Senior Data Scientist – Python, R, SQL, EDA, GCP, Vertex AI, IBM Watsonx

Before you apply to a job, select your language preference from the options available at the top right of this page.

Explore your next opportunity at a Fortune Global 500 organization. Envision innovative possibilities, experience our rewarding culture, and work with talented teams that help you become better every day. We know what it takes to lead UPS into tomorrow—people with a unique combination of skill + passion. If you have the qualities and drive to lead yourself or teams, there are roles ready to cultivate your skills and take you to the next level.

Job Description

Job Summary

The Data Scientist designs, develops, and implements advanced analytics and generative AI models to deliver predictive and prescriptive insights from large-scale structured and unstructured data. This role partners with cross-functional teams to translate business challenges into data-driven solutions, leveraging industry-standard machine learning, generative AI, and data visualization tools to inform confident decision-making and drive innovative product creation.

The Data Scientist applies cutting-edge tools and technologies across on-premises and cloud environments (including GCP Vertex AI and IBM Watsonx) to design descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive solutions. This position also fosters data literacy and promotes the adoption of AI and ML capabilities across UPS.

Responsibilities

• Define and integrate key data sources (internal UPS data and external datasets) to deliver predictive and generative AI models.
• Develop and implement robust data pipelines for cleansing, transformation, and enrichment of large, multi-source datasets.
• Collaborate with data engineering teams to validate and test data pipelines and models during proof-of-concept and production phases.
• Perform exploratory data analysis (EDA) to identify trends, correlations, and actionable patterns that meet business needs.
• Design and deploy generative AI solutions, integrating them into analytics and product development workflows.
• Define and track model KPIs, ensuring ongoing validation, testing, and retraining of models to align with business objectives.
• Create reusable and scalable solutions through clear documentation, process flows, logs, and clean, well-commented code.
• Communicate findings through concise reports, data visualizations, and storytelling to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Present operationalized insights and provide strategic recommendations to business and executive-level stakeholders.
• Apply best practices in statistical modeling, machine learning, generative AI, distributed computing, cloud-based AI, and performance optimization for production deployment.
• Leverage emerging tools, open-source frameworks, and cloud technologies (including Vertex AI, Databricks, and IBM WatsonX) to create predictive and prescriptive analytics solutions.

Education

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative discipline (e.g., Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Operations Research, or related field).

Master’s degree preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 5+ years of experience in applied data science, machine learning, generative AI, or advanced analytics.
• Proven experience in building and launching moderate-to-large-scale analytics and AI projects into production.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in Python, R, and SQL for data preparation, querying, and model development.
• Strong knowledge of supervised, unsupervised, and generative AI techniques such as regression, classification, clustering, causal inference, and large language models (LLMs).
• Hands-on experience with GCP Vertex AI, IBM WatsonX, Databricks, or SageMaker, and frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Keras.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Shiny, D3) to communicate insights effectively.
• Experience working with Linux/Unix and Windows environments.
• Familiarity with Java or C++ is a plus.

Professional Skills

• Strong analytical skills with attention to detail and a rigorous problem-solving approach.
• Ability to translate complex business problems into high-level AI and analytics solutions.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to explain analytical and generative AI concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong storytelling skills to communicate data-driven insights in a clear, impactful way.

Preferred Experience

• Expertise in cloud AI technologies (GCP, IBM WatsonX, AWS, Azure) and modern data pipelines.
• Demonstrated success in implementing generative AI (LLMs, text-to-image, summarization, conversational AI) for business use cases.
• Track record of curiosity and innovation, with the ability to explore complex datasets and generate actionable insights.
• Background in operations research or quantitative social science is a strong plus.

Employee Type

Permanent

UPS is committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.