Rakuten International
e-commerce
Director,DataScience
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“Director, Data Science at Rakuten International. Skills: machine learning, generative AI, organizational leadership, strategy, business impact. Lead and grow a high-performing centralized data science organization. Help shape data science strategy and prioritize initiatives”
What You'll Achieve.
deliver measurable, company-wide business impact; scale high-impact AI solutions from concept to production; ensure that our data science efforts directly translate into competitive advantages and improved member experiences; ensure data science efforts translate into measurable business outcomes; deliver measurable business impact through production-grade ML/AI systems
Industry & Context.
Translate ambiguous business problems into clear, actionable AI and machine learning strategies
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
10+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI, 5+ years of leadership experience, including managing managers and building scaled teams, Proven track record of delivering measurable business impact through production-grade ML/AI systems, Bachelor's Degree, foundation in machine learning, statistical modeling, optimization, and/or AI systems, Experience leading the deployment and scaling of models in production environments, Familiarity with modern data and ML ecosystems (Python, SQL, cloud platforms, and production ML tooling), Demonstrated ability to lead in ambiguous environments and define strategy from first principles, Ability to balance technical depth with business pragmatism
Nice to Have
Master's Degree and/or PhD, Experience in e-commerce, ad-tech, marketing science, recommender systems, or related domains, Experience integrating AI into customer-facing products and internal workflows, Experience with LLM-based systems, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and evaluation of generative AI solutions
What You'll Do.
Lead and grow a high-performing centralized data science organization
Help shape data science strategy and prioritize initiatives
Translate ambiguous business problems into clear
actionable AI and machine learning strategies
and end to end accountability
Own the end‑to‑end delivery and effectiveness of machine learning and generative AI solutions
Set technical direction and quality standards for scalable ML
Ensure solutions are production‑ready
and continuously improved
Strengthen best practices and technical standards for applied AI
Partner with engineering and platform teams to improve foundations for production AI
Stay current with advances in ML and generative AI and guide thoughtful
pragmatic adoption of new capabilities
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Serve as a trusted partner to senior leaders; Partner with engineering and platform teams; experience influencing senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams
Communication Scope
communication skills; clearly communicating strategy, trade‑offs, progress, and impact; experience influencing senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams
Process & Methodology
prioritize initiatives, end to end accountability
Full Job Description
**Job Description:** Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community. Rakuten is the most rewarding way to shop, giving millions of members Cash Back when they buy from their favorite brands. As a leading shopping platform, Rakuten partners with thousands of top brands across apparel, beauty and wellness, grocery, travel, on-demand services, subscriptions, and dining, helping members save on everyday purchases. Since 1999, Rakuten members have earned more than $4.6 billion in Cash Back, making it the largest Cash Back platform of its kind. Learn more at [Rakuten.com](http://rakuten.com/). **Job Summary:** Rakuten Rewards is seeking a Director of Data Science to lead our centralized data science organization, influence strategy and drive execution of machine learning and generative AI initiatives that deliver measurable, company-wide business impact. Reporting directly to the CTO, this role combines organizational leadership, technical depth, and business ownership, with a mandate to scale high-impact AI solutions from concept to production. You will be responsible for setting the technical vision, mentoring a high-performing team, and ensuring that our data science efforts directly translate into competitive advantages and improved member experiences. **Key Responsibilities:** **Organizational Leadership & Business Impact** * Lead and grow a high-performing centralized data science organization, including managing managers, hiring top talent, and fostering a strong, accoun
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