Senior Data Scientist - Alternative Data & AI

About the Role

The Alternative Data & AI team at our firm partners with clients to harness structured and unstructured non-financial datasets, applying advanced artificial intelligence approaches to craft financially impactful factors, actionable insights, and unique content tailored for capital markets clientele. The Senior Data Scientist serves as a pivotal contributor, driving AI-powered and data-driven solutions tailored to Institutional Research stakeholders and clients while fostering innovation where alternative data meets cutting-edge machine learning.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the creation and execution of statistical, machine learning, and mathematical models to address intricate research challenges, utilizing alternative datasets for advanced data analyses.
• Discover and assess innovative data sources—such as web scraping, geolocation, satellite imagery, NLP on unstructured data like news, and other unconventional signals—to generate exclusive insights for institutional research and clients.
• Work closely with equity and macro research teams, technology departments, and various stakeholders on strategic initiatives by offering advanced analytics, data modeling, cleaning, and optimization expertise.
• Develop and maintain robust data pipelines and infrastructures leveraging Databricks, Snowflake, PySpark, and SQL to ensure scalable, reliable data processing across extensive alternative data sets.
• Stay abreast of emerging technology trends including generative AI and large language models, applying these innovations to enhance the Alternative Data & AI platform.
• Create, update, and manage alternative data products, presentations, models, and proprietary databases to support client-facing research efforts.
• Lead cross-functional coordination to advance big data and alternative data capabilities within the team.
• Design and maintain custom indices and factor models using sound quantitative techniques, constructing and backtesting relevant financial indices derived from alternative data signals.
• Spot novel opportunities for engaging Research teams with innovative data products and AI-based analytical frameworks.
• Mentor junior data scientists, providing technical guidance and promoting a culture of continuous professional development.
• Offer senior-level research expertise regarding alternative data methodologies, index construction, and AI-driven analytics.
• Identify operational risks in business processes, ensure compliance with firm policies, and report any operational deficiencies or risks appropriately.

Required Qualifications

• Master's or PhD degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, or related quantitative disciplines.
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, NLP, or Statistics, ideally within capital markets or financial research sectors.
• Strong skills in quantitative modeling including statistical methods, machine learning techniques, and optimization applied to financial or alternative datasets.
• Proficient in analyzing large volumes of structured and unstructured data, with ability to communicate insights clearly to non-technical audiences.
• Practical experience working with Databricks for large-scale data processing and machine learning workflows and Snowflake for cloud-based data warehousing and analytics.
• Expertise in PySpark and SQL for distributed data processing, querying, transformation, and pipeline development over large datasets.
• Experience in constructing and maintaining financial indices and factor models, including backtesting quantitative indices derived from alternative or financial data.
• Creative and methodical approach to leveraging alternative data for insights on corporate financial performance and macroeconomic trends.
• Strong skills in data profiling, cleaning, feature engineering, and generating insights from diverse data types.
• Fluent in Python and R programming languages, with proficient coding abilities.
• Expertise in ETL processes for various data types and formats.
• Comprehensive understanding of SQL and NoSQL database architectures.
• Exceptional skills in technical documentation.

Preferred Skills

• Familiarity with data visualization tools such as D3, R, Qlik, Tableau, or Power BI.
• Experience with Python-based libraries including pandas, NumPy, and Matplotlib.
• Knowledge of machine learning Python libraries like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch.
• Experience with natural language processing Python libraries such as NLTK, spaCy, or Hugging Face, specifically in financial text analysis.
• Exposure to generative AI models and large language models with interest in applying them to financial research.
• Past involvement in capital markets or institutional research contexts.
• Familiarity with equity research workflows, quantitative investing principles, index governance, rebalancing, and licensing frameworks.
• Portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing practical data science or research initiatives is advantageous.

Employee Benefits

• Comprehensive Total Rewards program including competitive salary and flexible benefits such as 401(k) plan with company matching, health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, as well as paid time off.
• Supportive leadership providing development through coaching and career growth opportunities.
• Chance to make a substantial and lasting impact.
• Dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team environment.
• Engagement in challenging and impactful projects.
• Opportunities to cultivate strong client relationships.

Additional Information

• Location: Brookfield Place (Formerly 3 World Financial Center), 200 Vesey Street, New York, NY, USA
• Work Schedule: 40 hours per week
• Job Type: Full-time, salaried position
• Salary Range: Expected annual pay between 85000 and 145000 USD based on experience, skills, and registration status.
• Potential for additional income through discretionary variable compensation tied to business and individual performance.
• Strict adherence to firm policies and operational risk management is required.
• Application Deadline: September 5, 2026, 11:59 PM.

Company Culture

Our organization prioritizes values such as Client First, Integrity, Collaboration, Respect, and Excellence, united as One Team. We promote an inclusive environment embracing diverse perspectives, fostering growth, collaboration, innovation, and professional development. We aim to create a workplace based on respect, belonging, and equal opportunities, striving for excellence and mutual success.