Principal Data Scientist

Principal Scientist (Scientist IV) Job Description

Location: Based in Austin, TX

About Us:

Valkyrie is an applied science firm that builds industry-defining custom AI, Machine Learning and Knowledge Engineering solutions. Our interdisciplinary applied science teams support our clients end-to-end—from data normalization through model deployment—solving complex, high-impact problems across commercial and government sectors. Our work spans industries and institutions including SiriusXM, Activision, Chubb Insurance, and the U.S. Department of Defense. We operate at the intersection of deep technical rigor, operational excellence, and real-world impact.

Principal Scientist Position:

Principal Scientists serve as senior technical leaders responsible for shaping, scoping, and delivering applied AI and advanced analytics solutions for client organizations. They lead small cross-functional project teams (typically 1–3 scientists and engineers per project) and ensure that solutions are technically sound, aligned with client needs, and delivered with high quality.

This role combines hands-on technical contribution, technical leadership, and client interaction. Principal Scientists are expected to remain deeply engaged in modeling, analysis, and development while guiding teams through ambiguity, evolving requirements, and complex stakeholder environments.

This is not a pure individual contributor role and not a solely people-management role; it is a technical leadership position centered on project execution, client trust, and scientific rigor.

Principal Scientist Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership & Project Execution

• Translate ambiguous business problems into structured technical approaches
• Architect, build, and validate ML models, experiments, and analytical pipelines
• Maintain high standards of code quality, experimentation rigor, and documentation
• Evaluate and integrate new tools or methods as projects require

Client Engagement & Advisory

• Serve as a trusted technical partner to client stakeholders
• Lead technical discussions and guide expectation-setting
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical audiences
• Contribute to strategic deliverables (AI roadmaps, data maturity assessments, and data architecture redesigns)
• Build long-term client trust through thoughtful execution and pragmatic guidance

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead and mentor small teams of data scientists and engineers
• Provide technical direction, feedback, and mentorship
• Guide teams through ambiguity, evolving requirement and delivery milestones
• Ensure quality control across modeling, code, and deliverables
• Foster a culture of scientific curiosity and disciplined execution

Strategic Contribution & Business Support

• Collaborate with business development teams on new opportunities
• Contribute to proposal development and drafting Statements of Work (SOWs)
• Provide insight into emerging technologies and methods relevant to client needs

Principal Scientist Qualifications:

We encourage candidates to apply even if they don’t have 100% of the below qualifications. We believe in a holistic approach when evaluating talent for our team and post new roles often, so even if this role isn’t quite right, we want to meet you!                                                                          

• Bachelor’s or higher in Computer Science, STEM, or related field
• 8+ years of relevant professional experience
• 5+ years delivering applied AI/ML or advanced analytics solutions in consulting (preferred) or centralized enterprise AI/data science teams
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous business problems into structured technical solutions
• Proven ability to independently engage clients while leading small technical teams
• Experience designing and validating machine learning models, experiments, and analytical pipelines.
• Strong Python proficiency with common data science and ML ecosystems (e.g. scikit-learn, Pandas, Polars, seaborn, Plotly, Jupyter, PySpark, PyTorch/Tensor Flow, Hugging Face)
• Familiarity with SQL and enterprise database environments (relational, cloud-native, or hybrid) (e.g. Snowflake,  PostgresSQL, Oracle)
• Working knowledge of cloud deployment patterns and modern data/ML infrastructure (e.g. AWS, Azure, GCP, Dask, Airflow, Prefect, Databricks, Sagemaker)
• Ability to evaluate unfamiliar techniques quickly and integrate them pragmatically
• Demonstrated experience across 2+ industry verticals/domains
• Strong mentorship and team leadership experience

Like-to-Have Qualifications:

• Familiarity with graph theory, graph databases (Neptune, Neo4j)
• Experience collaborating with business development teams to secure new engagements
• Experience leading or directing multiple projects simultaneously
• Experience managing junior scientists or small technical teams

Perks:

• Tremendous growth potential
• Open and unlimited PTO & Sick time
• Medical, dental, vision, & HSA options
• 401K
• Parking Included
• Onsite gym & showers
• Stocked kitchen with healthy snacks, drinks, coffee, etc
• Team events including happy hours, catered lunches, and other fun outings
• Innovative, collaborative, and fun work environment that fosters a positive and supportive culture for growth