Staff Data Scientist

Summary

Join Toast as a Staff Data Scientist and lead the design and development of scalable ML systems for various applications, including menu recommendations and demand forecasting. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, establish best practices, and influence the ML product roadmap. This role involves owning the entire machine learning lifecycle, from problem definition to deployment and monitoring. You will mentor other data scientists and proactively identify opportunities to leverage data science for business value. Your work will directly impact strategic decisions and enhance customer experience. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in data science with a proven track record of delivering production ML systems that drive measurable impact
• Deep knowledge of statistical modeling, machine learning (e.g., tree-based models, time series, deep learning), and model evaluation
• Experience working with real-world product data at scale and translating ambiguous problems into well-scoped ML solutions
• Experience with distributed data processing and training, real-time inference, and ML Ops frameworks
• Prior experience mentoring other data scientists or acting as a tech lead
• Experience leading experimentation (e.g., A/B testing), causal inference, and real-time decision systems
• Proficiency in Python and SQL, and experience with ML frameworks (e.g., scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow)
• Strong grasp of software engineering principles including modular design, version control, testing, and CI/CD
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (preferably AWS), including tools like SageMaker, Athena, Glue, DynamoDB, and Bedrock
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong business acumen with the ability to align technical solutions with company goals

Responsibilities

• Own the full machine learning lifecycle—from problem framing and data exploration to modeling, deployment, and monitoring—for mission-critical initiatives
• Design and implement advanced ML and statistical models that improve product performance, operational efficiency, or customer insights
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and business stakeholders to define project scope, success metrics, and integration strategy
• Guide architectural decisions, set modeling standards, and champion best practices for experimentation, validation, and productionization
• Mentor other data scientists and raise the technical bar through design reviews, feedback, and sharing domain expertise
• Proactively identify areas where data science can create business value and lead cross-functional efforts to drive those opportunities forward

Preferred Qualifications

• An advanced degree in Computer Science, Statistics, or a related STEM field is preferred
• Familiarity with MLOps tooling for monitoring, drift detection, retraining, and explainability
• Experience fine-tuning LLMs and applying reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) to improve model performance and alignment

Benefits

• We strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs that help to attract, retain, and motivate the best and brightest people in our industry
• Our total rewards package goes beyond great earnings potential and provides the means to a healthy lifestyle with the flexibility to meet Toasters’ changing needs
• Pay Range$143,000 — $229,000 USD
• We embrace a hybrid work model that fosters in-person collaboration while valuing individual needs