Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. John Deere is focused on addressing the world's biggest challenges through innovation and technology. The Staff Data Scientist will lead the design and deployment of scalable data science and machine learning solutions to enable data-driven decision making.
Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end data science initiatives from problem framing and methodology selection through prototype development, validation, deployment, monitoring, and production support
- Design and build scalable machine learning, statistical, causal inference, and sequence analysis solutions using modern data science and cloud-based platforms
- Develop production-ready models, features, data pipelines, and analytical workflows using tools such as Python, SQL, Spark, Databricks, feature stores, and cloud platforms
- Partner with product, engineering, data engineering, agronomy/domain experts, and leadership stakeholders to define use cases, success criteria, analytical requirements, and delivery plans
- Establish and maintain model validation, performance measurement, monitoring, data quality, documentation, and governance practices to ensure reliable, explainable, and defensible insights
- Provide technical mentorship to other data scientists and staff members, including guidance on modeling approaches, architecture, code quality, validation methods, and production best practices
- Manage multiple cross-functional initiatives simultaneously, prioritize work, align dependencies, manage deadlines, communicate risks, and drive delivery of measurable outcomes
- Communicate complex technical methods, assumptions, limitations, tradeoffs, risks, and business implications clearly to technical and non-technical audiences
- Stay current on emerging AI, machine learning, data engineering, and analytics technologies, and evaluate where new approaches can improve business outcomes
Skills
- 5 or more years of relevant technical experience in data science, machine learning, analytics, AI, product innovation, or related technical roles
- 1 or more years of experience providing technical leadership on one or more projects, including mentoring or guiding staff members on technical work
- Strong hands-on experience building, validating, and deploying machine learning, statistical, or AI models using Python or related object-oriented programming approaches
- Strong experience using SQL and large-scale data platforms such as Spark, Databricks, or similar technologies to query, transform, and analyze large datasets
- Experience designing and delivering production-ready data science solutions, including reusable code, testing, documentation, monitoring, and production support practices
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple cross-functional initiatives simultaneously, including planning, prioritization, stakeholder alignment, dependency management, deadline management, and delivery tracking
- Ability to work independently in ambiguous or rapidly changing environments and translate loosely defined business problems into structured analytical plans and measurable deliverables
- Strong foundation in statistics, experimental design, observational study design, model validation, uncertainty, bias, confounding, robustness, stability, drift, and business relevance
- Experience collaborating with product, engineering, data engineering, domain experts, and business stakeholders to define requirements and deliver data-driven solutions
- Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain technical methods, tradeoffs, assumptions, risks, results, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Experience using data in digital solutions and meaningfully collaborating with technical experts across functions
- Demonstrated ability to mentor others, influence technical direction, establish best practices, and raise the quality of data science delivery across a team
- PhD in Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Agriculture-related fields, or another quantitative discipline
- Deep experience with causal inference in observational data settings, including DAG-based causal reasoning, treatment/control design, propensity or balancing approaches, doubly robust estimation, sensitivity analysis, or related methods
- Experience with benchmarking, similarity modeling, cohort construction, embeddings, semantic search, vector databases, or related analytical approaches
- Experience with sequence modeling or sequence analysis methods such as Markov models, sequence alignment, dynamic time warping, temporal embeddings, transformers for event sequences, survival/time-to-event modeling, or process mining
- Experience working with agronomic, precision agriculture, machine, field-operation, yield, weather, soil, crop-stage, geospatial, remote-sensing, or satellite imagery datasets
- Hands-on experience with geospatial analytics tools and libraries such as GeoPandas, H3, Rasterio, GDAL, QGIS, ArcGIS, or related spatial tooling
- Experience operationalizing data science models using CI/CD, automated testing, feature stores, data quality checks, model monitoring, and production support processes
- Experience implementing emerging AI technologies, including GenAI, agentic systems, autonomous workflows, RAG, embeddings, foundation model adaptation, evaluation, monitoring, and governance
- Strong systems thinking, synthesis, software execution planning, and stakeholder storytelling skills
- Experience in early-stage product, R&D, innovation, or research-oriented environments
- Experience building customer-facing or product-integrated analytics where outputs must be explainable, defensible, trusted, and actionable
- Familiarity with John Deere's Precision Tech Stack or related digital agriculture platforms
- Background in agriculture, digital farming, agronomy, field operations, customer behavior, or decision-support systems
Benefits
- Flexible work arrangements
- Highly competitive base pay
- Savings & Retirement benefits (401K and Defined Contribution)
- Healthcare benefits with a generous company contribution in the Health Savings Account
- Adoption assistance
- Employee Assistance Programs
- Tuition assistance
- Fitness subsidies and on-site gyms at specific Deere locations
- Charitable contribution match
- Employee Purchase Plan & numerous discount programs for personal use
- Vacation and Holiday Pay
Company Overview