Principal Data Scientist, Search

With a career at The Home Depot, you can be yourself and also be part of something bigger.

Position Purpose:

Product search is the heart of any e-commerce experience, and at The Home Depot, search is how doers find the things they need to get their projects done.  From appliances to lumber to mulch to power tools and beyond, our search engine touches billions of dollars of sales each year.  As Principal Data Scientist, Search, you will be the technical leader building the retrieval and ranking models powering our search engine and leveraging LLMs to build the intelligent shopping experience of the future.

The Principal Data Scientist is responsible for leading data science initiatives that drive business profitability, increased efficiencies and improved customer experience. This role assists in the development of the Home Depot advanced analytics infrastructure that informs decision making by leveraging mastery of both the business and Advanced Analytics Modeling techniques. Principal Data Scientists focus on seeking out business opportunities to leverage data science as a competitive advantage.
As a Principal Data Scientist, you will lead large data science projects, identifying opportunities to leverage the best technology and approach, and mentoring data scientists on the project team. This role is expected to contribute to Home Depot's intellectual property by developing cutting-edge, innovative algorithms. This role supports the building of skilled and talented data science teams by providing input to staffing needs and participating in the recruiting and hiring process. In addition, this role requires networking with experts, both academic and industry, to further the application of data science to business problems.

Key Responsibilities:

• 25% Solution Development - Utilize advanced expertise when designing and developing algorithms and models to use against large datasets to create business insights; Make appropriate selection, utilization and interpretation of advanced analytics methodologies; Effectively communicate insights and recommendations to both technical and non-technical leaders and business customers/partners; Clearly communicate impacts of recommendations to drive alignment and appropriate implementation; Test alternative methodology and cutting-edge algorithms on business problems to deliver even better solutions and recommendations
• 20% Project Management & Team Support - Work with project teams and business partners to determine project goals; Provide direction on prioritization of work and ensure quality of work; Provide mentoring and coaching to more junior roles to support their technical competencies; Collaborate with managers and team in the distribution of workload and resources; Support recruiting and hiring efforts for the team; Serve as a technical subject matter expert (SME) for one or more data science methods, both predictive and prescriptive
• 20% Business Collaboration - Leverage extensive business knowledge into solution approach; Effectively develop trust and collaboration with internal customers and cross-functional teams; Provide general education on advanced analytics to technical and non-technical business partners; Deep understanding of IT needs for the team to be successful in tackling business problems; Actively seek out new business opportunities to leverage data science as a competitive advantage
• 35% Technical Exploration & Development - Seek further knowledge on key developments within data science, technical skill sets, and additional data sources; Participate in the continuous improvement of data science and analytics by developing replicable solutions (for example, codified data products, project documentation, process flowcharts) to ensure solutions are leveraged for future projects; Define best practices and develop clear vision for data analysis and model productionalization; Support development of cutting-edge, innovative algorithms that would serve as Intellectual Property for Home Depot; Demonstrate and share technical expertise by attending conferences, speaking events and publishing papers; Be a thought leader within Home Depot in one or more Prescriptive Modeling techniques like optimization, computer vision, recommendation, search or NLP; Network with both academic and industry experts to further the application of data science to business problems

Direct Manager/Direct Reports:

• This position typically reports to Director or above
• This position has 0 Direct Reports and leads/manages projects

Travel Requirements:

• Typically requires overnight travel less than 10% of the time.

Physical Requirements:

• Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about. On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles.

Working Conditions:

• Located in a comfortable indoor area. Any unpleasant conditions would be infrequent and not objectionable.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must be eighteen years of age or older.
• Must be legally permitted to work in the United States.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in a quantitative field (Computer Science, Math, Statistics, etc.) or equivalent work experience.
• 10+ years of experience in business intelligence and analytics
• Expertise in a modern scripting language (preferably Python)
• Expertise running queries against data (preferably with Google BigQuery or SQL)
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite
• Expertise with data visualization software (preferably Tableau)
• Expertise in Prescriptive Modeling like optimization, computer vision, recommendation, search or NLP
• Demonstrated mastery in predictive modeling, data mining and data analysis
• Demonstrated mastery utilizing statistical techniques to identify key insights that help solve business problems

Minimum Education:

• The knowledge, skills and abilities typically acquired through the completion of a bachelor's degree program or equivalent degree in a field of study related to the job.

Preferred Education:

• No additional education

Minimum Years of Work Experience:

• 10

Preferred Years of Work Experience:

• No additional years of experience

Minimum Leadership Experience:

• None

Preferred Leadership Experience:

• None

Certifications:

• None

Competencies:

• Business Insight: Applying knowledge of the business and the marketplace to advance the organization's goals
• Communicates Effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences
• Cultivates Innovation: Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful
• Develops Talent: Developing people to meet both their career goals and the organization's goals
• Drives Vision and Purpose: Painting a compelling picture of the vision and strategy that motivates others to action
• Instills Trust: Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity
• Optimizes Work Processes: Knowing the most efficient and effective processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement
• Persuades: Using compelling arguments to gain the support and commitment of others
• Self-Development: Actively seeking new ways to grow and be challenged using both formal and informal development channels
• Strategic Mindset: Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies
• Tech Savvy: Anticipating and adopting innovations in business building digital and technology applications

For California, Colorado, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Nevada, New York City, Ithaca (NY), Westchester County (NY), and Washington residents:

The pay range for this position is between $150,000.00 - $280,000.00