Principal Data Scientist

The Impact You Will Have

• Translate complex data science findings into clear, actionable narratives for the CEO, C-suite, and Board of Directors—ensuring data science insights directly inform the company's most critical decisions.
• Serve as the company's chief statistical voice and the final quality backstop for analytical rigor in high-stakes executive decisions.
• Advance the state-of-the-art in how Databricks applies statistical methods to business problems.
• Organize and present strategic analyses on revenue, platform health, operational efficiency, and competitive positioning—providing deep, judgment-rich insights that AI cannot autonomously create.
• Partner with engineering VPs, product leaders, and executive staff to embed a data-driven decision-making culture across the company.
• Be the trusted analytical advisor in rooms where critical decisions are made.
• Represent Databricks externally as a data science thought leader at industry conferences, in publications, and in the broader statistical community.
• Build an external identity that attracts world-class talent.
• Define and evolve company-wide scientific methodologies—experimentation frameworks, forecasting systems, causal inference approaches—to match and push industry state-of-the-art.

About the role

Databricks is looking for a Principal Data Scientist to serve as the statistical voice of the Data Science organization. This person will make Databricks smarter and more data-driven at the highest levels of leadership.

Responsibilities

• Translate complex data science findings into clear, actionable narratives for the CEO, C-suite, and Board of Directors—ensuring data science insights directly inform the company's most critical decisions.
• Serve as the company's chief statistical voice and the final quality backstop for analytical rigor in high-stakes executive decisions.
• Advance the state-of-the-art in how Databricks applies statistical methods to business problems.
• Organize and present strategic analyses on revenue, platform health, operational efficiency, and competitive positioning—providing deep, judgment-rich insights that AI cannot autonomously create.
• Partner with engineering VPs, product leaders, and executive staff to embed a data-driven decision-making culture across the company.
• Be the trusted analytical advisor in rooms where critical decisions are made.
• Represent Databricks externally as a data science thought leader at industry conferences, in publications, and in the broader statistical community.
• Define and evolve company-wide scientific methodologies—experimentation frameworks, forecasting systems, causal inference approaches—to match and push industry state-of-the-art.

Requirements

• 15+ years of experience in data science, statistics, or quantitative research spanning industry and/or academia.
• Proven track record of presenting statistical and data science concepts to C-suite and Board-level audiences, with measurable impact on executive decision-making.
• Broad expertise across data science disciplines: experimentation, causal inference, forecasting, optimization, and machine learning.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication—the ability to make complex statistical concepts intuitive and compelling for non-technical executives.
• Track record of upleveling teams: setting analytical standards, mentoring senior data scientists, and improving org-wide output quality.
• Experience at the intersection of statistics and large-scale technology or data platforms.
• A PhD in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.

Qualifications

• PhD in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• Preferred: Academic research or teaching background in statistics or a quantitative field.
• Industry experience at multiple tier-1 technology companies.
• Published research or recognized thought leadership in applied statistics.
• Experience building or leading a "Chief Statistician" or equivalent function.
• Experience in infrastructure, platform, or systems-oriented data science.

Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to translate technical concepts into accessible narratives.
• Experience working with large datasets and complex models.
• Knowledge of statistical methods and tools.
• Experience with data visualization tools.

Benefits

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here.

Pay

Competitive salary and equity package.

Schedule

Full-time, remote position.