Senior Staff Data Scientist – Consumer Relevance

Reddit, Inc.

Senior Staff Data Scientist at Reddit focusing on relevance metrics and evaluation methodology. Collaborating with Feeds and Search ML teams to improve content recommendations and search results.

Posted 6/1/2026full-timeRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $232,500 - $325,500 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

PythonSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Serve as the technical authority on relevance metrics and evaluation methodology across Consumer, setting standards for how we measure the quality of feeds, search results, and recommendations in a complex, community-driven environment
Develop metrics frameworks and offline evaluation approaches for ranking and recommendation systems, including proxy metrics that reliably predict long-term outcomes like retention, community health, and user satisfaction
Design and analyze experiments for relevance features, accounting for challenges unique to networked platforms such as spillover effects between communities, interference between contributors and consumers, and long-run impacts of ranking changes on content supply
Identify opportunities where improved measurement and analysis can unlock product insights that were previously unmeasurable or ambiguous, particularly around content quality, search intent understanding, and personalization effectiveness
Partner deeply with ML engineers and product teams to translate model performance metrics into user-facing impact
Influence the long-term product strategy for Feeds and Search by synthesizing insights from experimentation, observational analysis, and metric deep-dives into clear, actionable recommendations for senior leadership
Mentor and elevate other data scientists across the organization on relevance evaluation, experimentation best practices for ranking systems, causal reasoning, and statistical rigor
Publish and share methodological advances internally and, where appropriate, externally to contribute to the broader relevance, recommendation systems, and experimentation community

Requirements

What you’ll need

Ph.D. in Statistics, Computer Science, Information Retrieval, Economics, or a related quantitative field with a strong focus on recommendation systems, ranking, causal inference, or evaluation methodology; or M.S. with equivalent depth of expertise
For M.S. holders: 12+ years of industry experience in applied science, data science, or relevance/ranking-focused roles
For Ph.D. holders: 8+ years of industry experience in applied science, data science, or relevance/ranking-focused roles
Deep expertise in metrics design and evaluation for ranking and recommendation systems, including offline metrics and counterfactual evaluation
Strong understanding of causal inference and experimentation methodology, including practical experience with challenges relevant to ranking systems such as novelty effects, position bias, long-run effect estimation, and ecosystem-level impacts
Experience defining and validating quality metrics for content ranking, search, or recommendations at scale
Strong theoretical grounding in experimental design, including power analysis, variance reduction techniques, and sequential testing as applied to relevance experiments
Expert knowledge of SQL and proficiency in R and/or Python for statistical computing
Demonstrated ability to influence product and organizational strategy through data-driven insights about content quality and user experience
Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain nuanced statistical and ML concepts and tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical senior stakeholders
Experience mentoring data scientists and building organizational capability in relevance evaluation and experimentation
Comfortable in innovative and fast-paced environments with a bias toward action.

Benefits

Comp & perks

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

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

metrics designevaluation methodologyranking systemsrecommendation systemscausal inferenceexperimental designSQLRPythonpower analysis

Soft Skills

communication skillsmentoringinfluencing strategyanalytical thinkingcollaborationproblem-solvingaction-orientedorganizational capabilitystatistical rigoruser experience understanding

Certifications

Ph.D. in StatisticsPh.D. in Computer SciencePh.D. in Information RetrievalPh.D. in EconomicsM.S. in related quantitative field