Senior Data Scientist
Tovala
Data Science
Chicago, IL, USA
Posted on Oct 25, 2024
We’re Tovala, a food-tech company reinventing home cooking to save consumers time. Through an innovative combination of hardware, software, and fresh food delivery, we make it incredibly simple for anyone to prepare and enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals without sacrificing time to do whatever matters to them. Through our superior technology, product experience and food quality, we have separated Tovala from the busy pack of other meal delivery businesses. In the process, we’ve amassed a loyal, rapidly growing following and our retention, product engagement and customer NPS are all best-in-class. We’ve raised over $100mm from great investors like Left Lane Capital, Origin Ventures, Y Combinator and Comcast Ventures and have invested strongly in building a unique culture that fosters growth, personal development and camaraderie.
Position Summary
At Tovala, we eat data for breakfast… along with our delicious biscuits. Our team is a small group of analysts and engineers who are passionate about helping teams across the Tovala organization make data-driven decisions. We are looking for an experienced Data Scientist who will support strategic initiatives by building advanced models to help inform decisions related to demand planning, marketing, the customer experience, and more. The ideal candidate has a strong technical background and enjoys using data science and a healthy dose of creativity to solve problems. This role will collaborate closely with other data team members and cross-functional partners to build analytics solutions to deliver insights, support business growth, and improve our customers’ experiences.
How you will spend your time at Tovala
- Develop robust, scalable demand models using Python and advanced statistical techniques.
- Design and implement causal models to inform strategic and investment decisions.
- Leverage simulation techniques to assess business scenarios and improve decision quality.
- Build intuitive user interfaces and visualizations to make complex insights accessible.
- Lead analytics projects from ideation to deployment, ensuring models are tested, validated, and production-ready.
- Collaborate with analysts and business stakeholders to combine critical domain knowledge with advanced analytics methodologies to design actionable solutions to business problems.
- Optimize and refine models for computational efficiency and scalability, particularly for large datasets.
- Partner closely with data engineers to deploy models and build out a code library.
- Build out tables and definitions within the ETL to support business initiatives.
- Contribute to the overall data strategy by identifying new data sources, tools, and methodologies to enhance analytical capabilities.
- Manage multiple projects simultaneously, balancing short-term needs with long-term strategic initiatives.
- Regularly conduct code reviews and technical deep dives with peers to ensure high-quality model deployment and adherence to best practices.
- Participate in data governance and help set the framework for good data practices at Tovala.
About you
- You have an advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) or equivalent experience in a technical field (e.g., Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, or related discipline).
- You have 5+ years of experience in a data science role, with a proven track record of solving complex problems using machine learning and statistical models.
- You have strong programming skills in Python, including experience with advanced machine learning libraries such as TensorFlow, Keras, PyMC, or equivalent.
- You are proficient in SQL and have experience working in a data warehouse environment (preferably Snowflake)
- You understand causal inference and have experience with frameworks like DoWhy or causal ML packages.
- You have experience with time series analysis and applying Bayesian methods.
- You are familiar with simulation techniques (e.g., MCMC, agent-based modeling) and their business applications.
- You have experience collaborating with engineering teams to deploy models into production and are proficient in version control (e.g., Git).
- You have strong communication skills and are able topresent complex findings to technical and non-technical audiences in a clear and actionable way; experience with BI tools is a plus.
- You are a collaborative team player who is comfortable both giving and receiving feedback.
- You are a proactive learner with a growth mindset, constantly seeking to enhance your knowledge and skills.
- You are comfortable working independently with minimal oversight, while driving technical initiatives forward.
- You have strong project management skills with the ability to prioritize and balance multiple complex projects.
The values we hold dear
Put the team first
We put what is best for the broader team ahead of what is best for ourselves or our immediate department.
Get s#!t done (well)
We celebrate people at all levels for delivering high impact work that expands the bounds of what we’re able to do.
Connect the dots
We engage with curiosity to learn how our work impacts others so that we can problem-solve holistically and work collaboratively.
Be Direct
We share our perspective openly and directly, even when it feels difficult to do so.
Embrace the obstacles
We rise to meet challenges with a sense of urgency, resolve, and optimism.
Champion the customer
We consider and prioritize our customer in all of our decisions
At Tovala we‘re committed to building a workplace that represents a variety of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Everyone is welcome here!