Senior Data Scientist - Accommodations

Key Skills

Python Programming, SQL, Apache Hadoop, Machine learning techniques, Data science techniques, A/B Testing, Data Visualization, R Programming, Statistics, GLM Regression, Clustering, Statistical modeling, Data pipelines, Forecasting, Dimensionality reduction, Causal inference, Hypothesis testing, Regularisation, Localization

Job Description

At Booking.com, data drives our decisions. Technology is at our core. And innovation is everywhere. But our company is more than datasets, lines of code or A/B tests. We’re the thrill of the first night in a new place. The excitement of the next morning. The friends you make. The journeys you take. The sights you see. And the food you sample. Through our products, partners and people, we make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

With over 1.6 million room nights booked every day, accommodation represents the largest share of our business to date. Our mission is to deliver the best customer experience and the most varied selection of properties.

At Booking.com we combine the best traits of a start-up with the resources of planet Earth’s #1 accommodation website. We are working towards creating the ultimate travel experience, building and improving great products for both travelers and the accommodation partners.

About the Accommodations Business Unit

We are responsible for the design & delivery of services and products to offer customers the best selection of properties and rooms. Our products & services are available on the Web, Mobile and API platforms, and span over all aspects of Booking.com accommodation business – from getting inventory from partners to displaying rooms to our customers. Our focus area is to provide customers with the best selection of properties & rooms by understanding customer intent, getting more relevant properties and rooms, and using existing inventory as effectively as possible.

B.responsible

As a Senior Data Scientist you will be the leader within your area of expertise. You will work with stakeholders throughout the company to generate understanding, strategy, and suggest actions based on data. If you consider yourself to be that unique hybrid of data hacker, business analyst, communicator and mentor that maintains a strong customer focus and values pragmatism over perfection, then we’d like to hear from you.

You will spend your time transforming large, complex data sets into pragmatic, actionable insights which you provide through skilled storytelling. Your ability to see beyond the numbers means you will be the voice of data when communicating to decision makers, product owners and team leaders.

You will also contribute to the growth of Booking.com through interviewing and onboarding candidates, and mentoring others in the Data Science and Analytics craft.

Important aspects of the job include:

• Prioritise impactful business problems, translate them into feasible data problems and solve them effectively by applying suitable statistical data analysis and modelling methods
• Identify, source and organise data required for the solution and prepare it in a way that makes it fit for use
• Use best practises when writing, storing, and sharing code
• Identify key stakeholders and manage them proactively through effective communication and addressing their needs
• Use data visualization skills and storytelling to drive actions from stakeholders
• Design and interpret quantitative experiments to objectively guide key business decision making
• Have the capacity to thrive in our fast-paced environment, adapt quickly and take ownership of your work
• Challenge ideas and methods while working together with talented, highly skilled team members. 
• Ensure quality of your own and others’ work, by making it reproducible and replicable and by validating through peer review
• Convey complex analysis results clearly and with conviction to all levels of stakeholders

We have found that people who match the following requirements are the ones who fit us best:

• Minimum 3 years of experience solving real problems using data, with statistical rigour
• Masters, PhD, or equivalent experience in a quantitative field (computer science, physics, mathematics, engineering, bioinformatics, etc.)
• Expertise in data analysis, statistics and programming. 
• Expert working knowledge of Hadoop and SQL, as well as Python and/or R.
• Excellent communication skills; the ability to convey complex analysis results clearly and with conviction to all levels of stakeholders
• Strong stakeholder management
• Expert knowledge of Statistical Methods (e.g. Hypothesis Testing, GLM, Causal Inference, Forecasting)
• Strong knowledge of Statistical/Machine Learning techniques (e.g. Dimension Reduction, Clustering, Regularisation, Bagged/Boosted methods)
• Strong knowledge of data management (engineering, data pipelines, workflows)
• Expert knowledge of the possibilities and limitations of different types of data analysis and/or data science modelling

B.offered

We are a performance-based company that offers career advancement and lucrative compensation, including bonuses and stock potential. We also offer what we call the “Booking Deal” with other competitive perks and benefits. IT also has regular hackathons, training and attends/speaks at global conferences.

This position is open to worldwide candidates and in the case of relocation, we will assist you with a generous relocation package, ensuring a smooth transition to working and living in Amsterdam.