Lead Data Scientist

At Nielsen, we believe that career growth is a partnership. You ultimately own, fuel and set the journey. By joining our team of nearly 14,000 associates, you will become part of a community that will help you to succeed. We champion you because when you succeed, we do too. Embark on a new initiative, explore a fresh approach, and take license to think big, so we can all continuously improve. We enable your best to power our future. 
Nielsen measures the media-consumption habits of homes globally. Our data paints a rich portrait of the audience in those markets we measure. As a pioneer and industry leader in audience measurement for more than half a century, we take pride in our technology and proce sses, and we are constantly searching for new ways to advance our culture ofinnovation and growth.
As a Lead Data Scientist you will be on the front lines of the maintenance and ongoing evolution of the data science behind the Audio audience measurement business.
You will join a team focused on delivering and enhancing Nielsen’s product. The team develops new techniques and processes data to better meet the needs of our clients to measure audiences, working at the intersection of Data Science, Technology, Product Delivery and Operations. Despite being spread geographically, our team values collaboration, teamwork, and having fun at work! We hold each other accountable for creating stable, scalable, and well-documented solutions.

Responsibilities

• Research, design, develop, implement and test econometric, statistical, optimization and machine learning models.
• Design, write and test modules for Nielsen analytics platforms using Python, R, SQL and/or Spark.
• Utilize advanced computational/statistics libraries including Spark MLlib, Scikit-learn, SciPy, StatsModels or R.
• Collaborate with cross functional Data Science, Product, and Technology teams to integrate best practices from across the organization
• Provide leadership and guidance for the team in the of adoption of new tools and technologies to improve our core capabilities
• Execute and refine the roadmap to upgrade the modeling/forecasting/control functions of the team to improve upon the core service KPI’s
• Gain a deep understanding of the Audio methodology supported by the team
• Ensure product quality, stability, and scalability by facilitating code reviews and driving best
• practices like modular code, unit tests, and incorporating CI/CD workflows
• Explain complex data science (e.g. model-related) concepts in simple terms to non-technical internal and external audiences

• 5+ years of professional work experience in Statistics, Data Science, and/or related disciplines, with focus on delivering analytics software solutions in a production environment
• Expertise with relational and distributed database systems with expertise in tools such as Spark, Presto, and other SQL-based querying engines
• Expertise in coding and testing of analytical modules using Python, SQL and Spark.
• Expertise in at least one statistical software or machine learning package, such as R or Scikit-learn
• Expertise with optimization techniques and tools such as AIMMS, Gurobi, etc
• Expertise with DevOps tools and CI/CD workflows including Git
• Expertise with sophisticated data mining forecasting & modeling solutions and the tools that support them such as Scikit-learn, PyTorch, and PyMC3
• Well-organized, clear communication, and an ability to handle multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Graduate/Post Graduate degree in Statistics, Economics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering or other Quantitative field of study
• Exceptional problem solving skills. Abilities to solve problems independently and within a cross-functional team to resolve any hurdles in the projects
• Critical thinking skills to evaluate results in order to make timely decisions
• Mentor and provide guidance to other data scientists
• (Preferable) Experience working in cloud-based environments such as Azure, AWS, or GCP
• (Preferable) Experience with ETL frameworks like Airflow
• (Preferable) Domain expertise in survey sampling and/or audience measurement