Senior Data Scientist, Search & Recommendations

At DICK’S Sporting Goods, we believe in how positively sports can change lives. On our team, everyone plays a critical role in creating confidence and excitement by personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams.  We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce, reflecting the communities we serve.

If you are ready to make a difference as part of the world’s greatest sports team, apply to join our team today!

OVERVIEW:

As a Senior Data Scientist, Search & Recommendation, you will be a key individual contributor within the AI/ML team responsible for building and improving intelligent search and recommendation systems that power customer and athlete experiences across omnichannel platforms. You will collaborate closely with machine learning engineers, software engineers, product managers, and data engineers to design and deploy models that improve relevance, personalization, ranking, retrieval, and discovery. This role focuses on applied machine learning and GenAI-driven systems across both search and recommendation domains.

Job purpose
You will be a hands-on data scientist responsible for designing, building, and iterating ML models that improve search and recommendation experiences at scale. You will work closely with engineering and product teams to translate business goals into production-ready ML systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement machine learning models for search and recommendation systems, including ranking, retrieval, personalization, and query understanding

• Build ranking and recommendation models using user behavior, embeddings, content signals, and contextual features

• Develop personalization systems that tailor results based on user behavior, preferences, and contextual signals (e.g., location, browsing history)

• Collaborate with data and search engineers to build scalable data pipelines supporting search and recommendation systems

• Partner with software engineers to integrate ML models into production services via APIs

• Design and execute A/B tests to evaluate model performance and business impact

• Monitor offline and online metrics to identify opportunities for improving relevance, ranking, and engagement

• Apply modern ML and GenAI techniques (embeddings, LLM-based approaches) to improve search and discovery experiences

• Contribute to best practices in modeling, experimentation, and production ML systems

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 5+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI

• Strong experience with search, recommendation systems, or ranking problems

• Hands-on experience with Elasticsearch and/or Solr

• Strong Python skills and experience with ML frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch

• Experience with large-scale data processing tools such as Spark and distributed systems

• Experience integrating ML models into production systems via APIs

• Experience with experimentation frameworks and A/B testing

• Strong understanding of ML fundamentals: supervised learning, ranking models, embeddings, deep learning

• Exposure to GenAI tools (OpenAI APIs, LangChain, or similar) is a plus

• Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally with engineering and product teams

• Experience working in Agile environments

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or related quantitative field preferred

• 5-8 years of experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI

VIRTUAL REQUIREMENTS:

At DICK’S, we thrive on innovation and authenticity. That said, to protect the integrity and security of our hiring process, we ask that candidates do not use AI tools (like ChatGPT or others) during interviews or assessments.

To ensure a smooth and secure experience, please note the following:

• Cameras must be on during all virtual interviews.

• AI tools are not permitted to be used by the candidate during any part of the interview process.

• Offers are contingent upon a satisfactory background check which may include ID verification.

If you have any questions or need accommodations, we’re here to help. Thanks for helping us keep the process fair and secure for everyone!