Director Data Science (Ref: 198473)

Director of Data Science

Location: Atlanta, GA – Office based

Industry: Consumer / E-commerce / Technology Salary: $250,000–$300,000 Base + Bonus + Equity

Type: Full-Time / Permanent

Forsyth Barnes is partnering with a leading Fortune consumer organization undergoing significant investment in AI, Machine Learning and digital customer experiences. Operating at considerable scale, the business is focused on advancing its search, recommendations and personalization capabilities to drive customer engagement and commercial growth.

We are seeking a Director of Data Science to lead a team of approximately 20–25 Data Scientists, including senior technical leaders. This individual will own the strategic direction of Search & Recommendations, drive AI innovation and partner with senior business stakeholders to deliver measurable commercial outcomes.

• Lead and develop a Data Science organization of 20–25 professionals, including Senior Managers and Principal Scientists.

• Define and execute the strategy for Search, Recommendations, Personalization and AI-powered customer experiences.

• Drive innovation across Machine Learning, information retrieval, ranking, relevance optimization and LLMs.

• Partner with senior Product, Engineering and Commercial stakeholders to identify opportunities and deliver measurable business impact.

• Oversee the full ML lifecycle, from model development and experimentation through production deployment and optimization.

• Build technical capability, develop future leaders and establish a culture of innovation and high performance.

• Proven experience as a Director of Data Science, Director of Machine Learning, Head of Data Science or equivalent, leading sizeable technical teams.

• Strong technical foundations in Machine Learning, statistical modeling, Deep Learning, NLP and LLMs, including production ML systems.

• Experience in Search, Recommendations, Information Retrieval, Ranking, Relevance or Personalization preferred.

• Demonstrable success developing AI/ML strategy and delivering measurable commercial outcomes.

• Strong executive stakeholder management, communication and technical leadership capabilities.

• Experience in E-commerce, Retail, Consumer Technology, Travel, Digital Platforms or other ML-intensive environments preferred.

• Must be based in Atlanta or willing to relocate and work onsite five days per week.

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