Lead Data Scientist - Ad Platforms

Technology is at the heart of Disney’s past, present, and future. Disney Entertainment and ESPN Product & Technology is a global organization of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, data scientists, and more – all working to build and advance the technological backbone for Disney’s media business globally.

The team marries technology with creativity to build world-class products, enhance storytelling, and drive velocity, innovation, and scalability for our businesses. We are Storytellers and Innovators. Creators and Builders. Entertainers and Engineers. We work with every part of The Walt Disney Company’s media portfolio to advance the technological foundation and consumer media touch points serving millions of people around the world.

Here are a few reasons why we think you’d love working here:

• Building the future of Disney’s media: Our Technologists are designing and building the products and platforms that will power our media, advertising, and distribution businesses for years to come.
• Reach, Scale & Impact: More than ever, Disney’s technology and products serve as a signature doorway for fans' connections with the company’s brands and stories. Disney+. Hulu. ESPN. ABC. ABC News…and many more. These products and brands – and the unmatched stories, storytellers, and events they carry – matter to millions of people globally.
• Innovation: We develop and implement groundbreaking products and techniques that shape industry norms, and solve complex and distinctive technical problems.

Ad Platforms is responsible for Disney’s industry-leading ad technology and products – driving advertising performance, innovation, and value in Disney’s sports, news, and entertainment content, across all media platforms.

Ad Platforms organization within Disney Entertainment and ESPN Technology is fully responsible for building, enhancing and maintaining the high-performance, distributed, microservice-based Advertising Platform across all of Disney online properties, including Hulu and ESPN+. We build and maintain proprietary technology, ranging from ad serving and ad delivery, campaign management, reporting as well as all the integrations internal and external that come with evolving and maintaining a best-in-class video advertising business.

Ad Platforms is also exploring advertising creation and enhancement technology for which generative AI technology will play a crucial role.

The research/AI team is the dedicated AI/ML and data science arm of the Ad Platform organization. Its mission is to advance AI and machine learning capabilities across Ad Platform by delivering scalable, high impact AI/ML and data science solutions that enhance ad decisioning, forecasting, experimentation and ad experience. We are seeking a Lead Data Scientist to join this innovative team. This role is a critical leadership opportunity for a seasoned data science professional who thrives at the intersection of advanced analytics, machine learning, and business strategy.

As a Lead Data Scientist, you will spearhead ML and data science initiatives that shape the future of advertising technology. You will be responsible for designing and executing ML and data science solutions that drive measurable impact across ad decisioning, forecasting, experimentation, and user experience optimizations.

• Drive innovation and apply data science and statistical analysis in a variety of areas to enhance every aspect of advertising serving, including inventory forecasting, ad experience, ad pacing, pricing, targeting, advertising creation and enhancement, and efficient ad delivery.
• Translate business questions into data science framework; develop data analysis and data models for complex ad challenges with…