Senior Data Scientist, Amazon Leo

$159K - $215K Bellevue, WA, US Senior Data Scientist

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Skills & Technologies

AwsBedrockPythonSagemakerTableau

About This Role

AI job market dashboard showing open roles by category

DESCRIPTION

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Amazon Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network. Its mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet to customers and communities around the world, and we’ve designed the system with the capacity, flexibility, and performance to serve a wide range of customers, from individual households to schools, hospitals, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.

Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

As a Senior Data Scientist (DS), you will drive the development and implementation of advanced analytics and machine learning solutions. You will work on critical initiatives including natural language processing for non\-conformance analysis, statistical process controls (SPC) for test optimization, and equipment predictive maintenance models to enable manufacturing rate acceleration. Your work will directly influence Kuiper’s production manufacturing workflow.

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.

Key job responsibilities

Lead the design and implementation of ML/LLM solutions to analyze manufacturing data and identify failure patterns and operational risks

Design predictive models for statistical process control and equipment maintenance optimization

Build production\-ready ML pipelines leveraging AWS services (e.g., SageMaker, Bedrock, AWS Glue)

Formalize 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

Develop and test model enhancements, running computational experiments, and fine\-tuning model parameters for new models

Collaborate with engineering teams to translate complex manufacturing challenges into data\-driven solutions

Drive consensus on metrics and analysis approaches to support business strategy

Write documents and create compelling visualizations and presentations to communicate insights to stakeholders

Mentor team members and drive data science best practices across the organization

About the team

Established in 2023 as ProdOps was preparing to transition from development into full\-rate production, OCC was purpose\-built to ensure that as manufacturing scaled, the most critical problems would be identified, solved, and prevented from recurring through a single integrated operating system. OCC focuses on the most critical problems for ProdOps at each phase of production. The team operates as a closed\-loop flywheel where each rotation identifies value, solves problems, implements change, and generates new data that feeds the next cycle. Every rotation compounds returns.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

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  • 5\+ years of data querying languages (e.g. SQL), scripting languages (e.g. Python) or statistical/mathematical software (e.g. R, SAS, Matlab, etc.) experience
  • 4\+ years of data scientist experience
  • Experience with statistical models e.g. multinomial logistic regression
  • Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field such as statistics, mathematics, data science, business analytics, economics, finance, engineering, or computer science
  • 8\+ years of data querying languages (e.g. SQL), scripting languages (e.g. Python) or statistical/mathematical software (e.g. R, SAS, Matlab, etc.) experience
  • 7\+ years of data scientist experience
  • Experience in standard machine\-learning and statistical modeling tools and techniques (e.g. random forests, gradient\-boosted regression, LASSO, logistic regression)
  • Knowledge of AWS tech stack (e.g., AWS Redshift, S3, EC2, Glue)
  • Experience as a leader and mentor on a data science team
  • Experience with process optimization

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

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  • 2\+ years of data visualization using AWS QuickSight, Tableau, R Shiny, etc. experience
  • Experience managing data pipelines
  • Master's degree in a quantitative field such as statistics, mathematics, data science, business analytics, economics, finance, engineering, or computer science
  • 3\+ years of data visualization using AWS QuickSight, Tableau, R Shiny, etc. experience
  • Experience building data pipelines or automated ETL processes
  • Can communicate effectively with all levels of the organization

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, WA, BELLEVUE \- 159,200\.00 \- 215,300\.00 USD annually

Salary Context

This $159K-$215K range is above the median for Data Scientist roles in our dataset (median: $160K across 258 roles with salary data).

View full Data Scientist salary data →

Role Details

Company Amazon.com
Title Senior Data Scientist, Amazon Leo
Location Bellevue, WA, US
Category Data Scientist
Experience Senior
Salary $159K - $215K
Remote No

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 4,317 AI roles we're tracking, Data Scientist positions make up 8% 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

Aws (28% of roles) Bedrock (6% of roles) Python (52% of roles) Sagemaker (4% of roles) Tableau (3% of roles)

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 $192,890 based on 789 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $227,400. Disclosed range: $159K to $215K.

Across all AI roles, the market median is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($287,500) and Research Engineer ($272,100). By seniority level: Entry: $110,000; Mid: $194,400; Senior: $227,400; Director: $274,554; VP: $241,000.

Amazon.com AI Hiring

Amazon.com has 122 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer, Research Scientist, AI Product Manager, AI Software Engineer. Positions span Seattle, WA, US, Santa Clara, CA, US, New York, NY, US. Compensation range: $128K - $338K.

Location Context

Across all AI roles, 15% (635 positions) offer remote work, while 3,657 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (1,650 roles, $220,000 median); San Francisco (1,335 roles, $265,000 median); Los Angeles (708 roles, $214,112 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 4,317 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 138 entry-level, 2,071 mid-level, 1,655 senior, and 453 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 15% of the market (635 positions). The remaining 3,657 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.

The market median for AI roles is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($287,500 median, 34 roles); Research Engineer ($272,100 median, 227 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($244,000 median, 23 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 4,317 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (3,004), Data Scientist (345), AI Software Engineer (309). 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 (138) are outnumbered by mid-level (2,071) and senior (1,655) 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 453 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.

Remote work availability sits at 15% of all AI roles (635 positions), with 3,657 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 $215,000. Top-quartile roles start at $266,300, and the 90th percentile reaches $320,790. 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 $287,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $145,000. 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 (2,249 postings), Aws (1,224 postings), Azure (938 postings), Rag (915 postings), Gcp (660 postings), Pytorch (640 postings), Prompt Engineering (624 postings), Kubernetes (559 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

Based on 789 roles with disclosed compensation, the median salary for Data Scientist positions is $192,890. Actual compensation varies by seniority, location, and company stage.
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.
About 15% of the 4,317 AI roles we track offer remote work. Remote availability varies by company and seniority level, with senior and leadership roles more likely to offer location flexibility.
Amazon.com is among the companies actively hiring for AI and ML talent. Check our company profiles for detailed breakdowns of open roles, salary ranges, and hiring trends.
Common next steps from Data Scientist positions include Senior Data Scientist, ML Engineer, AI Product Manager. Progression depends on whether you lean toward technical depth, people management, or product strategy.

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