Data Scientist III

DescriptionA client with Kforce is seeking a Data Scientist III to join their team in San Diego, CA.Responsibilities:* Owns the data and measurement foundation for the client's Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) program across the client: how our brands appear in AI-generated answers (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity)* Builds and maintains data pipelines that ingest AI-answer tracking data from vendor APIs, Google Search Console, and crawler logs into the enterprise warehouse (Databricks/Athena, BigQuery), with data quality monitoring and documentation* Implements governed metric definitions (recommendation win rate, presence, favorability, share of voice, citation share, answer accuracy) as versioned warehouse views so every consumer computes them identically* Builds and owns executive dashboards with automated weekly reads and noise flags. Designs and ships a data-access layer for the GEO data: an LLM plugin or connector plus the context documentation, metric definitions, and vetted query templates that let non-technical partners query the data through their AI assistant and get correct answers, including an evaluation set to verify accuracy over time* Conducts deep-dive analyses (category-level presence changes, AI-answer interception of organic search, citation drivers, retrieval vs content diagnosis, model memory update timing) using rigorous methods, and communicates findings and testable recommendations in concise memos for marketing leadership* Brings an informed, current point of view on how LLM search and answer engines work* Engagement is build-heavy in the first 90 days and shifts toward analysis and thought leadership thereafterRequirements* Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Engineering, or a related quantitative field required; Master's degree preferred* 5+ years of combined data science and data engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated experience owning data products in production* Advanced SQL (Presto/Athena, BigQuery, or Databricks SQL) and Python (pandas, API integration, scheduling/orchestration)* Experience owning production data pipelines end to end, including monitoring and data quality; Applied data science judgment (experimental design, seasonality and noise handling, difference-in-differences comparisons, honest uncertainty communication); Executive dashboard development (Tableau, Looker, or equivalent) with metric governance* Hands-on experience building or configuring LLM connectors, plugins, or MCP-style tools and writing the documentation and guardrails that make an assistant answer correctly; evaluation of LLM outputs* Clear written communication for senior non-technical audiencesPreferred: * GEO/AEO/SEO measurement experience (Search Console, crawlers and indexing, how AI Overviews, ChatGPT search, and Perplexity retrieve and cite sources)* Semantic layer or metric store experience (dbt metrics, governed self-serve analytics)* Text classification over unstructured content* Marketing measurement background (attribution, MMM literacy, incrementality)* Consumer fintech or tax domain familiarityJob TypeContractCompensation81 - $91