Senior Data Scientist, AI Operations

Our Company Promise

We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.

Job Summary

All of Southwest’s People come together to deliver on our Purpose; Connecting People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. The Senior Data Scientist delivers on our Purpose by serving as an internal consultant and subject matter expert, responsible for leading the application of statistics/math, business acumen, and computer science concepts to collect, organize, analyze, summarize, and interpret data; and lead the development of data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence or optimization products which generate competitive advantage for the enterprise by driving actionable insights and decisions in support of descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, or prescriptive business needs. This role will first focus on developing the framework for automatic model retraining and returning, and then it will develop into a research and development role for emerging concepts and technologies. The Senior Data Scientist is a detail-oriented thinker who is ready to be part of meaningful and impactful initiatives and drive the future of Southwest.

Additional details:

The culture of Southwest Airlines means we embrace a flexible workplace and value the camaraderie, collaboration, and innovation that occurs when we come together and interact face-to-face at our vibrant Corporate Campus. This role is a hybrid position based out of our Corporate Campus in Dallas, TX, which requires Employees to work onsite on our Corporate Campus at least three days a week. The Department designates the specific three days of the week Employees must work on-site.   

Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We continue to look for opportunities to reflect the communities we serve, and welcome applicants with diverse thoughts, backgrounds, and experiences. 

Responsibilities

• Drives complex data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or optimization projects, working with stakeholders to understand contextual problems quickly and define, analyze, and deliver solutions based on business objectives
• Leads the application of math, statistics, and modeling methods in order to create solutions which can be utilized in descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics
• Leads the ongoing effectiveness of models in use by stakeholders
• Drives the formulation and communication of solutions and options for highly complex business problems
• Supports the ongoing development of analytical IQ by collaborating with and contributing to the Southwest Airlines data science community
• Provides mentorship and guidance to junior team members and reviews their work to ensure quality deliverables
• Acts as a thought leader, interacting with cross functional leaders across multiple concurrent projects and leveraging past experience to influence business strategy
• May perform other job duties as directed by Employee's Leaders

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Expert knowledge of developments in data science and adjacent fields and their application towards the domain or department
• Expert knowledge in statistics and math concepts
• Expert knowledge of data science project life cycle including engaging stakeholders to define the problem, solution definition, project planning, and executing per plan
• Intermediate knowledge of, at a broad level, how technology platforms and architectures are applicable to data science
• Skilled in compiling, cleaning, transforming, analysis, and visualization of large-scale data
• Skilled in statistical and scripting programming languages
• Ability to communicate in an engaging way with strong verbal and written communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences up to and including executives
• Ability to evaluate which data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence or optimization techniques and methods are appropriate for a business problem in a demonstrated way and is seen as a subject matter expert when making recommendations for solutions
• Ability to collaborate with vendors and evaluate their platforms, solutions, or techniques
• Ability to adjust to a variety of situations and support other team members in adopting new approaches and methodologies if necessary in order to effectively meet business objectives

Education

• Required: High School Diploma or GED
• Required: Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics, Computer or Data Sciences, Information Technology or similar fields of study; or equivalent advance level experience

Experience

• Expert level experience, expansive and far reaching knowledge in:
  • Mathematics and statistics principles and techniques
  • Programming languages and query writing for large-scale analysis (Python, SQL, etc.)
  • Data analysis, advanced analytics, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or optimization project experience
  • Data pipeline, data science and/or relevant programming
  • Visualization and presentation development and delivery
  • Solving ambiguous and complex problems through a systems thinking approach
  • Building relationships and trust across functional organizations
  • Mentoring and upskilling/reskilling team members
• Preferred: Experience with Generative AI, Reinforcement Learning, Graph Databases, Vector Databases, R&D.

Physical Abilities

• Ability to perform work duties from [limited space work station/desk/office area] for extended periods of time
• Ability to communicate and interact with others in the English language to meet the demands of the job
• Ability to use a computer and other office productivity tools with sufficient speed and accuracy to meet the demands of the job

Other Qualifications

• Must maintain a well-groomed appearance per Company appearance standards as described in established guidelines
• Must be a U.S. citizen or have authorization to work in the United States as defined by the Immigration Reform Act of 1986
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Must be able to comply with Company attendance standards as described in established guidelines
• Must meet confidentiality expectations as to confidential, proprietary and sensitive Company information

Pay & Benefits:

Competitive market salary from $151,400 per year to $168,200 per year* depending on qualifications and experience. For eligible Leadership and individual contributor roles, additional bonus opportunities are available and awarded at the discretion of the company.

Benefits you’ll love:

• Fly for free, as a privilege, on any open seat on all Southwest flights (your eligible dependents too) 
• Up to a 9.3% 401(k) Company match, dollar for dollar, of your eligible pay, per paycheck *
• Potential for annual ProfitSharing contribution toward retirement - when Southwest profits, you profit**
• Explore more Benefits you’ll love: https://careers.southwestair.com/benefits

*Pay amount does not guarantee employment for any particular period of time.

**401(k) match contributions are subject to the plan’s vesting schedule and applicable IRS limits

***ProfitSharing contributions are subject to plan’s vesting schedule and are made at the discretion of the Company

Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer.