Senior Data Scientist

PENN Entertainment, Inc. is North America’s leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. From casinos and racetracks to online gaming, sports betting and entertainment content, we deliver the experiences people want, how and where they want them.

We’re always on the lookout for those who are passionate about creating and delivering cutting-edge online gaming and sports media products. Whether it’s through ESPN BET, Hollywood Casino, theScore Bet Sportsbook & Casino, or theScore media app, we’re excited to push the boundaries of what’s possible. These state-of-the-art platforms are powered by proprietary in-house technology, a key component of PENN’s omnichannel gaming and entertainment strategy.

When you join PENN Entertainment’s digital team, you’ll not only work on these cutting-edge platforms through theScore and PENN Interactive, but you’ll also be part of a company that truly cares about your career growth. We’re committed to supporting you as you expand your skills and explore new opportunities.

With locations throughout North America, you can build a future at PENN Entertainment wherever you are. If you want to challenge conventions in gaming, media and entertainment, we want to talk to you.

About the Role & Team 

On the Analytics & Data Science, our mission is to develop high-quality and sustainable data-driven solutions that improve profitability, growth, and the user experience for ESPN Bet.  As a Senior Data Scientist specializing in Personalization, you'll play a key role in designing and implementing innovative personalization strategies that drive significant impact on user engagement and satisfaction. You'll leverage your deep understanding of data science principles, techniques, and tools, as well as your proven expertise in personalization engines, to design, build, and deploy sophisticated models that deliver the right content, to the right user, at the right time. 

The ideal candidate possesses strong modeling and technical skills, a passion for rigorous statistical analysis, a background in developing and deploying high-impact personalization engines, and a genuine interest in the world of professional sports, betting, and esports. 

About the Work 

• Serve as a technical leader within the team, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment
• Partner with stakeholders to deeply identify business problems that can be solved through impactful personalization initiatives
• Utilize your mastery of recommender systems, two-tower models, and other advanced personalization techniques to architect, build and deploy high-impact solutions that strategically advance the ESPN Bet and theScore product strategies
• Take full ownership of critical components within data science projects, defining the roadmap and leading cross-functional teams
• Collaborate with Data Engineers and Machine Learning Engineers to guarantee seamless integration, deployment, and production readiness
• Contribute to the ongoing evolution of our data science infrastructure and champion best practices
• Drive Innovation by staying at the forefront of data science and machine learning trends
• Confidently present your solutions and strategic recommendations to diverse audiences, including senior leadership, using compelling narratives, insightful data visualizations, and a deep understanding of business implications to influence critical decision-making
• Other duties as required

About You 

• Ideally 4+ years of industry experience (Data Scientist, ML Engineer, etc.)
• University degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics or related field
• Strong track record of designing, prototyping, scaling and deploying data science products to solve complex business challenges (with a focus on recommendation engines)
• Expert coding skills in general purpose languages like Python, and familiarity with robust software engineering principles
• Deep understanding of Machine Learning lifecycle, best practices, algorithms and domains
• Fundamental understanding of the data engineering practices around creation of data pipelines, processing data and storing data using technologies such as Spark  
• Experience collaborating with and understanding the needs of stakeholders from a variety of business domains and ability to incorporate their expertise into the end state solution  
• Demonstrated ability to take a product-oriented mindset in using conceptual and innovative thinking to develop and apply solutions taking into consideration the user experience
• Proven ability to communicate complex topics clearly and effectively to audiences of varying technical levels both in written and oral settings
• Experience with automation & orchestration tools such as Airflow, Dagster, DBT or Cron jobs.
• Knowledge of the sports betting industry is preferred, but not mandatory 

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Initial placement within the salary range is based on an individual's relevant knowledge, skills, and experience. Base salary is just one component of our competitive Total Rewards package, which includes wellness programs designed to support our team members' financial, physical, and mental well-being. Specific benefits—such as day-one medical coverage, 401(k) matching, annual performance bonus and equity package — depending on position. Paid time off is earned according to the local policy and increases with the length of employment.

Click HERE to discover how we empower team members to grow, thrive, and advance in their careers. Check out our LinkedIn page!