Lead Data Scientist - Advanced AI (Applied ML, Agentic, Gen AI)

The pay range is $132,000.00 - $238,000.00Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at .JOIN TARGET AS A LEAD DATA SCIENTIST – ADVANCE AI / AI FACTORYAbout us:Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.About the role:Target’s Advanced AI team builds end-to-end AI/ML systems that create meaningful business value across the enterprise. These systems may be powered by LLMs, classical machine learning, or deep learning models, and are designed as scalable, reliable, production-grade applications, including agentic architectures where they add clear value.As a Lead Data Scientist for Advanced AI, you will help identify, design, develop, evaluate, and scale AI/ML capabilities that drive automation, insight, and action across core business workflows. You will work closely with AI Engineers, Full-Stack Engineers, product partners, platform teams, security teams, and business stakeholders to translate ambiguous business problems into practical AI/ML solutions.In this role, you will provide hands-on data science leadership across Advanced AI initiatives. You will frame problems, define success metrics, explore data, develop modeling approaches, design experiments, evaluate model and system performance, and help guide solutions from prototype to production. You will work across LLM-powered applications, classical machine learning, deep learning, retrieval-augmented generation, agentic systems, intelligent automation, and other applied AI patterns where appropriate.You will also partner with engineering teams to ensure AI/ML solutions are reliable, measurable, maintainable, and aligned to Target’s enterprise standards. This includes contributing to evaluation strategies, model monitoring approaches, feedback loops, human-in-the-loop workflows, and responsible AI practices. You will help shape technical approaches, identify risks, resolve ambiguity, mentor other Data Scientists, and support the evolution of reusable AI/ML patterns for the broader Advanced AI team.A successful Lead Data Scientist will help deliver production-grade AI/ML applications that create measurable business value while raising the quality of data science, experimentation, evaluation and applied AI practices across the team.Core responsibilities of this job are articulated within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs. About you:PhD or MS in MS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Applied Mathematics, Physics or a related technical field preferred7+ years of hands-on experience in data science, machine learning, applied AI, or AI/ML systemsDemonstrated experience developing and evaluating AI/ML solutions including solutions powered by LLMs, classical machine learning models and deep learning modelsStrong proficiency with Python programming in common data science, machine learning and deep learning libraries (Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, etc.)Experience working with LLMs, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation, agentic workflows, model APIs, embeddings, evaluation frameworks, or AI observability tools is strongly preferredStrong understanding of the model development lifecycle, including problem framing, data exploration, feature engineering, model selection, experimentation, validation, evaluation, deployment partnership, monitoring, and continuous improvementAbility to define clear success metrics and evaluation strategies for AI/ML systems, including both offline and production-facing measures of quality, reliability, adoption, and business impactExperience deploying models, prototypes, or AI/ML capabilities into production applicationsAbility to translate ambiguous business problems into structured data science and modeling approachesStrong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex AI/ML concepts, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations to technical partners, business stakeholders, and leadersAbility to mentor applied data scientist, contribute to technical direction and raise the quality of data science practices within a teamExperience working in large enterprise environments with data governance, privacy, security, platform, and operational requirementsSelf-driven and results-oriented, with strong ownership, sound judgment, curiosity, and the ability to move quickly while maintaining high technical standardsCollaborative team player with a commitment to continuous learning, knowledge sharing, responsible AI practices, and building reliable AI/ML systems that create business valueThis position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target’s needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member’s core role will need to be performed both onsite at the Target HQ MN location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending on what the role, team, and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.Benefits EligibilityPlease paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: with Disabilities Act (ADA)In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to View email address on click.appcast.io. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.  Application deadline is : 08/27/2026SummaryLocation: 7000 Target Pkwy N,NCD-0375 Brooklyn Park,MN 55445Type: Full time