Principal Data Scientist

About the Principal Data Scientist at Headspace

We are looking for an innovative, strategic and impact-driven Principal Data Scientist to lead the evolution of data science across our care delivery and marketplace ecosystem. This role sits at the intersection of forecasting, experimentation, and workforce optimization strategy, empowering us to deliver high‑quality, accessible mental healthcare at scale. You will design analytical frameworks, develop data science products, and uncover insights that power Headspace’s mission to provide lifelong mental health support.

You will play a critical role in shaping how Headspace forecasts demand and supply, optimizes marketplace performance, and measures clinical and coaching outcomes. Working closely with leaders across Product, Care, Operations, Finance, Engineering, and Marketing, you will design and deploy advanced analytical solutions that directly influence business strategy and member experience.

This is a high‑impact leadership role for a seasoned data scientist who combines deep technical expertise, strong business intuition, and a passion for improving mental health outcomes.

What you will do

• Own and evolve end‑to‑end demand and supply forecasting at both macro and shift levels for care services (coaching, therapy, psychiatry), incorporating behavioral, operational, and external drivers.
• Develop high‑accuracy forecasting models to support new product launches and partnerships (e.g., large‑scale enterprise or channel launches).
• Identify and translate drivers of demand variability into actionable operational levers that improve capacity planning and resource allocation.
• Build forecasting and shift optimization systems that integrate multi‑modal data sources (including B2B/enterprise signals) to ensure reliable predictions and scalable recommendations.
• Enable marketplace leaders with data‑driven insights to optimize access, capacity, and fulfillment performance.
• Partner with cross‑functional leaders to define and track key marketplace metrics, including access (e.g., time‑to‑appointment), utilization, and network health.
• Define and standardize clinical and coaching outcome metrics (e.g., PHQ, GAD, PSS) and ensure they are reliably captured and reported.
• Lead the development of end‑to‑end measurement frameworks for care journeys, ensuring high data quality and instrumentation completeness.
• Apply causal inference and statistical modeling to evaluate engagement and long‑term member outcomes.
• Partner with stakeholders to translate outcome insights into product, clinical, and operational improvements.
• Build and scale data products, forecasting pipelines, and decision‑support tools that enable self‑service insights and automation.
• Collaborate with Data Engineering and BI to define robust data models, metric definitions, and reporting layers.
• Translate complex models into intuitive dashboards and tools for business and operational stakeholders.
• Act as a thought leader in forecasting, experimentation, and decision science, raising the bar for analytical rigor across the organization and partner on the ROI dashboards.
• Drive new uses of AI in analytics and forecasting.
• Mentor and develop data scientists and analysts, strengthening capabilities in communication, stakeholder influence, and technical execution.
• Communicate complex findings clearly to executive and non‑technical audiences, driving alignment and action as a member of the Care marketplace leadership team.

What you will bring

Required Skills

• 8+ years of well‑rounded analytics and data science experience, ideally with exposure to Digital Health, high‑growth SaaS, and/or Mental Health industries in rapid growth environments.
• 6+ years of experience successfully partnering directly with executive leadership and product leaders, showcasing the ability to align analytics and data science with strategic goals.
• Proven experience building and deploying forecasting models, optimization solutions and decision frameworks in complex, real‑world environments.
• Strong expertise in statistical modeling, causal inference, and experimentation.
• 6+ years of experience owning and managing data products while driving their strategic utilization to create business impact.
• 4+ years of progressive experience in healthcare analytics (preferred).
• 7+ years of expertise in big data technologies (e.g., Redshift, S3, Databricks, Data lakes, Spark).
• Advanced skills in SQL and Python, with Looker, Tableau, Amplitude, Statsig for event‑based deep dives and advanced analytics also preferred.
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, statistics, mathematics, or a related quantitative field.

Location: We are currently hiring this role remotely unless SF based. Candidates must permanently reside in the US full‑time. For candidates with a primary residence in the greater SF area, this role will follow our hybrid model: 3 days per week from our office and remote work for the rest of the week.

The anticipated new hire base salary range for this full‑time position is $162,000‑$258,750 plus equity and benefits.

Benefits

• Base salary, stock awards, comprehensive healthcare coverage, monthly wellness stipend, retirement savings match, lifetime Headspace membership, and generous parental leave.

About Headspace

Headspace exists to provide every person access to lifelong mental health support. We combine evidence‑based content, clinical care, and innovative technology to help millions of members around the world get support that is effective, personalized, and truly accessible whenever and wherever they need it.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• A mission that matters—with impact you can see and feel.
• A culture that’s collaborative, inclusive, and grounded in our values.
• The chance to shape what mental health care looks like next.
• Competitive pay and benefits that support your whole self.

Headspace is committed to bringing together humans from different backgrounds and perspectives, providing employees with a safe and welcoming work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, feel a sense of belonging, and do impactful work together.

As an equal opportunity employer, we prohibit any unlawful discrimination against a job applicant on the basis of their race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, family or parental status, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We respect the laws enforced by the EEOC and are dedicated to going above and beyond in fostering diversity across our workplace.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on Headspace.

Headspace participates in the E‑Verify Program.

Privacy Statement

All member records are protected according to our Privacy Policy. Further, while employees of Headspace (formerly Ginger) cannot access Headspace products/services, they will be offered benefits according to the company’s benefit plan. To ensure we are adhering to best practice and ethical guidelines in the field of mental health, we take care to avoid dual relationships. A dual relationship occurs when a mental health care provider has a second, significantly different relationship with their client in addition to the traditional client‑therapist relationship—including, for example, a managerial relationship.

As such, Headspace requests that individuals who have received coaching or clinical services at Headspace wait until their care with Headspace is complete before applying for a position. If someone with a Headspace account is hired for a position, please note their account will be deactivated and they will not be able to use Headspace services for the duration of their employment.

Further, if Headspace cannot find a role that resolves an ethical issue associated with a dual relationship, Headspace may need to take steps to ensure ethical obligations are being adhered to, including a delayed start date or a potential leave of absence. Such steps would be taken to protect both the former member, as well as any relevant individuals from their care team, from impairment, risk of exploitation, or harm.

For how we will use the personal information you provide as part of the application process, please see: