Senior Data Scientist

Total Wine & More is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to join our growing Data Services team in our Bethesda, MD office. You will play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and deploying machine learning and AI solutions that drive strategic decision-making and operational efficiency across the business.

About the role

You will support the full lifecycle of machine learning and AI development—from initial ideation and business problem framing through model development, deployment, and ongoing performance monitoring. This role requires a strong foundation in data science, with a deep interest in learning about production-grade ML systems, and a proactive approach to translating business needs into technical solutions. You will act independently to deliver high-impact solutions, taking ownership of projects from concept to execution with minimal oversight. This role reports to the Senior Director, Data Science.

Responsibilities

• Design machine learning and AI models by framing business problems, engineering features, and selecting appropriate algorithms and architectures. Create adaptable processes that can be utilized for multiple business reasons.
• Articulate the trade-offs of different modeling techniques and their implications when applied to business problems prior to development.
• Train models by preparing data, fitting algorithms, tuning hyperparameters, and validating robustness through cross-validation techniques.
• Validate model performance using statistical metrics, conduct fairness and bias assessments, and perform error analysis to refine model quality. Create evaluation metrics and results that tie to business outcomes.
• Deploy models into production environments by packaging them appropriately, integrating with systems, automating deployment workflows, including robust error handling, and documenting for maintainability.
• Monitor deployed models by tracking performance over time, detecting data drift, triggering retraining when necessary, and implementing logging and alerting mechanisms.
• Communicate model results and trade-offs to leadership and stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, or related fields required (or equivalent years of experience).
• Master's Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field is preferred.
• 3-6 years of experience in data science, computer science, software engineering, data engineering, or related fields.
• Proven expertise in designing and architecting advanced machine learning and AI solutions, including framing complex business problems, defining scalable feature engineering strategies, and selecting optimal algorithms and architectures for enterprise-level applications.
• Advanced proficiency in model training and optimization, with the ability to design efficient training pipelines, implement distributed training strategies, and apply sophisticated hyperparameter tuning techniques.
• Deep experience in model validation and governance, including establishing rigorous evaluation frameworks, conducting comprehensive fairness and bias audits, and driving continuous improvement through advanced error analysis and benchmarking.
• Proven expertise in production deployment of ML systems, including designing robust CI/CD pipelines, implementing containerization and orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes), and ensuring compliance with security and reliability standards across cloud environments.
• Oversight of model monitoring and lifecycle management, including building automated monitoring systems, implementing drift detection and retraining workflows, and defining alerting mechanisms to maintain long-term model health and business impact.
• Strong cloud expertise (AWS, Azure, GCP) for architecting scalable ML solutions, leveraging cloud-native services for data processing, model deployment, and monitoring at enterprise scale.
• Expert-level programming skills in Python and SQL, with the ability to develop production-grade code, optimize queries for large-scale datasets, and mentor team members on best practices for coding and data management.

Benefits

• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Generous store discounts
• Health care plans (medical, prescription, dental, vision)
• 401(k), HSA, FSA, pre-tax commuter benefits
• Disability & life insurance coverage
• Paid parental leave
• Pet insurance
• Critical illness and accident insurance
• Discounted home and auto insurance
• College tuition assistance
• Career development & product training
• Consumer classes & More!

We recognize our team members are our biggest asset and offer a variety of benefits, tools, and resources to support their health and wellbeing through our Total Rewards program.