Lead Data Scientist

Company Description

NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our theme parks and consumer experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, USA Network, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Universal Studio Group, and have world-renowned theme parks and attractions through Universal Destinations & Experiences. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

Our impact is rooted in improving the communities where our employees, customers, and audiences live and work. We have a rich tradition of giving back and ensuring our employees have the opportunity to serve their communities. We champion an inclusive culture and strive to attract and develop a talented workforce to create and deliver a wide range of content reflecting our world.

Comcast NBCUniversal has announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company ('Versant') comprised of most of NBCUniversal's cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel along with complementary digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. The well-capitalized company will have significant scale as a pure-play set of assets anchored by leading news, sports and entertainment content. The spin-off is expected to be completed during 2025.

Job Description

We are looking for a Lead Data Scientist to spearhead data science initiative focused on media and cable networks. In this role, you will develop and optimize data-driven engagement and retention models to minimize subscriber churn and accelerate subscription growth. You will collaborate closely with business stakeholders to gather requirements, translate business needs into technical solutions, and clearly communicate insights and recommendations to non-technical leadership. Your work will directly influence marketing, content, and pricing strategies to improve customer retention and lifetime value. 

Job Duties 

• Leverage structured and unstructured data from various media and entertainment sources to prepare datasets for advanced analytics and modeling. 

• Develop and deliver impactful analytical tools and solutions leveraging statistical modeling, machine learning, and data science to uncover business insights and support strategic decision-making. 

• Design and apply advanced predictive and machine learning models; including clustering (K-means, hierarchical), classification (KNN, Naive Bayes, CART), time series forecasting, logistic regression, and econometric models to optimize pricing strategies, assess price elasticity, segment customers, and enhance revenue across channels.  

• Leverage generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to develop and implement personalized content and messaging strategies across diverse media channels, enhancing audience engagement and campaign effectiveness 

• Assess and validate statistical models using appropriate performance metrics to ensure precision and accuracy such as accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, ROC, AUC. 

• Analyze consumer behavior trends and shifts across various digital touchpoints; perform cross-channel attribution analysis to inform targeted retention strategies. 

• Monitor and analyze key engagement metrics to assess the performance of subscriber onboarding programs and their impact on long-term retention. 

• Interpret complex analytical insights and translate them into clear, actionable business strategies that improve business outcomes.  

• Support scalable deployment of data products by following best practices in CI/CD processes and contribute to agile project management through tools like Jira for sprint planning, tracking, and team coordination. 

• Collaborate cross-functionally with technical and non-technical stakeholders to gather requirements, define project scope, and lead data science initiatives, demonstrating strong communication, leadership, and team-building skills 

Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in data Science, statistics, computer science, or related quantitative field. 

• 5+ years’ experience in data science roles with demonstrated impact on retention, engagement, or churn reduction. 

• Advanced skills in Python/R, SQL, and experience with ML libraries (scikit-learn, XGBoost, TensorFlow/PyTorch). 

• Strong background in building predictive churn models, CLV, causal inference and uplift modeling 

• Leverage cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure) and big data tools (e.g., Spark, Hive, Databricks), staying current with evolving technologies and Databricks’ architecture for scalable data science workflows. 

Desired Qualifications 

• Familiarity with third party data such as comScore, Nielsen, IMDb, Gracenote, or similar platforms to enhance content performance analysis and audience insights is a plus 

• Experience in content analytics within subscription-based media and direct-to-consumer (DTC) products 

• Experience building personalization engines or recommendation systems in digital subscription environments. 

Additional Information:

• Travel may be required for this position for company or department meetings. 
• Hybrid: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week. Subject to change based on Manager discussion or business need.

• This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other benefits and perks. Learn more about the benefits offered by NBCUniversal by visiting the Benefits page of the Careers website. 

• Salary range: $145,000 - $175,000 (bonus eligible)

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to AccessibilitySupport@nbcuni.com.

Although you'll be hired as an NBCU employee, your employment and the responsibilities associated with this job likely will transition to Versant in the future. By joining at this pivotal time, you'll be a part of this exciting company as it takes shape.