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About This Role
Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Mountain View, CA, USA; New York, NY, USA.### Minimum qualifications:
- Master's degree in Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Physics, Economics, Operations Research, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
- 8 years of work experience using analytics to solve product or business problems, coding (e.g., Python, R, SQL), querying databases or statistical analysis, or 6 years of work experience with a PhD degree.
### Preferred qualifications:
- 10 years of work experience using analytics to solve product or business problems, coding (e.g., Python, R, SQL), querying databases or statistical analysis, or 8 years of work experience with a PhD degree.
- Familiarity with modern Machine Learning and Large Language Model (LLM) techniques.
- Ability to commit to knowledge and learning, respect for science, tolerance for ambiguity, and interest in practical application of science to business.
- Excellent collaboration skills, with the ability to collaborate cross\-functionally and work effectively with Data Scientist (DS), User Experience Researcher (UXR), product and engineering partners.
About the job
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In this role, you will partner cross\-functionally to drive Google's mission of organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful. As technology continues to evolve, your commitment remains to help users in their journey to connect to helpful information more easily, leveraging technology to find new ways to satisfy users' information needs.
In this role, you will provide users with relevant and meaningful information based on their interests and understanding of the world’s information. Your mission is to make it effortless for people to catch up on their interests by bringing together informative, entertaining content from the voices they care about.
As a part of the Discover Data Science team, you will partner with cross\-functional to drive that mission with a data\-informed strategy, identifying opportunities and accelerating execution. As a part of the Discover Personalization and Quality team, you will partner with engineering and product, develop deep understanding of how to build a personalized retrieval and ranking system that delivers high\-quality, compelling and valuable content. You will leverage a wide range of analysis tools (including metrics and AI raters, statistical modeling, cohort and exploratory analyses), and incorporate AI\-driven understanding to define the job of a data scientist for the new era.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job\-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $207000 \- $301000 (USD) \+ 20% bonus target \+ bonus \+ equity \+ benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google.Responsibilities
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- Lead core understanding of retrieval and ranking ML systems and collaborate with engineers to deliver significant improvements that accelerate product growth.
- Analyze systems to identify opportunities while maintaining end\-to\-end ownership of research agenda, execution, and insight delivery to leadership.
- Build expertise in retrieval and ranking systems, advocating for changes, where needed, and driving cross\-functional alignment.
- Contribute as an individual contributor, as well as a Technical Lead for a small group of data scientists.
- Manage ambiguous data science problems, and leveraging new technology to produce quantum leaps forward in understanding, such as via LLM\-driven tooling.
Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also Google's EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form.
Salary Context
This $207K-$301K range is above the 75th percentile for Data Scientist roles in our dataset (median: $157K across 236 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 3,823 AI roles we're tracking, Data Scientist positions make up 8% of the market. At Google, 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 $198,000 based on 808 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $227,400. This role's midpoint ($254K) sits 28% above the category median. Disclosed range: $207K to $301K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $200,100. Top-quartile compensation starts at $253,500. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Engineering Manager ($275,000) and AI Safety ($274,200). By seniority level: Entry: $97,880; Mid: $165,000; Senior: $227,400; Director: $247,800; VP: $250,000.
Google AI Hiring
Google has 155 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer, AI Safety, AI Software Engineer, Data Scientist. Positions span New York, NY, US, Atlanta, GA, US, Sunnyvale, CA, US. Compensation range: $151K - $428K.
Location Context
AI roles in New York pay a median of $211,000 across 2,643 tracked positions. That's 5% 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 3,823 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 112 entry-level, 1,798 mid-level, 1,516 senior, and 397 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 15% of the market (590 positions). The remaining 3,217 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $200,100. Top-quartile compensation starts at $253,500. The 90th percentile reaches $307,500. Highest-paying categories: AI Engineering Manager ($275,000 median, 41 roles); AI Safety ($274,200 median, 55 roles); Research Engineer ($260,000 median, 434 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 3,823 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (2,629), Data Scientist (322), AI Software Engineer (279). 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 (112) are outnumbered by mid-level (1,798) and senior (1,516) 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 397 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 15% of all AI roles (590 positions), with 3,217 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 $200,100. Top-quartile roles start at $253,500, and the 90th percentile reaches $307,500. 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 Engineering Manager roles lead at $275,000 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $140,000. 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 (1,979 postings), Aws (1,190 postings), Azure (899 postings), Rag (839 postings), Gcp (726 postings), Pytorch (595 postings), Prompt Engineering (595 postings), Claude (540 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.
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