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Senior Data Scientist

Who We Are

Founded in 2005, the 2K label includes some of the most talented game development studios in the world today including: Firaxis Games, Visual Concepts, Hangar 13, 2K Czech and Cat Daddy Games. Our world-class team of engineers, developers, graphic artists and publishing professionals are stewards of a growing library of critically-acclaimed franchises such as Battleborn, BioShock, Borderlands, The Darkness, Mafia, NBA 2K, Sid Meier’s Civilization, WWE 2K, and XCOM. 2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment globally for console systems, handheld gaming systems and personal computers, including smartphones and tablets, which are delivered through physical retail, digital download, online platforms, and cloud streaming services. 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, sports, casual, and family entertainment.

What We Need

We are looking for skilled and passionate data scientists to work in our growing central Data Science team. They will primarily focus on console/PC games and be responsible for crunching data, building models, and extracting insights. Model outputs in a production environment to power live-ops (in-game monetization) and marketing (in-game, in-console, and direct). Insights by leadership to manage the business and improve the product.

Our games are played by millions every day, and in-game monetization is part of the Analytics group, so our team has a very rich dataset to play with and a direct path to implementing our outputs.

What You Will Do

• Be responsible for developing analytics and machine learning models related to game growth, player retention, DAU, engagement, and in-game revenue
• Oversee machine learning building, time series analysis, experiment design, forecasting, and metrics/reporting design to help our growth teams operate effectively.
• Be responsible for 2K`s data-driven operational productivity, operational excellence, and business impact
• Communicate machine learning, analytics, and data science models` outputs and directly assist senior leaders in decision making
• Own the strategy, analytics, and data science of all aspects of pricing and promotions at 2K.
• Focus on leveraging data and hypothesis-driven decision making to drive future growth and customer lifetime value
• Analyze player gameplay and economy telemetry data to understand player behavior and suggest actions to improve the player experience.
• Collaborate with growth, marketing, and product to build new ML algorithms and features
• Build player churn prediction; spend propensity, lifetime value, and marketing efficacy models.
• Build longitudinal forecasting, economic/financial, and operational efficiency models.
• Test acquisition, engagement, and monetization strategies to improve performance across each
• Work closely with development teams to provide insights into game quality, difficulty, and fun.
• Establish and distribute regular performance reports based on simple telemetry and advanced models.
• Perform ad hoc analyses for growth, marketing, production, and operations.
• Present analysis findings in writing and via presentation (including for remote groups).

Who We Think Will Be A Great Fit

The ideal candidate must see the underlying story in the data, build sophisticated or simple models depending on the situation, and develop a compelling communication to executives. Being a solution-oriented, creative problem solver; a self-starter with the passion and enthusiasm to drive results for meaningful change is critical for this role.

• MS or Ph.D. in Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Sciences (or in another quantitative discipline).
• Senior Data Scientist-level: 4+ years of experience in data mining & analytics, building machine learning models with very large, complex, and multi-dimensional data sets.
• Experience with predictive modeling techniques and accomplished using R or Python machine learning and related modules.
• Expert in relational databases, SQL data carpentry. Experience with big data technologies such as Spark or NoSQL DBs, columnar databases like Vertica a plus. We use Snowflake for our DWH.
• Experience with data visualization tools, Tableau preferred.
• Excellent communication skills, with a proven track record of working across all levels of the organization – having the information is one thing, you must be able to disseminate and educate.
• Drive to solve problems, meet deadlines, and build whatever is necessary along the way
• Experience understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different modeling approaches and can effectively reason about when to apply different combinations and iterate
• Demonstrated expert communication, facilitation, and collaboration skills to effectively present, explain, influence, and advise within cross-functional teams

Bonus Points

• Video games industry experience and/or gaming familiarity helpful.