Lead Data Scientist

About the role

The Lead Data Scientist will build, deploy, and improve machine learning models that power Apartment List's two-sided rental marketplace. They will work on meaningful data science problems across demand- and supply-side modeling, from renter acquisition and intent signals to ranking, personalization, and marketplace optimization. They will take ownership of projects end-to-end, from problem framing through production launch and measurement, and collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, and Analytics.

Responsibilities

• Translate customer, marketplace, and business problems into clear ML objectives, features, models, and measurement plans.
• Build, deploy, and iterate on production machine learning models across ranking, personalization, renter intent, demand-side acquisition, and supply-side optimization.
• Own projects end-to-end — from feature engineering and model development through A/B experimentation, launch, and monitoring.
• Apply a strong statistical mindset to model development, evaluation, causal inference, and tradeoff analysis.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Analytics to align on success metrics, deployment plans, and downstream impact.
• Communicate technical findings and model tradeoffs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Leverage AI tools to improve productivity across coding, analysis, documentation, and workflow automation.

Requirements

• Must-have: 4+ years of industry experience developing and deploying machine learning models in production, end-to-end.
• Must-have: Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Physics, or a related quantitative field.
• Must-have: Deep proficiency in Python and SQL, with comfort across the full model development lifecycle.
• Must-have: Familiarity with standard ML libraries and frameworks such as scikit-learn, XGBoost, TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar.
• Must-have: Strong grounding in statistical learning, experimental design, and model evaluation.
• Must-have: Ability to work through feature engineering, feature selection, hyperparameter tuning, and model optimization independently.
• Must-have: Comfort communicating and collaborating with cross-functional partners across Product, Engineering, and Analytics.

Qualifications

• Nice-to-have: Experience in a two-sided marketplace or multi-stakeholder environment.
• Nice-to-have: Background in recommendation systems, ranking, personalization, or search.
• Nice-to-have: Familiarity with MLOps practices, model monitoring, Airflow, dbt, or similar infrastructure.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with performance marketing models, paid acquisition, or supply-side optimization.
• Nice-to-have: Master’s degree or higher in a relevant quantitative field.

Skills

• Deep proficiency in Python and SQL.
• Familiarity with standard ML libraries and frameworks.
• Experience working with cloud platforms (GCP preferred but not required).
• Strong grounding in statistical learning, experimental design, and model evaluation.
• Ability to work through feature engineering, feature selection, hyperparameter tuning, and model optimization independently.
• Comfort communicating and collaborating with cross-functional partners.

Benefits

Impact: Work on ML systems that directly shape the renter experience, property partner outcomes, and company performance.

Ownership: Build and own models end-to-end, from ambiguous opportunity through production launch and iteration.

Influence: Have a strong voice within R&D and across the business, helping shape product, marketplace, and company strategy through data science.

Critical function: Help build and scale one of the most important technical capabilities at Apartment List.

Culture: Work in a virtual-first environment that allows you to work from anywhere in the U.S.

Pay

The US base salary range for this position is:

• Zone 1: $189,000 - $230,000 TTC (including $170,000 - $202,000 base salary) + equity
• Zone 2: $175,000 - $212,000 TTC (including $158,000 - $186,000 base salary) + equity
• Zone 3: $161,000 - $195,000 TTC (including $145,000 - $172,000 base salary) + equity