Senior Data Scientist, Wharton Graduate Division

Overview

The University of Pennsylvania offers a competitive benefits package including healthcare and tuition benefits, retirement options, professional development opportunities, work and family support, and health and wellness resources. Penn is a premier private university located in Philadelphia with a distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.

Posted

Job Title:

Senior Data Scientist, Wharton Graduate Division

Job Profile

Title:

Senior Data Scientist, Algorithmic Systems

Job Description

Summary:

The Senior Data Scientist – Algorithmic Systems is a key member of the Data Science team supporting the full-time, Executive, and Global Wharton MBA programs. Reporting to the Director of Data Science, this role advances analytics-driven solutions that enhance the student experience and improve office productivity. The position leads the enhancement, maintenance, and expansion of Wherton’s Course Match registration system (MBA registration system that allocates course schedules).

This role contributes to its algorithm and infrastructure integration, with responsibilities spanning optimization tuning, heuristic development (e.g., Tabu Search), performance diagnostics, and production-level feature development. The candidate will have expertise in mixed-integer programming (MIP), fluency in Python, and the ability to deliver clean, modular, and maintainable production code. The role also involves evaluating and integrating a new optimization engine into Course Match, collaborating with internal stakeholders and external vendors to ensure system robustness, scalability, and alignment with institutional practices.

Beyond Course Match, the Senior Data Scientist will contribute to a broader portfolio of academic affairs and data science initiatives including AI integration, predictive modeling, statistical analysis, machine learning, and analytics infrastructure development. A major focus will be building reusable, scalable Python-based solutions enabling long-term innovation within the MBA Program Office and Wharton Computing. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in algorithmic systems and applied data science, with the ability to manage complex technical projects from ideation through deployment, translate technical insights for diverse audiences, foster cross-functional collaboration, and provide mentorship and thought leadership.

Outstanding communication and collaboration are essential. This role is a two-year appointment, with the potential for continuation.

Duties

• Lead development and ownership of Course Match.
• Serve as the primary developer and systems owner for the Course Match registration system, including algorithm and infrastructure integration.
• Algorithmic and performance refinement.
• Design and implement enhancements to Course Match’s algorithmic infrastructure, including optimization tuning, performance analysis, heuristic development (e.g., Tabu Search), mixed-integer programming (MIP), and system diagnostics.
• Internal and external collaboration and system integration.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and external vendors to support the integration of a new optimization engine. Participate in vendor evaluation, architecture planning, and system design discussions to ensure successful deployment and infrastructure integration.
• Data science project contributions beyond Course Match.
• Contribute to high-impact academic affairs and data science initiatives beyond Course Match, including AI integration, process automation, and machine learning. Build robust Python-based solutions that promote reusability, automation, and scalability.
• Infrastructure development and automation.
• Develop and maintain analytics infrastructure and automation pipelines to support data workflows across the MBA Program Office and Wharton Computing. Apply best practices in software development, testing, and version control.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree and 1-2 years of experience in a quantitative field is required; however, a Master’s degree with at least 5 years of relevant experience is strongly preferred.
• Strong programming proficiency in Python, including production-grade…