Principal Data Scientist – AI & ML Leadership at Tripadvisor in Columbus

About Tripadvisor

The Tripadvisor Group connects people to experiences worth sharing, and aims to be the world's most trusted source for travel and experiences. We leverage our brands, technology, and capabilities to connect our global audience with partners through rich content, travel guidance, and two-sided marketplaces for experiences, accommodations, restaurants, and other travel categories. The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), include a portfolio of travel brands and businesses, including Tripadvisor, Viator, and TheFork.

At Tripadvisor experiences, the only thing we love more than travel is data. We slice it, we dice it, and we use it to empower our decision making.

About the Role

As a Principal Product Data Scientist, you will operate as the most senior technical leader in the Product Data Science function. You will shape the vision, set the technical direction, and drive strategic impact through innovative analytical solutions. This role is both highly technical and deeply collaborative, requiring excellence in leadership, communication, and cross-functional influence.

What You Will Do:

• Lead and define the Data Science strategy for Product, ensuring that advanced analytics, data science, and AI methodologies are central to how we build great products and improve customer experiences.
• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior Product and Engineering leadership, ensuring that data-driven decision making is embedded at the highest levels of the organization.
• Drive the development and adoption of next-generation data science tooling, platforms, and frameworks, with a focus on automation, scalability, and reproducibility.
• Spearhead the exploration and integration of emerging AI technologies, such as Agentic AI and AI Agents, identifying and developing high-impact use cases from POC to production.
• Champion best practices in experimentation, causal inference, and uplift modeling, ensuring statistical rigor in decision-making processes.
• Take ownership of the most complex, high-profile analytical projects, translating ambiguous questions into clear, actionable recommendations that deliver commercial and customer value.
• Mentor, coach, and develop other Data Scientists and Analysts, fostering a culture of critical thinking, continuous learning, and technical excellence.
• Lead initiatives to scale impact through automation, self-service, and democratization of data science capabilities.
• Develop sophisticated customer segmentation and predictive models that directly inform and optimize the product roadmap.
• Communicate complex analytical and technical concepts to diverse audiences, influencing stakeholders across Product, Engineering, Design, and Commercial teams.

Skills & Experience:

• Experience: Extensive experience in data science or a similar quantitative role, with a proven track record of supporting and influencing a product organization.
• Technical & Modeling Expertise: Expert-level proficiency in Python and SQL. Deep, hands-on experience with statistical modeling, (quasi) experimentation, multi-arm bandit, and a wide range of machine learning techniques (e.g., Regression, Classification, Clustering).
• Product Acumen: Demonstrated ability to define, implement, and operationalize crucial product and feature-level metrics from scratch.
• Strategic Influence: A proven track record of driving strategic impact through a proactive and collaborative approach, with the proven ability to lead technical discussions, drive product strategy, and communicate complex insights effectively to cross-functional partners (e.g., Product, Engineering, Design).
• Scaling Impact: Experience scaling analytics capabilities, driving impact through the creation of automated processes, self-service tools, or data products.
• Critical Thinking: Leader in critical thinking — your previous experience will demonstrate the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to form a judgment by the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation.
• Leadership: Outstanding leadership skills, with experience in mentoring, coaching, and developing teams of analysts or data scientists.
• Collaboration & Communication: Exceptional collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to engage, influence, and inspire cross-functional partners at all levels.
• Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Engineering, Physics, Economics, or a related quantitative field.

You Could Be an Especially Great Fit If You Have:

• Advanced programming background with the ability to build simulations and prototype data products.
• Experience validating quantitative findings with qualitative methods (e.g., surveys, user research).
• Demonstrated experience with applied AI, such as NLP, Large Language Models (LLMs), or Agentic AI for analytics.
• Experience working within a two-sided marketplace, e-commerce, or the travel technology industry.
• Master's degree or equivalent relevant programs.

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please make sure to reach out to your individual recruiter or our team at [email protected].

If you have any additional questions about careers at Tripadvisor you can email us at [email protected]. We have all the answers!