Senior/Staff Data Scientist, Storefront

Quince · San Francisco

Data & AIposted 2mo ago

ABOUT QUINCE

Quince is a destination for builders, creators, innovators, and operators who want to come together and challenge the status quo. Our mission is simple: make really high quality essentials for really low prices, fairly and sustainably. We deliver on that mission through a unique manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C) model eliminating the layers of traditional retail that add cost and result in consumers paying more than they need to. We find, build relationships with, and work directly with the manufacturing partners behind some of the world’s finest products. From there, our teams design smart, efficient operational processes and build and deploy proprietary technology, AI, and analytics to help us scale fast.

What began with a small assortment of elevated basics has quickly grown into a cross-category brand spanning apparel, accessories, home goods, and more. Today, tens of millions of people across a growing number of countries come – and return – to Quince because they trust us to deliver.

OUR CULTURE

Quince is a culture built for builders by builders. Our way of working starts with a blank sheet of paper. We question conventional thinking, use technology and data to uncover new opportunities, and move quickly to turn ideas into reality. We aren’t interested in replicating how others do retail. We’re building a better way – at a speed and scale unlike anything that’s been done before.

We dream big and chase the hard problems others shy away from. Rejecting long-held assumptions is part of our company's DNA. Where conventional wisdom says you have to choose – soft or durable, speed or rigor, quality or price – we ask why that trade-off has to exist in the first place.
Our pace is fast and the bar is high because our customers expect a lot from us and we refuse to let them down. We believe the best results come from challenging ourselves, learning from one another, and building on each other's strengths.
Here, responsibility is not determined by role, tenure, or seniority. Every team member - no matter their level - has the opportunity to drive our business and shape our trajectory.

If you’re someone who likes to imagine new possibilities and build better systems rather than plug-in to outdated ones, Quince is the place for you.

THE ROLE

Senior/Staff Data Scientist, Storefront

We are seeking a highly analytical and technical Data Scientist to join our Storefront team. In this role, you will own end-to-end modeling work across high-priority surfaces — spanning Recommendations and Personalization, Search, and AI-powered Shopping Experiences — and your contributions will have direct, measurable impact on conversion, discovery, and user satisfaction at scale. You will report to our VP of Engineering and collaborate closely with engineering managers, software engineers, and product managers to move our capabilities from traditional models into near real-time, personalized, and Generative AI-driven experiences.

Responsibilities

Real-Time Personalization: Go beyond static product recommendations to develop and refine machine learning models that deliver near real-time personalization across our app and site surfaces, leveraging contextual signals to customize text and details for varied buyer intents (e.g., price-sensitive vs. quality/sustainability-first buyers).
In-House Search Platform: Assist in building our natural language search engine from 0 to 1, utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs like Claude and GPT) for query understanding, semantic search, and advanced language retrieval.
App Engagement: Design and implement algorithms for interactive app experiences to drive daily customer engagement.
End-to-End Pipeline Ownership: Create new relevance ranking features, build automated end-to-end modeling pipelines in Python and SQL, deploy ML models into production, and run rigorous live experiments.
Data Infrastructure & Tooling: Identify data gaps, write clear data product specifications, and partner with Engineering to establish robust real-time tracking and performance monitoring frameworks.
Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as a technical partner to product and business squads, translating business targets into actionable data science solutions and presenting complex analytical outcomes to leadership.

Qualifications

Required:

2+ years of industry experience as a data scientist, with a strong preference for consumer-facing products or e-commerce applications operating at high scale.
MS or PhD in statistics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, or a highly quantitative field.
Exceptional proficiency in Python and SQL, alongside deep production knowledge of standard data science and machine learning libraries.
Hands-on experience developing and deploying production-grade Recommender Systems, Relevance Ranking, or Personalization pipelines.
Proven experience working with Generative AI or LLM application workflows for tasks like text parsing or context-driven query understanding.
Strong model productionalization skills with a customer-first mindset, allowing you to elegantly balance statistical accuracy against latency and engineering constraints in real-time environments.

Preferred:

Experience replacing or augmenting traditional NLP systems with LLMs for complex text parsing and language understanding.
Familiarity with Business Intelligence tools (e.g., Looker, Tableau) to build internal dashboards for model tracking and metrics visibility.
Experience building data product specifications alongside distributed engineering teams to streamline model evaluation.

All posted ranges are reflective of base salary and may vary depending upon experience level and location. Bonus and equity may also be provided for eligible roles.

Pay Range

$171,000—$285,000 USD

WHY QUINCE?

Joining Quince means being part of a mission-driven team reshaping retail. You will work alongside talented colleagues, tackle meaningful challenges, and contribute to building a more sustainable, accessible future for customers and partners alike.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & HIRING INTEGRITY

Quince provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applications for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Quince is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete your application or to perform the essential functions of a role at Quince, please let us know by completing this accommodation form. We review all requests individually and will work with you to determine appropriate accommodations on a case-by-case basis.

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Quince will conduct background checks in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Security Advisory: Beware of Frauds

At Quince, we're dedicated to recruiting top talent who share our drive for innovation. To safeguard candidates, Quince emphasizes legitimate recruitment practices. Initial communication is primarily via official Quince email addresses and LinkedIn; beware of deviations. Personal data and sensitive information will not be solicited during the application phase. Interviews are conducted via phone, in person, or through the approved platforms Google Meets or Zoom—never via messaging apps or other calling services. Offers are merit-based, communicated verbally, and followed up in writing. If personal information is requested to initiate the hiring process, rest assured it will be through secure and protected means.