Machine Learning Engineer

Learn and work on meaningful initiatives with some of the best and brightest in the market research industry. The NPD Group provides the world’s most successful brands with leading market research, combining consumer and retail point-of-sale data with analytic solutions to interpret today’s market trends while anticipating tomorrow’s. In addition, we offer a career filled with innovation and growth to the forward-thinking problem solvers who join our team.

Position Overview

NPD Group is charting the future of retail analytics. You will be leading the way in applying machine learning to expand the breadth and the value that our insights deliver to customers. In bringing your expertise to our groundbreaking innovation team, you will collaborate with team members to prototype new methods and modeling techniques using diverse sets of data inputs. You will create and apply strategies for normalization, estimation, prediction, calibration, and optimization in addition to developing new techniques for deriving insight.  

In addition to core modeling skills, the role requires strong analytical and data processing aptitude, and an ability to quickly integrate new ideas into functional prototypes poised to scale.  The successful candidate will be a highly motivated team player with wide-ranging curiosity and creativity, along with common sense and a demonstrated ability to produce high-quality outcomes from methodologies to models to processes.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with global stakeholders across different business verticals to understand customer needs, gaps and strengths in current data, and current methods and data operations. 
• Develop new machine learning models using multiple and new data inputs to derive estimated and predictive market measures. Optimize and calibrate models to improve accuracy.
• Explore new techniques for providing prescriptive and predictive analytics from existing data.
• Work with vendors and third-party data suppliers to optimize data inputs according to model needs and outcomes.
• Document modeling procedures and transfer learnings and knowledge to other organizational stakeholders.
• Act as both a leader and a doer moving machine learning applications from conception to prototype.

Qualifications:
A blend of education and professional experience demonstrating both business and data savvy is required for this role. 

• 4+ years of experience developing, deploying, and optimizing machine learning algorithms.
• Experience working on AI-driven B2B products.
• 3+ years’ experience embedded or partnered with a business organization to drive tangible results and revenue.
• Demonstrated success in solving business problems using a diverse skill set in data management, processing, and modeling.
• Strong programming skills in python, R, and SQL, and experience applying analytical and statistical methods leveraging those languages.
• Experience with SAS desirable.
• Experience not only in the development of machine learning models, but the operationalization of those models to support automation and transition to a production environment.
• Proven ability working in a cloud-based architecture.
• Visualization and communication of analytic results.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to tailor messaging based on the audience. 
• An understanding and acceptance that preparatory data cleansing and processing is core to successful modeling.  This role will be governed by this principle. 
• Exposure to or experience modeling “alternative” data such as geolocation, financial transaction, passive metering, or clickstream to solve business problems is a plus.

The NPD Group, Inc. is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.