Associate Principal Data Scientist

Associate Principal Data ScientistCategory Data, Analytics & StrategyLocation San Francisco, California, United States of AmericaJob ID R025545widget RegularCraft:Data, Analytics & StrategyJob Description:Your Role Within Our KingdomWe are seeking an Associate Principal Data Scientist—a highly experienced and technically deep individual contributor who leads through influence, owns high-impact initiatives, and drives scientific excellence across experimentation and modeling.Responsibilities:Lead the design and execution of large-scale data science initiatives, shaping the roadmap for experimentation and modeling across teams.Apply advanced statistical, optimization, and machine learning techniques (e.g., time-series, regression/classification, recommendation engines, reinforcement learning, and genAI) to drive system understanding and develop data-powered solutions across the organization.Own design and evaluation of experimentation for optimization systems.Provide technical direction, mentor senior data scientists, and set high standards for scientific rigor, communication, and reproducibility.Partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, and Game Studios to frame ambiguous problems, scope solutions, and influence strategy.Champion innovation by evaluating new methodologies and tools, and by raising the bar for scalable, interpretable, and actionable data science.Skills to Create ThrillsMinimum Qualifications:Master’s degree or PhD in a quantitative field (e.g., Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Operations Research). 14+ years of industry experience (or equivalent post-graduate experience) in data science, experimentation, statistical modeling, and machine learning, including work with large-scale systems. Proficient in Python and SQL; familiarity with big data tools (e.g., Spark, Hive) and cloud computing platforms (e.g., GCP, AWS). Strong systems thinking—able to zoom out and define strategy while also diving deep into code and analysis. Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with demonstrated experience partnering across Product, Engineering and Business teams. Demonstrated experience mentoring, influencing, and elevating the technical bar across a data science organization. Relevant experience with one or more advertising solutions (i.e. Real-Time Bidding, Ad Exchange, etc.)Bonus PointsPrior work with mobile gaming studios or player behavior modeling. Experience in developing or maintaining experimentation platforms. Familiarity with modern data orchestration and versioning (e.g., Airflow, dbt, MLflow). We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women, veterans, and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply. We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to View email address on click.appcast.io. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics. About Activision Blizzard MediaActivision Blizzard Media is the gateway for brands to the #1 cross-platform gaming company in the western world, with hundreds of millions of players across over 190 countries. Our legendary portfolio includes iconic mobile game franchises such as Candy Crush, esports opportunities like the Call of Duty and Overwatch Leagues, and some of the top PC and console gaming franchises such as World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and StarCraft. The idea is simple: great game experiences offer great marketing experiences.A Great Saga Needs All Sorts of HeroesKing strives to be a place where everyone can be their most authentic self. We recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion is a vital and continuous conversation, and that change only happens when we all come together. It’s our mission to build a diverse and inclusive Kingdom for our people, players, and community. Making the World PlayfulMaking the World Playful is our mission – it’s the thread that connects our people, our players, and our passion for our games. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love a bit of fun?Kingsters are seriously playful: creative thinkers who balance art and science to bring moments of magic to millions daily. But our players aren’t the only ones that can level-up. We’re always looking for ways to champion each other and make what’s already great, even better.So, if this feels like a fun way to spend your days, and you share our passion, our values, and our hunger to shape the future, join us in Making the World Playful.Applications needs to be in English.Discover King at careers.king.comRewardsWe provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting .In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $143,060.00 - $264,846.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.