Director Data Science

About the Team

Our Data Science group functions like the Avengers to Meesho’s S.H.I.E.L.D, assembling to tackle complex challenges and develop innovative solutions. We construct intelligent systems that support millions of users across a myriad of product categories. Yet, many opportunities remain as we strive to shape the future of commerce for Bharat.

About the Role

We seek a strategic and analytically driven leader passionate about leveraging data to solve large-scale challenges. As a Director of Data Science, you will oversee a talented team focused on building ML systems that influence millions of users and accelerate Meesho's growth trajectory.

You will be responsible for setting and executing the data science vision for a major business initiative, navigating uncertainty and complexity to implement robust machine learning solutions. Collaboration with product, engineering, and business stakeholders will be vital to turn complex problems into scalable and measurable results.

As both a technical expert and people manager, you will ensure the efficiency, reliability, and scientific rigor of models and systems while nurturing a culture that embraces innovation, teamwork, and continuous enhancement.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and mentor a high-impact team of data scientists.
• Own end-to-end data science models and systems within your area—covering planning, deployment, and ongoing monitoring.
• Partner with senior leaders across product, engineering, and business to shape and prioritize AI/ML strategies.
• Serve as the data science voice in senior leadership dialogues, communicating strategies, investments, trade-offs, and business outcomes clearly.
• Drive improvements in platform development, system architecture, and machine learning lifecycle management.
• Ensure models scale efficiently, maintain strong performance, and optimize costs, applying rigorous experimental and statistical standards.
• Guide the team in evaluating and adopting cutting-edge research, supporting decisions on building in-house versus buying technology.
• Lead root cause analyses for production incidents and enhance system observability, documentation, and uptime.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree is preferred, PhD is highly valued, in Machine Learning, Statistics, Computer Science, or related quantitative disciplines.
• Over 10 years of experience in Data Science or Analytics, including a minimum of 6 years in people leadership roles.
• Strong research expertise with knowledge of forefront AI and machine learning developments.
• Proven ability to create and deploy machine learning models at scale in production environments.
• Experience managing large teams (20+ data scientists) and delivering across cross-functional business units.
• Deep understanding of ML algorithms, experimental design, and monitoring techniques.
• Proficient coding skills in Python and SQL, along with familiarity with big data tools such as Spark, Hive, or Redshift.
• Capability to translate complex business objectives into technical roadmaps and accurate effort estimations.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder interaction skills characterized by decisiveness and clarity.
• Substantial experience in delivering large-scale AI/ML applications in domains like recommendation systems, ranking, search, or retrieval.
• Prior leadership of ML projects in B2C or e-commerce environments.
• Contributions recognized through internal tools, open-source projects, or scholarly publications.
• In-depth awareness of trade-offs in ML system performance, including latency, cost, and throughput.
• Top-tier research publications specifically focused on AI/ML areas such as recommender systems, information retrieval, and knowledge discovery are highly regarded.