Director, Data Science - Cox Automotive Decision Support

Company

Cox Automotive - USA

Job Family Group

Data Intelligence & Science

Job Profile

Director, Data Science

Management Level

Director

Flexible Work Option

Hybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the week

Travel %

Yes, 15% of the time

Work Shift

Day

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary of $159,400.00 - $265,600.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Job Description

The Director of Data Science for Applied Research at Manheim Digital leads a specialized team focused on rapidly turning data into practical, high-impact business solutions. Through hands-on, prototype-driven data science, this role shapes how Cox Automotive leverages advanced statistical modeling and machine learning to stay ahead of the competition and enhance strategic decision-making at scale.

Applied Research operates as a dynamic, innovative engine within the Decision Support division, building proofs-of-concept that inform strategic directions across Cox Automotive’s diverse business units. The team’s projects span an exciting breadth—including advanced recommendation engines, predictive analytics for market insights, anomaly and fraud detection frameworks, intelligent data summarization tools, and foundational models that directly influence the performance and reliability of Manheim’s digital and physical auction platforms.

Strategic Vision & Portfolio Ownership

·         Define and evolve the strategic direction of the Applied Research team, aligning data science innovation with Manheim Digital’s long-term business objectives.

·         Own the portfolio of applied data science initiatives across diverse domains—auction dynamics, supply chain optimization, digital fraud detection, and more—ensuring prioritization of high-impact, value-generating work.

·         Identify emerging opportunities for machine learning and computational statistics to create competitive advantage; proactively shape the problem space before it is handed down.

Organizational Influence & Cross-Functional Leadership

·         Serve as the senior data science leader within Decision Support, representing Applied Research across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Operations leadership.

·         Champion data science alignment across business units, fostering deep partnerships and trust with stakeholders to ensure models and insights are adopted, deployed, and impactful.

·         Drive strategic conversations with executive leaders around where and how Applied Research can influence revenue growth, operational efficiency, and user experience.

Executional Oversight & Innovation Culture

·         Guide the delivery of advanced prototypes and analytical frameworks, ensuring scientific rigor while balancing speed and feasibility in production environments.

·         Build a resilient innovation pipeline by seeding exploratory work alongside tactical model delivery—nurturing experimentation without compromising delivery timelines.

·         Ensure effective knowledge transfer and continuity from prototype to scalable solutions via partnership with Data Engineering, Product, and Platform teams.

People Leadership & Talent Development

·         Lead, coach, and develop a team of high-performing managers and principal scientists, fostering a culture rooted in curiosity, trust, and practical excellence.

·         Actively build the next layer of data science leadership, ensuring succession planning, role clarity, and alignment with team values and org goals.

·         Promote cross-pollination of ideas and resources across analytical teams at Cox Automotive, creating cohesion within a distributed enterprise.

Operational Excellence & Thought Leadership

·         Establish and continuously refine best practices in model development, experimentation, code review, stakeholder engagement, and business value measurement.

·         Maintain a deep understanding of evolving technology ecosystems (AWS, Snowflake, ECS, EC2, Lambda) and ensure the team leverages tools that maximize research velocity and insight delivery.

·         Represent Applied Research within Cox Automotive’s data leadership community, contributing to enterprise-wide strategy, governance, and analytical capability development.

Qualifications / Required Experience & Specialized Knowledge and skills:

• Bachelor's degree in related field with 10+ years of experience. A candidate may also have a Master's Degree with 8+ years of experience or a Ph.D. with 5+ years of experience. A non-degreed candidate will have 14+ years of experience.

• 5+ years in a leadership role

• Proven expertise in cloud platforms and services, including AWS (Lambda, EC2, ECS), and data warehousing solutions like Snowflake.

• Extensive experience with machine learning concepts, algorithms, and frameworks, with a track record of deploying ML models into production environments.

• Demonstrated proficiency in managing machine learning pipeline tools, both managed and custom-built solutions, ensuring scalability and efficiency.

• Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, with experience in developing and optimizing complex data processing workflows.

• Exceptional leadership abilities, with experience in building and mentoring high-performing data science teams.

• Excellent communication skills, capable of articulating complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders and influencing executive decision-making.

• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment, prioritize competing demands, and maintain high executional integrity under pressure

• Physical ability and mental acuity to execute the duties of the position within required timeframes

Drug Testing

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

Benefits

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

About Us

Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.