Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning)
- Pay
- $132,000 – $238,000 per year
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN · Hybrid
- Job type
- Full-time
- Level
- Lead / Staff
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Education
- Master's degree
- Listed
- 29 days ago
Skills & highlights for this role
- reinforcement learning
- contextual bandits
- recommendation systems
Also useful
- PyTorch
- JAX
- Spark
Stated benefits & perks
- Health
- Dental
- Vision
- 401k
- Life insurance
About the role
The pay range is $132,000.00 - $238,000.00
Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family.
Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation.
JOIN TARGET AS A LEAD DATA SCIENTIST – RECOMMENDATIONS (RecSys)
About you
- PhD or MS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, or a related quantitative field with 2+ years of industry experience
- 5+ years of experience developing machine learning solutions scaling recommendation, personalization, ranking, retrieval, or search machine learning systems
- Experience with reinforcement learning and/or contextual bandit design, implementation, and evaluation
- Experience leading the development, evaluation, and deployment of machine learning solutions and partnering with engineering teams to deliver scalable production systems
- Strong programming skills in Python and SQL; experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX
- Experience working with large-scale data processing and analytics platforms such as Spark or equivalent
- Deep understanding of machine learning, deep learning, optimization, statistics, probability, and experimental design
- Experience designing, analyzing, and interpreting online experiments and using results to inform product and business decisions
- Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous business challenges into scalable machine learning solutions
- Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction and drive alignment across product, engineering, and business stakeholders
- Experience leveraging modern AI and generative AI tools to accelerate development, experimentation, and model delivery
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to clearly communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Strong software engineering fundamentals, including testing, code reviews, documentation, and maintainable system design
Additional information
This position may be considered for a Remote or Hybrid (known internally at Target as "Flex for Your Day") work arrangement based on Target's needs. A Remote work arrangement means the team member works full-time from home or an alternate location that's not a Target location, does not have a desk at a Target location and may travel to HQ up to 4 times a year.
A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member's core role may be performed either remote or onsite at a Target location depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.
Benefits Eligibility
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Application deadline is: 11/05/2026
About Us
Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.
A role with Target Data Sciences means the chance to help develop and manage state of the art predictive algorithms that use data at scale to automate and optimize decisions at scale. Every scientist on Target’s Data Sciences team can expect to do modeling and data science, develop software with highly performant code, elevate Target’s culture, and apply retail domain knowledge.
As a Lead Data Scientist - Recommendations, you will provide technical leadership for the machine learning systems that power Target's digital recommendations and personalization experiences. Working closely with data scientists, engineers, product managers, and business stakeholders, you will identify opportunities to improve guest experiences through recommendation, retrieval, ranking, and personalization solutions at a massive scale.
You will lead the design, development, evaluation, and deployment of machine learning models that influence how millions of guests discover products across Target's digital experiences. Leveraging expertise in machine learning, deep learning, experimentation, and optimization, you will translate ambiguous business challenges into scalable algorithmic solutions that drive measurable guest and business impact.
You will be responsible for driving projects from initial problem definition through production deployment and measurement, balancing innovation with operational excellence and long-term maintainability.
You will help shape the technical direction of Target's recommendation capabilities, establishing best practices for model development, evaluation, and measurement while influencing decisions across product, engineering, and data science teams.
Beyond delivering solutions, you will mentor and develop other scientists, help raise the technical bar across the organization, and contribute to the growth of Target's data science community through collaboration, thought leadership, and the adoption of emerging machine learning techniques and technologies.
Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.
Equal opportunity and legal notices
In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.
From Target's careers page, first listed on Rolev.ai on October 11, 2026. Rolev.ai is not the employer.
How Rolev.ai helps with this application
Rolev.ai is a job search and application tool for US job seekers. For this Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) role at Target, it shows how your resume fits, tailors your resume to the posting, and prepares the application for you to review.
See how you fit
Openings from employer career sites are ranked against your whole resume—and searchable inside Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor via Rolev.ai MCP.
Tailor without inventing
Every change to your resume is checked against your original. New experience goes in only with your yes—zero fabricated claims.
Draft the full kit
Tailored and Full Match resumes, role-specific cover letters, and answers to employer screening questions are prepared in seconds.
1-Click Extension Autofill
The Chrome extension fills the employer's Greenhouse, Workday, Lever, or Ashby form in 1 click. You review it and press Submit.
Similar roles
All Software Developer jobs- Software DeveloperAccenture Federal Services · Washington, DC · $97.5k – $115k/yr
- Software Developer 803Freedom Technology Solutions Group · Annapolis Junction, MD · $150k – $200k/yr
- Software DeveloperPurvis Systems · Newport, RI
- NASA Human Spaceflight Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software Engineer and Data ScientistCACI · Houston, TX
- Senior Manager Software EngineeringNasdaq · Atlanta, GA
- Software Engineering Supervisor - Test SystemsMoog · Torrance, CA
Common questions
What is the salary for the Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) role at Target?
The Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) posting at Target states compensation of $132,000 – $238,000 per year. It is listed as a full-time position. Final pay may depend on location, experience, and interview evaluation on Target's official career site.
Where is the Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) job at Target located?
This Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) position at Target is located in Minneapolis, MN (Hybrid). Always check Target's application page for specific state eligibility or relocation policies.
What qualifications are required for Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) at Target?
For the Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) role, Target highlights 5+ years of relevant experience; a master's degree; experience with reinforcement learning, contextual bandits, recommendation systems. Rolev.ai can score your existing resume against these requirements and show any skill gaps before you apply.
How do I apply for the Lead Applied Data Scientist - Recommendations (Contextual Bandits, Reinforcement Learning) position at Target?
This listing links directly to Target's application page. You can apply directly on Target's site, or use Rolev.ai to check your resume fit, generate a zero-hallucination tailored resume and cover letter for this posting, and autofill the application form in 1 click with the Rolev.ai Chrome extension. You always review the form and press Submit yourself.