Senior Data Scientist

<p>Toast creates technology to help restaurants and local businesses succeed in a digital world, helping business owners operate, increase sales, engage customers, and keep employees happy.</p> <p>As a Senior Data Scientist in our Bangalore Data Science team, you will operate as an independent problem solver, owning end-to-end development of machine learning solutions powered by our large-scale point-of-sale transaction data. You will navigate ambiguous problem spaces, translate loosely defined business challenges into well-scoped data science problems, and drive them through to measurable impact.</p> <p>You will bring a strong engineering mindset to your work—designing scalable solutions, writing production-quality code, and partnering closely with engineers and architects to deploy robust, reliable models. Beyond model development, you will be responsible for ensuring solutions are production-ready, monitored, and continuously improved.</p> <p>Collaborating cross-functionally with product managers, engineers, and business stakeholders, you will tackle complex problems across the Fintech domain. Your work will directly influence product decisions and drive tangible business outcomes across multiple product lines.</p> <p><strong>A day in the life (Responsibilities)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Demonstrated experience in designing and deploying <strong>agentic AI workflows and ML/DL solutions</strong> in production, with a strong focus on reliability and scalability.</li> <li>Independently lead the&nbsp;<strong>end-to-end lifecycle of machine learning solutions</strong>—from problem framing and model development to deployment and impact measurement</li> <li>Collaborate closely with Product, Data Science, ML Engineering, and Platform teams to translate business problems into agent-driven solutions</li> <li>Decompose ambiguous, large-scale problems into&nbsp;<strong>structured, iterative deliverables</strong> that drive incremental and measurable business value.</li> <li>Maintain high standards of&nbsp;<strong>code quality, documentation, and reproducibility</strong>, enabling scalability and knowledge sharing across the team</li> <li>Stay at the forefront of advancements in AI/ML and <strong>bring best practices into the team’s workflows and systems</strong></li> <li>Help in continuing to build out and expand the Data Science and ML Engineering teams</li> <li>Thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment, balancing&nbsp;<strong>technical rigor with business priorities</strong> to deliver sustained impact.</li> </ul> <p><br><strong>What you'll need to thrive (Requirements)</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Educational Foundation:</strong> Advanced degree in Data Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.</li> <li><strong>Experience &amp; Ownership:</strong> 6+ years of industry experience in Machine Learning/AI, with a demonstrated ability to independently own and deliver end-to-end data science solutions—from problem framing to production deployment and impact measurement.</li> <li><strong>Core ML Expertise:</strong> Strong hands-on experience across supervised and unsupervised learning, including classification, regression, clustering, segmentation, anomaly detection, and predictive modeling.</li> <li><strong>Modeling &amp; Algorithms:</strong> Deep proficiency in modern ML techniques such as ensemble and boosting methods (e.g., Random Forest, XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost), along with strong foundations in statistical modeling, feature engineering, optimization, and rigorous model evaluation.</li> <li><strong>Advanced Applications:</strong> Experience working with advanced ML paradigms including deep learning, time series forecasting, recommendation systems, and handling both structured and unstructured data at scale.</li> <li><strong>Agentic AI in Production:</strong> Proven experience designing and deploying agentic or autonomous AI systems in real-world production environments.</li> <li><strong>Engineering Excellence:</strong> Strong programming skills in Python and SQL, with experience in tools and frameworks such as Spark, Scala, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar. Ability to write clean, maintainable, production-grade code.</li> <li><strong>Production &amp; MLOps Mindset:</strong> Familiarity with software engineering best practices—object-oriented design, testing (TDD), CI/CD, version control (Git), and workflow orchestration (Airflow, Luigi). Experience with cloud ecosystems (preferably AWS, including SageMaker, ECS, DynamoDB) is a strong plus.</li> <li><strong>Cross-functional Collaboration:</strong> Ability to work effectively with product managers, engineers, and business stakeholders to identify opportunities, influence decisions, and translate business problems into data-driven solutions.</li> <li><strong>Problem Solving &amp; Communication:</strong> Strong analytical mindset with the ability to navigate ambiguity, dive deep into complex datasets, and clearly communicate insights and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical audiences.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Bonus</strong> <strong><em>ingredients*</em></strong><strong>:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Passion for research and curiosity that calls you to go beyond “good enough” to create something innovative and exciting</li> </ul> <p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>AI at Toast</strong></p> <p>At Toast, one of our company values is that we're hungry to build and learn. We believe learning new AI tools empowers us to build for our customers faster, more independently, and with higher quality. We provide these tools across all disciplines, from Engineering and Product to Sales and Support, and are inspired by how our Toasters are already driving real value with them. The people who thrive here are those who embrace changes that let us build more for our customers; it’s a core part of our culture.</p> <p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>Our Total Rewards Philosophy&nbsp;<br></strong>We strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs that help to attract, retain, and motivate the best and brightest people in our industry. Our total rewards package goes beyond great earnings potential and provides the means to a healthy lifestyle with the flexibility to meet Toasters’ changing needs. Learn more about our benefits at&nbsp;<a class="c-link" href="https://careers.toasttab.com/toast-benefits" target="_blank" data-stringify-link="https://careers.toasttab.com/toast-benefits" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">https://careers.toasttab.com/toast-benefits&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="content-conclusion"><p><strong>How Toast Uses AI in its Hiring Process</strong></p> <p>Throughout the hiring process, our goal is to get to know you. We use AI tools to support our recruiters and interviewers with tasks like note-taking, summarization, and documentation of interviews to ensure they can be fully focused on your conversation. All hiring decisions are made by people. To learn more: <a href="https://careers.toasttab.com/ai-in-hiring&quot;&gt;https://careers.toasttab.com/ai-in-hiring&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p> <p><strong><strong data-stringify-type="bold">Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is Baked into our Recipe for Success</strong></strong></p> <p>At Toast, our employees are our secret ingredient—when they thrive, we thrive.&nbsp;The restaurant industry is one of the most diverse, and we embrace that diversity with authenticity, inclusivity, respect, and humility. By embedding these principles into our culture and design, we create equitable opportunities for all and raise the bar in delivering exceptional experiences.</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong data-stringify-type="bold">We Thrive Together</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We embrace a hybrid work model that fosters in-person collaboration while valuing individual needs. Our goal is to build a strong culture of connection as we work together to empower the restaurant community. To learn more about how we work globally and regionally, check out: <a class="c-link" href="https://careers.toasttab.com/locations-toast" target="_blank" data-stringify-link="https://careers.toasttab.com/locations-toast" data-sk="tooltip_parent">https://careers.toasttab.com/locations-toast&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p> <p><strong>Apply today!</strong></p> <p>Toast is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive hiring process. As part of this commitment, we strive to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities to enable them to access the hiring process. If you need an accommodation to access the job application or interview process, please contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p> <p><em>------</em></p> &lt*