What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr. Data Scientist - Network Modeling & Optimization position at Best Buy?
The Sr. Data Scientist – Network Modeling & Optimization will be a senior technical contributor responsible for leading complex analytical and modeling projects and supported by a small dedicated team of Data Scientists. This role’s primary responsibility will be updating, running and improving existing Supply Chain network models to support business planning and one-off decisions both tactical and strategic. The role will be hands-on. The role will also assist and advise in the development of new models and readiness for production.
The Network Modeling & Optimization team within Supply Chain Analytics develops analytical capabilities that help Best Buy evaluate its supply chain network across cost, capacity, customer service, product flow, inventory placement, and operational feasibility.
This role is hybrid, which means you will be required to work up to three days/week on site at the Best Buy corporate office in Richfield, Minnesota. You can work virtually from home or another non Best Buy location on days not expected in the office. The recruiter or hiring manager will provide more details during the hiring process.
What You’ll Do
The Network Modeling & Optimization team within Supply Chain Analytics develops analytical capabilities that help Best Buy evaluate its supply chain network across cost, capacity, customer service, product flow, inventory placement, and operational feasibility.
This role is hybrid, which means you will be required to work up to three days/week on site at the Best Buy corporate office in Richfield, Minnesota. You can work virtually from home or another non Best Buy location on days not expected in the office. The recruiter or hiring manager will provide more details during the hiring process.
What You’ll Do
- Develop and maintain analytical inputs and optimization models representing facilities, transportation lanes, demand, product flows, costs, capacities, service requirements, and business rules.
- Evaluate strategic and tactical scenarios involving facility location, network assignments, capacity, sourcing, inventory placement, transportation, and product flow.
- Validate model behavior, diagnose infeasibilities and data-quality issues, and clearly communicate assumptions, limitations, tradeoffs, and recommendations to business and technical stakeholders
- Translate ambiguous supply chain questions into structured analytical problems by defining objectives, available decisions, constraints, assumptions, data requirements, and expected outputs.
- Ability to translate complex physical processes into simplified functions that preserve the essential real-world characteristics but simple enough to become inputs for mathematical models.
- Support complex network modeling and optimization projects from business-problem definition through model development, validation, interpretation, and recommendation.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to Data Scientists and analysts while establishing reusable modeling practices, documentation standards, and quality controls.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Supply Chain Analytics, or a related quantitative field—or equivalent experience.
- 4 years of relevant experience in data science, operations research, optimization, supply chain analytics, forecasting, simulation, or a related analytical field.
- 4 years of leading complex analytical projects and translate ambiguous business questions into structured modeling approaches.
- 4 years hands-on experience using data analytics (e.g., SQL, Python, R), and machine learning and/or optimization tools (i.e., Python, R, Gurobi, Vertex AI).
- Strong knowledge of optimization, operations research, statistical modeling, forecasting, simulation, machine learning, or another advanced analytical discipline.
- Ability to explain technical concepts, model results, and business recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Supply Chain Analytics, or a related quantitative field.
- Experience with supply chain network design, transportation, distribution, fulfillment, inventory, logistics, or capacity planning.
- Experience developing optimization models using methods such as linear programming, mixed-integer programming, network flow, facility location, or assignment modeling.
- Experience defining model inputs, decision variables, constraints, objective functions, scenarios, and outputs—and diagnosing model infeasibilities.
- Familiarity with AIMMS or comparable optimization platforms, libraries, or solvers. Direct AIMMS experience is preferred but not required.
- Experience providing technical leadership, mentoring Data Scientists or analysts, and communicating recommendations to business leaders.
What’s in it for you
We’re committed to helping our people thrive at work and at home. Best Buy offers a range of benefits to support your overall well-being and provide support as you need it, especially at key moments in your life.
Our benefits include:
We’re committed to helping our people thrive at work and at home. Best Buy offers a range of benefits to support your overall well-being and provide support as you need it, especially at key moments in your life.
Our benefits include:
- Competitive pay
- Great employee discount
- Financial savings and retirement resources
- Support for your physical and mental well-being
Best Buy provides different types of leaves of absence (LOA) and potential pay sources to employees based on eligibility. The length of your LOA depends on your situation, where you live, your full-time or part-time employment status, and federal and state regulations. Intermittent or reduced-schedule leave is also available for certain medical or family care leaves. Paid time off (vacation or PTO) is offered to full-time and part-time employees based on work location, employment status, salary or hourly status (exempt/non-exempt), and years of continued or bridged service.
Certain roles, where market norms demand it, are eligible for various forms of incentive pay to drive performance and offer recognition for achieving financial and strategic results. For more information about our incentive pay plans, including eligibility, please refer to our Incentive Programs Summary.
For more information about benefits, LOA and paid time off, please refer to our Benefits Guide.
About us
As part of the Best Buy team, you’ll help us fulfill our purpose to enrich lives through technology. We bring that to life every day by humanizing and personalizing tech solutions for every stage of life — in our stores, online and in customers’ homes.
Our culture is built on deeply supporting and valuing our amazing employees who make it all possible. We’re committed to being a great place to work, where you can unlock unique career possibilities. Above all, we aim to provide a place where you can bring your full, authentic self to work now and into the future. Tomorrow works here.™
Best Buy is an equal opportunity employer.
Application deadline: Minimum of 5 days from the posting date. You can find that date above the job title at the top of the page.
Certain roles, where market norms demand it, are eligible for various forms of incentive pay to drive performance and offer recognition for achieving financial and strategic results. For more information about our incentive pay plans, including eligibility, please refer to our Incentive Programs Summary.
For more information about benefits, LOA and paid time off, please refer to our Benefits Guide.
About us
As part of the Best Buy team, you’ll help us fulfill our purpose to enrich lives through technology. We bring that to life every day by humanizing and personalizing tech solutions for every stage of life — in our stores, online and in customers’ homes.
Our culture is built on deeply supporting and valuing our amazing employees who make it all possible. We’re committed to being a great place to work, where you can unlock unique career possibilities. Above all, we aim to provide a place where you can bring your full, authentic self to work now and into the future. Tomorrow works here.™
Best Buy is an equal opportunity employer.
Application deadline: Minimum of 5 days from the posting date. You can find that date above the job title at the top of the page.