Browse jobs Find the right job type for you Explore how we help job seekers Finance and Accounting Technology Marketing and Creative Administrative and Customer Support Legal Preview candidates (NEW!) Contract talent Permanent talent Learn how we work with you Executive search Finance and Accounting Technology Marketing and Creative Administrative and Customer Support Legal Technology Risk, Audit and Compliance Finance and Accounting Digital, Marketing and Customer Experience Legal Operations Human Resources 2025 Salary Guide Demand for Skilled Talent Report Building Future-Forward Tech Teams Job Market Outlook Press Room Salary and hiring trends Adaptive working Competitive advantage Work/life balance Diversity and inclusion Browse jobs Find your next hire Our locations

Data Scientist

Data Scientist Job Description

Data scientists develop innovative solutions to business challenges by applying their mathematical and analytical skills to detect patterns in very large datasets. Their work improves the performance of information systems and databases and leads to technological advancements and efficiencies, such as better networking technology, faster computing speeds and improved data security. Candidates must have strong analytical, data mining, multivariate statistical modelling and quantitative analysis skills, as well as experience in programming languages — commonly Python or Java — and writing SQL queries for data manipulation. In addition, they require experience querying databases and using statistical computer languages (R, Python, SLQ, etc.) and working with distributed data/computing tools (Map/Reduce, Hadoop, Hive, Spark, Gurobi, MySQL, etc.) Most employers require five to 10 years of experience in Computer Science or Information Systems, as well as a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or Ph.D. in a quantitative discipline.

Typical duties of a data scientist:

Assessing the effectiveness and accuracy of new data sources and data gathering techniquesDeveloping and executing technical visions, including planning, technical decision making and project management in order to support business decisions and company growthDeveloping custom data models and algorithms to apply to data setsPresenting complex analyses as action-oriented recommendationsManaging and merging data from multiple sources and generating reportsReviewing applications, data sets and models for anomalies to ensure accuracyApplying effective algorithms to large-scale data modelling

Looking for a data scientist or a data scientist job?

Submit your resume or request talent now and our expert recruiters will be with you shortly.Robert Half is one of the premier technology staffing agencies.
Salary for Data Scientist
103250 - 155250
25th percentile
103250
The candidate is new to the role and building the needed skills, experience and autonomy.
50th percentile
126750
The candidate has the experience to perform core responsibilities without direct supervision and is comfortable with the role’s processes and subject matter.
75th percentile
155250
The candidate delivers value beyond the stated job duties, has advanced qualifications and experience, and is ready for the next career level.
Projected salaries for related positions Position title 25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile AI Architect 107500 145000 162750 Machine Learning Engineer 90000 111500 142000 AI/ML Analyst 77000 94000 118250

Hiring? Start here.

Access thousands of skilled contract and permanent candidates at every level from support roles to C-suite, and pinpoint the talent you need using our industry-leading matching technology. Find your next hire