Principal Data Scientist - AI

$257K - $348K New York, NY, US Senior Data Scientist

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Skills & Technologies

AwsAzureGcpPrompt EngineeringPythonRlhf

About This Role

AI job market dashboard showing open roles by category

At Anaplan, we are a team of innovators focused on optimizing business decision-making through our leading AI-infused scenario planning and analysis platform so our customers can outpace their competition and the market.

What unites Anaplanners across teams and geographies is our collective commitment to our customers' success and to our Winning Culture.

Our customers rank among the who's who in the Fortune 50. Coca-Cola, LinkedIn, Adobe, LVMH and Bayer are just a few of the 2,400+ global companies who rely on our best-in-class platform.

Our Winning Culture is the engine that drives our teams of innovators. We champion diversity of thought and ideas, we behave like leaders regardless of title, we are committed to achieving ambitious goals, and we love celebratingour wins – big and small.

Supported by operating principles of being strategy-led, values-based and disciplined in execution, you'll be inspired, connected, developed and rewarded here. Everything that makes you unique is welcome; join us and let's build what's next - together!

We're seeking a versatile Principal Data Scientist who can work across the full stack of Anaplan AI applications, from model integration and prompt engineering to building intuitive user interfaces. In this role, you will have a direct impact on our industry-leading platform by architecting and deploying cutting-edge AI solutions that drive intelligent, automated, and forward-looking decision-making for our global customers. You will bridge the gap between traditional predictive algorithms and modern generative systems.

This role is open to candidates located in the Eastern or Central time zones. Employees who live within commuting distance of one of our offices will be expected to work onsite two days per week as part of our hybrid work model.

Your Impact

  • Advanced Modeling: Lead the research, design, and implementation of advanced Machine
  • Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) models to solve complex enterprise business problems.
  • Predictive Analytics: Drive innovation in Timeseries Forecasting, developing robust and scalable models that enhance predictive planning and scenario modeling capabilities.
  • Generative AI & LLMs: Architect Generative AI solutions, focusing on fine-tuning open-source and proprietary Large Language Models (LLMs) for specialized enterprise data tasks, heavily leveraging Transformer architectures.
  • Next-Gen Interfaces: Design and integrate Conversational AI interfaces and Agentic AI workflows to create intuitive, autonomous user experiences that can independently execute complex planning workflows.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Engineering, Product, and Design) to transition AI models from prototype to robust, scalable production systems.
  • Technical Leadership: Serve as a subject matter expert, mentoring other data scientists and engineers, and fostering a culture of technical excellence, rigorous testing, and continuous learning.

Your Qualifications

  • 10+ years of hands-on professional experience in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or related engineering domains.
  • End-to-end exposure in model lifecycle development, including extensive experience in training and deploying ML models in production environments.
  • Deep knowledge of LLM APIs, prompt engineering, and conversational AI patterns.
  • Experience in fine-tuning LLMs for domain-specific enterprise applications.
  • Proficiency in Python and modern software development practices (testing, code review, CI/CD).
  • Proven track record of delivering complex technical projects on time with high quality.
  • Extensive hands-on experience with traditional Machine Learning, Deep Learning techniques, and Timeseries Forecasting algorithms.
  • Deep technical understanding of Transformer architectures and practical experience fine-tuning LLMs (e.g., LoRA, QLoRA, RLHF)
  • Strong expertise in MLOps and LLMOps, ensuring scalable, reliable, and monitorable model deployments.
  • Experience with agentic frameworks and autonomous agent architectures.
  • Proficiency in Python and modern software development practices (testing, code review, CI/CD).

Preferred Qualifications

  • M.S. or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, Data Science, or a related quantitative field.
  • Published research, patents, or significant contributions to open-source projects in the AI/ML community.
  • Experience working with scalable cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and MLOps tools for model training, monitoring, and deployment.
  • Background in forecasting, planning, or analytics applications
  • Familiarity with Anaplan or similar enterprise planning platforms
  • Experience with A/B testing and experimentation frameworks for AI features
  • Contributions to open-source ML projects or research publications
  • Experience with model observability tools

What Makes This Role Exciting

  • Lead a greenfield team building transformative AI capabilities from the ground up
  • Work on cutting-edge conversational and agentic AI technologies
  • Build user-facing AI features that directly impact how businesses plan and make decisions
  • Experiment with the latest GenAI models and techniques
  • Collaborate with talented engineers, data scientists, and product designers
  • Solve unique challenges at the intersection of AI and enterprise software

#LI-SP1

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB)

We believe attracting and retaining the best talent and fostering an inclusive culture strengthens our business. DEIB improves our workforce, enhances trust with our partners and customers, and drives business success. Build your career in a place where diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging aren't just words on paper – this is what drives our innovation, it's how we connect, and it contributes to what makes us a market leader. We believe in a hiring and working environment where all people are respected and valued, regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, disability status, citizenship, or any other aspect which makes people unique. We hire you for who you are, and we want you to bring your authentic self to work every day!

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive equitable benefits and all privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Fraud Recruitment Disclaimer

It has come to our attention that fraudulent and fictitious job opportunities are being circulated on the Internet. Prospective candidates are being contacted by certain individuals, mainly through telephone calls, emails and correspondence, claiming they are representatives of Anaplan. The main purpose of these correspondences and announcements is to obtain privileged information from individuals.

Anaplan does not:

  • Extend offers to candidates without an extensive interview process with a member of our recruitment team and a hiring manager via video or in person.
  • Send job offers via email. All offers are first extended verbally by a member of our internal recruitment team whenever possible and then followed up via written communication.

All emails from Anaplan would come from an @anaplan.com email address. Should you have any doubts about the authenticity of an email, letter or telephone communication purportedly from, for, or on behalf of Anaplan, please send an email to [email protected] before taking any further action in relation to the correspondence.

Candidate data processed during our recruitment activities is handled in accordance with our Candidate Privacy Notice. This may include the use of artificial intelligence or automated tools to assist our team in evaluating qualifications.

Salary Context

This $257K-$348K range is above the 75th percentile for Data Scientist roles in our dataset (median: $167K across 172 roles with salary data).

View full Data Scientist salary data →

Role Details

Company Anaplan
Title Principal Data Scientist - AI
Location New York, NY, US
Category Data Scientist
Experience Senior
Salary $257K - $348K
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 9,653 AI roles we're tracking, Data Scientist positions make up 5% of the market. At Anaplan, 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 (9% of roles) Azure (8% of roles) Gcp (5% of roles) Prompt Engineering (4% of roles) Python (17% of roles) Rlhf

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. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $228,700. This role's midpoint ($302K) sits 59% above the category median. Disclosed range: $257K to $348K.

Across all AI roles, the market median is $213,400. Top-quartile compensation starts at $264,230. The 90th percentile reaches $319,400. 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: $272,275; VP: $235,000.

Anaplan AI Hiring

Anaplan has 6 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer, Data Scientist. Positions span New York, NY, New York, NY, US, Manchester, England, UK. Compensation range: $348K - $348K.

Location Context

AI roles in New York pay a median of $221,000 across 2,878 tracked positions. That's 4% above 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 9,653 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 193 entry-level, 4,500 mid-level, 3,455 senior, and 1,505 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 6% of the market (568 positions). The remaining 9,010 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.

The market median for AI roles is $213,400. Top-quartile compensation starts at $264,230. The 90th percentile reaches $319,400. 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 9,653 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (7,301), Data Scientist (441), AI Software Engineer (438). 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 (193) are outnumbered by mid-level (4,500) and senior (3,455) 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 1,505 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.

Remote work availability sits at 6% of all AI roles (568 positions), with 9,010 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 $213,400. Top-quartile roles start at $264,230, and the 90th percentile reaches $319,400. 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 (1,605 postings), Aws (916 postings), Azure (724 postings), Rag (634 postings), Gcp (522 postings), Pytorch (495 postings), Kubernetes (384 postings), Claude (383 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 1,406 roles with disclosed compensation, the median salary for Data Scientist positions is $190,000. 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 6% of the 9,653 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.
Anaplan 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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