific methodologies, including experimentation frameworks, forecasting systems, and causal inference approaches, pushing industry boundaries.
What We Look For
Required Qualifications
- 15+ years of experience in data science, statistics, or quantitative research in industry and/or academia.
- Proven ability to present statistical and data science concepts effectively to C-suite and Board-level audiences, demonstrating measurable impact on executive decision-making.
- Extensive expertise across various data science disciplines, including experimentation, causal inference, forecasting, optimization, and machine learning.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, capable of making complex statistical concepts intuitive and compelling for non-technical executives.
- Demonstrated success in elevating team capabilities, setting analytical standards, mentoring senior data scientists, and improving overall organizational output quality.
- Experience at the intersection of statistics and large-scale technology or data platforms.
- Ph.D. in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
Preferred Qualifications
- Academic research or teaching background in statistics or a quantitative field.
- Industry experience at multiple tier-1 technology companies.
- Published research or recognized thought leadership in applied statistics.
- Experience building or leading a "Chief Statistician" or equivalent function.
- Experience in infrastructure, platform, or systems-oriented data science.