Senior Data Science Manager

DescriptionKforce has a client that is seeking a Senior Manager of Data Science in Raleigh, NC.Key Responsibilities:Scope & Impact:* Set the vision and strategic priorities, acting as a recognized expert for Data Science* Lead and develop a team of data scientists and ML engineers, setting the cultural tone for the group* Drive applied research with a clear path to production, explicitly balancing innovation against real-world constraints including latency, cost, and reliability* Build and scale evaluation science capabilities within the team, including offline evaluation frameworks, automated benchmarking pipelines, and human-in-the-loop feedback systems to rigorously measure model quality and business impact* Champion hands-on rapid prototyping and iteration* Collaborate with other Data Science teams to maximize re-use of components and patterns, eliminating waste, duplication and unnecessary customization* Operate with broad scope, coordinating across multiple cross-functional teams, systems, and domainsTechnical & Product Leadership:* Collaborate closely with other Data Science teams, to define and execute the AI roadmap across the content lifecycle, maximizing reuse in areas including: Content collection (e.g. -web scraping-) and transformation; Metadata extraction, enrichment, and classification; Agentic workflows turning real-world events and legal content into legal intelligence; AI-powered downstream product capabilities* Design and deploy scalable, production-grade AI systems, including: LLM-powered document understanding and generation; Agentic workflows balancing agent autonomy and efficiency with required structure and accuracy; Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines; Hybrid ML + rules-based systems for structured content* Lead through execution and by example: Actively writing code, not just delegatingRequirements* Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field strongly preferred, or equivalent practical experience* Bachelor's degree in a relevant field with significant applied experience in data science, machine learning, or AI* 8+ years of relevant experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI* 4+ years of leadership experience (direct or indirect team management)* Cloud infrastructure experience on AWS (preferred), Azure, or GCP* Familiarity with vector databases, knowledge graphs, and hybrid retrieval architecture, CI/CD, RESTful API Design and model serving tools* Familiarity with AI Coding Tools (e.g. GitHub CoPilot, Claude Code, OpenAI Codex)* Proficient with Python, ML and LLM tooling such as Google ADK, LangChain, ML Frameworks (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch) and prompt tuning techniquesPreferred Background:* Graduate degree in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or equivalent experience* 8+ years of post-degree experience, with 4+ years in a data science or applied AI leadership role, with a focus on NLP/LLM systems* Prior experience in legal tech, legal AI, or document-intensive domains is highly desirable* Familiarity with ethical/legal considerations in deploying generative AI in professional settingsSuccess in this role requires:* Leading through both technical expertise and organizational influence* Acting as a change agent, embedding best practices into workflows and systems* Driving both team development and strategic outcomes across a broad scope* Ability to select the right tools and technologies to solve business problemsJob TypeContractCompensation80 - $85