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About This Role
DESCRIPTION
The Supply Chain Optimization Technologies (SCOT) team builds technology to automate and optimize Amazon’s supply chain of physical goods. We seek a Data Scientist with strong analytical and communication skills to join our team. SCOT manages Amazon's inventory under uncertainty of demand, pricing, promotions, supply, vendor lead times, and product life cycle. We optimize complex trade-offs between customer experience, inventory costs, fulfillment costs, fulfillment center capacity, etc. We develop sophisticated algorithms that involve learning from large amounts of data such as prices, promotions, similar products, and other data from our product catalog in order to automatically act on millions of dollars’ worth of inventory weekly and establish plans for tens of thousands of employees. As a Data Scientist, you will contribute to the research community, by working with other scientists across Amazon and our Supply Chain, as well as collaborating with academic researchers and publishing papers both internally and externally.
Key job responsibilities
Major responsibilities include:
- Analysis of large amounts of data from different parts of the supply chain and their associated business functions
- Improving upon existing machine learning methodologies by developing new data sources, developing and testing model enhancements, running computational experiments, and fine-tuning model parameters for new models
- Formalizing assumptions about how models are expected to behave, creating definitions of outliers, developing methods to systematically identify these outliers, and explaining why they are reasonable or identifying fixes for them
- Communicating verbally and in writing to business customers with various levels of technical knowledge, educating them about our research, as well as sharing insights and recommendations
- Utilizing code (Python, R, Scala, etc.) for analyzing data and building statistical and machine learning models and algorithms
A day in the life
As a Data Scientist in SCOT, you will be tasked to understand and work with cutting edge research to enable the implementation of sophisticated models on big data. As a successful data scientist in the SCOT team, you are an analytical problem solver who enjoys diving into data from various businesses, is excited about investigations and algorithms, can multi-task, and can credibly interface between scientists, engineers and business stakeholders. Your expertise in synthesizing and communicating insights and recommendations to audiences of varying levels of technical sophistication will enable you to answer specific business questions and innovate for the future.
About the team
The Supply Chain Optimization Technologies (SCOT) organization owns Amazon’s global inventory management systems: we decide what, when, where, and how much we should buy to meet Amazon’s goals and to make our customers happy. We do this for millions of items, for hundreds of product lines worth billions of dollars of inventory world-wide. Our systems are built entirely in-house, and are on the cutting edge in automated large-scale , inventory and supply chain planning and optimization systems. We foster new game-changing ideas, creating ever more intelligent and self-learning systems to maximize the efficiency of Amazon's inventory investment and placement decisions.
The Fulfillment Optimization team is focused on using cutting edge science to improve customer outcomes and transform our logistics, along with machine learning, and scalable distributed software in the cloud that automates and optimizes shipments to customers under the uncertainty of demand, pricing and supply. When customers place orders, our systems use real time, large scale optimization techniques to optimally choose from where to ship and how to consolidate multiple orders so that customers get their shipments on time or faster with the lowest possible transportation costs. One of our core responsibilities is to leverage big data to identify key patterns of success and failure, identify the areas we need to focus on first, understand root cause(s) that triggered failure, and to build predictive models that will help fix the most impactful problems. The amount of data, the variables that come into play, and diversity of customers and locations make this role very challenging and also fun. It's great for those who love solving problems, especially when dealing with a lot of ambiguity and asking lots of smart questions that will lead to the discovery of universal concepts, and truly innovative ML solutions that continuously improve the customer delivery experience.
We are seeking an outstanding Data Scientist to join the team. Amazon.com has culture of data-driven decision-making, and demands data analysis that is timely, accurate, and actionable. If you join the Amazon.com’s SCOT FO, your work will have an immediate influence on day-to-day decision making at Amazon.com.
As a Data Scientist you will be working in one of the world's largest and most complex data warehouse environments. You will work with Product Managers, ML Scientists, Senior Executives to gather requirements and apply data science methodologies to solve complex business problems. You should have deep expertise in analyzing huge data sets and using complex data sets from multiple domains. You should be expert at designing and implementing solutions that use a range of data science methodologies to automate data analysis or to solve complex business problems. You should be able to work with business customers in a fast paced environment understanding the business requirements and implementing reporting solutions.
This opportunity is perfect for highly motivated and talented data scientists who want to apply and grow their technical depth and breadth while defining and driving key aspects of the customer experience on Amazon.com.BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- 2+ years of data scientist experience
- 3+ years of data querying languages (e.g. SQL), scripting languages (e.g. Python) or statistical/mathematical software (e.g. R, SAS, Matlab, etc.) experience
- 3+ years of machine learning/statistical modeling data analysis tools and techniques, and parameters that affect their performance experience
- 1+ years of guiding and coaching a group of researchers experience
- 1+ years of working with or evaluating AI systems experience
- 1+ years of creating or contributing to mathematical textbooks, research papers, or educational content experience
- Master's degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM), or experience working in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM)
- Experience applying theoretical models in an applied environment
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Ph.D. in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM)
- Knowledge of machine learning concepts and their application to reasoning and problem-solving
- Experience in Python, Perl, or another scripting language
- Experience in a ML or data scientist role with a large technology company
- Experience in defining and creating benchmarks for assessing GenAI model performance
- Experience working on multi-team, cross-disciplinary projects
- Experience applying quantitative analysis to solve business problems and making data-driven business decisions
- Experience effectively communicating complex concepts through written and verbal communication
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, TX, Austin - 136,000.00 - 184,000.00 USD annually
Salary Context
This $136K-$184K range is below the median for Data Scientist roles in our dataset (median: $167K across 150 roles with salary data).
View full Data Scientist salary data →Role Details
About This Role
Data Scientists extract insights and build predictive models from data. In the AI era, many roles now include LLM-powered analytics, automated reporting, and integration with generative AI tools. The role has evolved from 'the person who runs SQL queries' to 'the person who builds AI-powered data products.'
Modern data science roles fall into two camps: analytics-focused (insights, dashboards, experimentation) and ML-focused (building predictive models, recommendation systems, NLP features). The best data scientists can operate in both modes. The AI shift means that even analytics-focused roles now involve building automated insight pipelines using LLMs, going well beyond one-off reports.
Across the 8,943 AI roles we're tracking, Data Scientist positions make up 4% of the market. At Amazon.com, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
Data Scientist roles remain in high demand, though the definition keeps shifting. Companies increasingly want candidates who can bridge traditional statistics with modern ML and LLM capabilities. The 'pure insights' data scientist role is consolidating into analytics engineering, while the 'build models' data scientist role is merging with ML engineering.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week includes: analyzing experiment results for a product feature launch, building a predictive model for customer churn, creating an automated reporting pipeline using LLM-powered summarization, presenting insights to stakeholders, and cleaning data (always cleaning data). The ratio of analysis to engineering varies by company, but expect both.
Data Scientist roles remain in high demand, though the definition keeps shifting. Companies increasingly want candidates who can bridge traditional statistics with modern ML and LLM capabilities. The 'pure insights' data scientist role is consolidating into analytics engineering, while the 'build models' data scientist role is merging with ML engineering.
Skills Required
Python, SQL, and statistical modeling are the foundation. Increasingly, roles want experience with LLMs for data analysis, automated insight generation, and building AI-powered data products. Familiarity with cloud data platforms (Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks) and ML frameworks (scikit-learn, PyTorch) covers most job requirements.
Experimentation design and causal inference are underrated skills that separate strong candidates. Companies care about whether their product changes cause improvements, and can distinguish causation from correlation. A/B testing methodology, Bayesian statistics, and the ability to communicate uncertainty to non-technical stakeholders are high-value skills.
Good postings specify the data stack, the types of problems you'll work on, and the team structure. Look for companies that differentiate between analytics and ML data science. Vague 'data scientist' postings that list every skill under the sun usually mean the company doesn't know what they need.
Compensation Benchmarks
Data Scientist roles pay a median of $190,000 based on 1,406 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $193,200. This role's midpoint ($160K) sits 16% below the category median. Disclosed range: $136K to $184K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $213,380. Top-quartile compensation starts at $264,148. The 90th percentile reaches $319,310. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($253,100) and Research Engineer ($252,000). By seniority level: Entry: $110,408; Mid: $193,200; Senior: $228,700; Director: $272,250; VP: $235,000.
Amazon.com AI Hiring
Amazon.com has 65 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer, Research Scientist, Data Scientist, AI Product Manager. Positions span Seattle, WA, US, New York, NY, US, Bellevue, WA, US. Compensation range: $129K - $325K.
Location Context
AI roles in Austin pay a median of $207,800 across 271 tracked positions. That's 3% below the national median.
Career Path
Common paths into Data Scientist roles include Data Analyst, Statistician, Quantitative Researcher.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Senior Data Scientist, ML Engineer, AI Product Manager.
Start with statistics and SQL. Build a real analysis project on public data that demonstrates insight generation alongside model building. The market values data scientists who can communicate findings clearly to business stakeholders. If you want to move toward ML engineering, invest in software engineering fundamentals and production deployment skills.
What to Expect in Interviews
Interviews combine statistics, coding, and business acumen. SQL is almost always tested, often with complex joins and window functions. Expect a case study round where you're given a business problem and asked to design an analysis plan. Coding rounds focus on pandas, statistical modeling, and visualization. The strongest differentiator is how well you communicate insights to non-technical stakeholders during presentation rounds.
When evaluating opportunities: Good postings specify the data stack, the types of problems you'll work on, and the team structure. Look for companies that differentiate between analytics and ML data science. Vague 'data scientist' postings that list every skill under the sun usually mean the company doesn't know what they need.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 8,943 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 175 entry-level, 4,132 mid-level, 3,268 senior, and 1,368 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 6% of the market (521 positions). The remaining 8,351 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $213,380. Top-quartile compensation starts at $264,148. The 90th percentile reaches $319,310. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($253,100 median, 57 roles); Research Engineer ($252,000 median, 419 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($251,622 median, 51 roles).
Data Scientist roles remain in high demand, though the definition keeps shifting. Companies increasingly want candidates who can bridge traditional statistics with modern ML and LLM capabilities. The 'pure insights' data scientist role is consolidating into analytics engineering, while the 'build models' data scientist role is merging with ML engineering.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 8,943 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (6,739), AI Product Manager (403), AI Software Engineer (402). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (175) are outnumbered by mid-level (4,132) and senior (3,268) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 1,368 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 6% of all AI roles (521 positions), with 8,351 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $213,380. Top-quartile roles start at $264,148, and the 90th percentile reaches $319,310. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $253,100 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $141,440. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,422 postings), Aws (808 postings), Azure (638 postings), Rag (555 postings), Gcp (457 postings), Pytorch (433 postings), Claude (341 postings), Kubernetes (337 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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