Lead Data Scientist - Recommendations

Target is hiring a Lead Data Scientist to lead machine learning recommendations and personalization that support Target’s digital guest experiences.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for machine learning systems powering Target’s digital recommendations and personalization.
• Collaborate with data scientists, engineers, product managers, and business stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve guest experiences through recommendation, retrieval, ranking, and personalization at large scale.
• Lead end-to-end model work: design, development, evaluation, and deployment of machine learning models that influence how millions of guests discover products across Target digital experiences.
• Convert ambiguous business goals into scalable algorithmic solutions delivering measurable guest and business outcomes.
• Drive projects from problem definition through production deployment and measurement, balancing innovation with operational excellence and long-term maintainability.
• Shape the technical direction of Target’s recommendation capabilities by establishing best practices for model development, evaluation, and measurement and influencing decisions across product, engineering, and data science teams.
• Mentor and develop other scientists to raise the technical bar; contribute to the growth of Target’s data science community through collaboration, thought leadership, and adoption of emerging machine learning techniques and technologies.
• Communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Requirements

• PhD or MS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, or a related quantitative field, with 2+ years of industry experience.
• 5+ years developing machine learning solutions scaling systems for recommendation, personalization, ranking, retrieval, or search.
• Experience with reinforcement learning and/or contextual bandit design, implementation, and evaluation.
• Experience leading development, evaluation, and deployment of machine learning solutions and partnering with engineering teams to deliver scalable production systems.
• Strong programming in Python and SQL; experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX.
• Experience with large-scale data processing and analytics platforms such as Spark (or equivalent).
• Deep understanding of machine learning, deep learning, optimization, statistics, probability, and experimental design.
• Experience designing, analyzing, and interpreting online experiments and using results to inform product and business decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous business challenges into scalable machine learning solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction and align product, engineering, and business stakeholders.
• Experience leveraging modern AI and generative AI tools to accelerate development, experimentation, and model delivery.
• Excellent communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals: testing, code reviews, documentation, and maintainable system design.

Technologies

• Python
• SQL
• PyTorch
• JAX
• Spark

Location and Work Arrangement

• Minneapolis, MN (hybrid)
• May be considered for remote or hybrid work arrangement under Target’s “Flex for Your Day” program.
• Remote arrangement: full-time from home or an alternate non-Target location, no desk at a Target location, travel to HQ up to 4 times per year.
• Hybrid/Flex: core role may be performed remote or onsite at a Target location based on role, team, and day-to-day tasks.
• Work duties cannot be performed outside the country of the primary work location unless otherwise prescribed by Target.

Compensation

• USD 132,000 - 238,000 per year

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits and programs (may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more)
• 401(k)
• Employee discount
• Short term disability
• Long term disability
• Paid sick leave
• Paid national holidays
• Paid vacation
• Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond

Please paste this URL into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_E

ADA Information

• Target provides reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities in compliance with state and federal laws.
• For accommodation needs during the application or interview process, contact: [email protected]
• Non-accommodation requests (application follow-ups or technical issues) will not be addressed via this channel.

Application deadline: 10/29/2026