Lead Data Scientist

Company Description

VERSANT is a leading force in news, sports and entertainment - home to iconic and trusted brands that inspire, inform, and delight audiences. Our unique combination of content, technology and services enriches the cultural fabric, igniting passions, sparking conversations, and connecting people to what they love most.

As an independent, publicly traded company, VERSANT brings together powerhouse cable networks - including USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel - with dynamic digital and direct-to-consumer brands such as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. Together, these businesses reflect our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences across every screen and service.

VERSANT is an industry-changing media company fueled by innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. With a strong foundation and a forward-looking vision, VERSANT empowers creativity, embraces change, and drives connection in an ever-evolving world.

Job Description

We are looking for a Lead Data Scientist to spearhead data science initiative focused on media and cable networks. In this role, you will develop and optimize data-driven engagement and retention models to minimize subscriber churn and accelerate subscription growth.

You will collaborate closely with business stakeholders to gather requirements, translate business needs into technical solutions, and clearly communicate insights and recommendations to non-technical leadership. Your work will directly influence marketing, content, and pricing strategies to improve customer retention and lifetime value.

Job Duties

• Leverage structured and unstructured data from various media and entertainment sources to prepare datasets for advanced analytics and modeling.
• Develop and deliver impactful analytical tools and solutions leveraging statistical modeling, machine learning, and data science to uncover business insights and support strategic decision-making.
• Design and apply advanced predictive and machine learning models; including clustering (K-means, hierarchical), classification (KNN, Naive Bayes, CART), time series forecasting, logistic regression, and econometric models to optimize pricing strategies, assess price elasticity, segment customers, and enhance revenue across channels.
• Leverage generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to develop and implement personalized content and messaging strategies across diverse media channels, enhancing audience engagement and campaign effectiveness.
• Assess and validate statistical models using appropriate performance metrics to ensure precision and accuracy such as accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, ROC, AUC.
• Analyze consumer behavior trends and shifts across various digital touchpoints; perform cross-channel attribution analysis to inform targeted retention strategies.
• Monitor and analyze key engagement metrics to assess the performance of subscriber onboarding programs and their impact on long-term retention.
• Interpret complex analytical insights and translate them into clear, actionable business strategies that improve business outcomes.
• Support scalable deployment of data products by following best practices in CI/CD processes and contribute to agile project management through tools like Jira for sprint planning, tracking, and team coordination.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with technical and non-technical stakeholders to gather requirements, define project scope, and lead data science initiatives, demonstrating strong communication, leadership, and team-building skills.
  
  

Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in data Science, statistics, computer science, or related quantitative field
• 5 years’ experience in data science roles with demonstrated impact on retention, engagement, or churn reduction
• Advanced skills in Python/R, SQL, and experience with ML libraries (scikit-learn, XGBoost, TensorFlow/PyTorch)
• Strong background in building predictive churn models, CLV, causal inference and uplift modeling
• Leverage cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure) and big data tools (e.g., Spark, Hive, Databricks), staying current with evolving technologies and Databricks’ architecture for scalable data science workflows
  
  

Desired Qualifications

• Familiarity with third party data such as comScore, Nielsen, IMDb, Gracenote, or similar platforms to enhance content performance analysis and audience insights is a plus
• Experience in content analytics within subscription-based media and direct-to-consumer (DTC) products
• Experience building personalization engines or recommendation systems in digital subscription environments.
  
  

Additional Information: Travel may be required for this position for company or department meetings. Hybrid: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week. Subject to change based on Manager discussion or business need.

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other benefits and perks.

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to candidateaccessibility@versantmedia.com.

VERSANT is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.