Sr. Data Scientist

Title: Sr. Data Scientist Location: San Francisco, CA

Navan is looking for a hands-on Senior Data Scientist to apply statistical modeling and AI to business optimization and better decision-making. You’ll partner with teams across Navan to turn business opportunities into analytical tools, models, and practical recommendations. You will lead projects from discovery through delivery, combining statistical methods, software development, and AI tools to support business decisions and reshape the traveler experience across planning, booking, and support.

What You’ll Do

• Identify opportunities in pricing, resource allocation, and operational efficiency, using quantitative models to compare options, assess trade-offs, and recommend improvements.
• Design analyses and experiments that help teams understand customer behavior, evaluate initiatives, and choose where to invest.
• Build reusable data-science solutions in Python and SQL, ranging from exploratory analysis to tested analytical workflows developed alongside Engineering.
• Develop forecasting and scenario models that support business planning and resource decisions.
• Build AI-enabled analytical applications, partnering closely with Engineering on deployment, evaluation, access controls, and monitoring.
• Use AI to explore research, generate hypotheses, and assess analytical approaches with appropriate validation of sources and results.
• Apply AI-assisted development to prototyping, testing, and documentation alongside established software-engineering practices.
• Explore business and customer data to surface patterns, explain performance, and guide further analysis.

What We’re Looking For

• 4+ years of experience in data science, applied analytics, or a related quantitative role, or an equivalent record of relevant delivery.
• Strong Python and SQL skills, with hands-on experience developing analytical or machine-learning solutions using real-world data.
• Background in statistics, mathematics, economics, computer science, or a related quantitative discipline, gained through study or applied experience.
• Hands-on experience using AI tools in research and software development.
• Applied experience with statistical modeling, forecasting, and experimental methods.
• Proven ability to collaborate with business and technical teams to develop and deliver data-driven solutions and communicate analytical findings and trade-offs to a range of audiences.
• Useful Experience:
  • Cloud data platforms, automated analytical workflows or applied optimization.
  • Developing and deploying AI-enabled applications, including evaluation and monitoring.
  • Experience in travel, payments, fintech or another transaction-driven business.