Principal Data Scientist, Ads at Reddit

This role is designed for a heavyweight quantitative leader with a background in Economics, Statistics, or Computer Science. To qualify, you’ll need significant

Work type: remote

Location: Remote - United States

Salary: $268,000 – $365,100/yr

Type: Full-time

Summary

This role is designed for a heavyweight quantitative leader with a background in Economics, Statistics, or Computer Science. To qualify, you’ll need significant industry experience—at least 12 years if you have an M.S. or 8 years with a Ph.D. The team is looking for a "scientific authority" who can architect the future of an ads marketplace, specifically focusing on auction dynamics, causal inference, and advertiser ROI at massive scale. The compensation package is standout, offering a base salary between **$268,000 and $365,100**, plus equity and 401k matching. Despite the high level of seniority and impact, the role is **fully remote** within the U.S., offering rare flexibility for a principal-level position. You’ll also benefit from top-tier perks like gender-affirming care, comprehensive family planning, and generous parental leave. **You might be a good fit if you:** * Have deep expertise in **ads marketplace dynamics**, such as bidding systems, LTV modeling, or auction theory. * Enjoy mentoring senior data scientists and influencing technical strategy across large organizations (500+ people). * Thrive in "ambiguous" environments where you must translate complex behavioral data into a long-term product roadmap. * Are a Python/R and SQL expert who prioritizes scientific rigor and experimental design.

Job Description

Reddit is a community of communities. It’s built on shared interests, passion, and trust, and is home to the most open and authentic conversations on the internet. Every day, Reddit users submit, vote, and comment on the topics they care most about. With 100,000+ active communities and approximately 121 million daily active unique visitors, Reddit is one of the internet’s largest sources of information. For more information, visit [www.redditinc.com](http://www.redditinc.com/).

Reddit's Ads Data Science team is seeking a highly motivated Principal Data Scientist to drive the strategic application of advanced quantitative methods across our advertising platform to advance the intelligence powering the advertiser experience on Reddit.

In this pivotal leadership role, you will be responsible for defining and implementing the next generation of foundational data science solutions, leveraging expertise in statistics, econometrics, machine learning and/or other quantitative methods to optimize Reddit's Ads marketplace. You will partner closely with Analytics Engineering to ensure our underlying data systems are continuously upleveled to support advanced analysis and modeling at scale. You will be a strategic partner, collaborating closely with Product, Engineering, and Business leaders to establish the long-term vision for measurement, prediction, and optimization.

As a thought leader, you will champion scientific rigor, causal inference, and economic modeling, while providing deep mentorship to the broader team. If you are passionate about applying foundational quantitative science to solve complex, high-impact business problems, join us in shaping the future of Reddit ads.

## What you’ll do

• Define the future of Ads Data Science: Own the design and long-term evolution of our core Ads Data Science solutions and infrastructure, building for the next several years of continued scale, revenue growth, and relevance.

• Strategic leadership & scientific roadmap: Identify fundamental gaps and opportunities in our current systems (including platform, auction, targeting, and full-funnel relevance models). Lead the strategic design and scientific roadmap for new solutions to significantly improve Advertiser ROI, User experience, and Reddit revenue.

• Drive end-to-end impact: Take end-to-end ownership of complex problem domains such as full funnel acceleration, advertiser lifetime value (LTV), and developing advanced predictive and causal frameworks that power Reddit’s strategic investments.

• Establish scientific standards: Define and codify best practices for large-scale statistical modeling, economic analysis, causal inference, offline model evaluation, and A/B experimentation to ensure scientific rigor and trust across the Ads data science and engineering teams.

• Technical deep dive & authority: Be the undisputed domain authority for data scientists, engineers, and product managers on complex problems involving large-scale behavioral data, foundational models for strategic insights, and the economics of marketplace dynamics.

• Translate ambiguity into outcomes: Influence the design and definition of core business and performance metrics, robust measurement methodologies, and collaborate deeply with cross-org XFNs to align on strategic goals and translate insights into tangible action.

• Influence and uplevel the organization: Lead technically minded peers and mentor senior data scientists, influencing technical and statistical direction across the entire product and engineering organization, and championing innovation in ad systems through advanced quantitative techniques.

• Demonstrated expertise in at least one of the following: ads marketplace understanding, auctioning/bidding, ads creative & format evaluation, measurement & experimentation at scale

• Master's or Ph.D. in Economics, Statistics, Computer Science, Operations Research, or a related quantitative discipline

• For M.S. holders: 12+ years of industry experience in applied science, data science, or machine learning engineering roles

• For Ph.D. holders: 8+ years of relevant experience applied science, data science, or machine learning engineering roles

• Advanced proficiency in statistical programming (Python or R) and SQL

• Experience with statistical analysis, economic modeling, foundational machine learning and/or optimization techniques

• Strong understanding of experimental design, causal inference, or A/B testing methodologies

• Exceptional problem-solving and communication skills, with a track record of influencing product and engineering partners

• Experience working in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with cross-functional teams

• Proven experience in influencing large (500+ engineers/data scientists) organizations on technical direction, statistical rigor, and machine learning best practice

• Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits and Income Replacement Programs

• 401k with Employer Match

• Global Benefit programs that fit your lifestyle, from workspace to professional development to caregiving support

• Family Planning Support

• Gender-Affirming Care

• Mental Health & Coaching Benefits

• Flexible Vacation & Paid Volunteer Time Off

• Generous Paid Parental Leave

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