Senior Director, Data Scientist ($216,000.00 - $262,300.00)

Position Summary:

Irvine Company is on a journey to transform its digital capabilities and is looking for a Data Scientist to implement impactful advanced analytics initiatives across our real estate divisions (Apartments, Office, Retail and Community Development). In this role, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams to build and deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) solutions that will empower operational effectiveness, efficiencies or enhance the customer experience. As a key member of the growing Data & Analytics organization, you will work with business stakeholders throughout the Company to develop, maintain, and communicate an AI/Analytics roadmap, ensuring alignment with leadership and internal stakeholders as you manage a growing portfolio of opportunities. 

This is an individual contributor role that balances hands-on data science work with effective project planning and close collaboration with our lines of business and other data team members. Strong communication and project management skills are essential to ensure successful execution and long-term impact.
 

Job Duties:

• Design, create, test, and deploy complex AI/ML models (including Gen AI) to drive enterprise solutions and enhance the Company’s financial performance.
• Work with large and complex data sets, including structured and unstructured data (e.g., images, videos, text) to solve a wide array of challenging business and technical problems using diverse analytical and statistical methods.
• Apply technical expertise in quantitative analysis, experimentation, and data mining to identify actionable insights and develop strategies that improve profitability, investment, and tenant/customer experience outcomes.
• Develop and implement advanced statistical and ML algorithms to provide actionable insights, identify emerging trends, and optimize decision-making.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, translators, and technical teams to deliver scalable, sustainable, and impactful AI/ML solutions.
• Coordinate with data team(s) to integrate advanced AI/ML models into production environments.
• Ensure regular maintenance, testing, and iterative improvement of deployed AI/ML models to maintain optimal performance and adapt to evolving business/data trends.
• Understand and apply various statistical methods for Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA), hypothesis testing, and drawing meaningful conclusions.
• Guide models to master the theory and application of supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning algorithms for tasks like classification, regression, and clustering.
• Communicate model insights and business impact to wide audiences using clear and informative visualizations.
• Ensure the ethical implications of data science, including bias detection, fairness, and responsible data handling are incorporated into models.
• Serve as industry thought leader in data science and apply deep expertise to drive novel customer experiences.

Technical Expertise:

• Strong mathematical foundation (calculus, linear algebra, probability, and statistics).
• Extensive knowledge in using Python libraries to perform uni/multivariate analysis, building advanced ML models.
• Experience with common data science tools in addition to Python such as R, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras, NLTK, or spaCy and data manipulation via SQL.
• Experience working with large data sets and distributed computing technologies (Snowflake, BigQuery, etc.).
• Knowledge and experience in Cloud Environments (GCP).
• Ability to source and integrate data from multiple source types, including databases, files, APIs and logs.
• Understand ML concepts and has applied one or more Deep Learning methods, NLP, computer vision, sentiment analysis, topic modeling and graph theory in real-world applications to solve business problems.
   

Minimum Qualifications / Other Expectations:

• Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, AI, Statistics, Engineering, or other quantitative field; Master’s or PhD in AI, ML, or a related technical discipline.  
• Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in data analytics, data mining, ML, and has employed predictive, prescriptive, conversational or generative AI to solve business problems.
• Proficiency in machine learning, deep learning, statistics, optimization, and large-scale data analysis.
• Experience with generative models (GANs, Transformer models, RAG, agentic models, etc.), reinforcement learning, and advanced AI techniques.
• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies and openness to working in Agile environments with multiple stakeholders.
• Professional attitude and service orientation; team player; high degree of independence and ownership.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills. 
• Quick learner of business needs; able to quickly translate needs to potential analytics solutions.
• Strong work ethic; ability to work at an abstract level and gain consensus. 
• Able to build a sense of trust and rapport that creates a comfortable and effective workplace. 
• Open minded to new technology and approaches of learning. 
• Experience working in Real Estate or adjacent industries. 
   

 Compensation:

Base Pay Range: $216,000.00 - $262,300.00

Actual placement within this range may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, time in role, base salary of internal peers, prior performance, business sector, and geographic location.

The Company also offers competitive benefits for full time employees including paid time off, matching 401(k), and health benefits.

About Us:
Irvine Company is a privately held real estate investment company and master-planner committed to creating and sustaining communities that thrive for generations.

Irvine Company is respected for its master planning and environmental stewardship of the Irvine Ranch in Orange County, including diversified operations throughout coastal California. Irvine Company brings to life neighborhoods and sustainable communities with a full range of housing, jobs, retail centers, schools, parks and open space.

We take as much pride in our employee community as we do the communities we create. It’s an environment populated with talented and experienced people, a collaborative spirit and abundant opportunities.

Apply today to join our employee community, and learn more about Irvine Company, our legacy and our guiding principles.


Irvine Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all of our employment practices, including selection, hiring, promotion, transfer, compensation, termination, and training, without regard to race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, age, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, disability, or any other basis protected by federal, state, and local law. Reasonable accommodation is available for qualified individuals with disabilities, upon request.

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