Senior Data Scientist

Job description

We're looking for a Senior Data Scientist to strengthen the analytical rigour and business impact of data science across our AI & Data Science team. This is a senior, hands-on role focused on turning complex data and business problems into clear insights, effective visualisations, and robust machine learning models that deliver measurable outcomes. You will help shape and deliver the next generation of personalised experiences across carsales, with a particular focus on recommendation and ranking, customer intent, and behavioural data. Working alongside other data scientists and colleagues across Product, Data, and the broader Technology team, you will play a leading role in work spanning exploratory analysis, insight generation, experimentation, and modelling, from jointly defining problems through to validating and productionising solutions. You’ll: Deliver end-to-end data science: Lead and contribute to data science initiatives from problem definition and exploratory analysis through to validated solutions, working collaboratively to turn complex customer and business problems into measurable outcomes. Turn data into insights: Analyse complex behavioural, automotive, and business data to identify meaningful patterns and opportunities, using clear visualisations and data storytelling to inform product and business decisions. Drive personalisation, recommendation and ranking: Develop models that improve customer intent understanding, relevance, and personalisation, including approaches for candidate generation, ranking, behavioural modelling, and cold-start scenarios. Own experimentation and impact measurement: Design rigorous offline and online evaluations, establish credible baselines and success measures, and use experiments such as A/B tests to determine whether solutions deliver genuine customer and commercial value. Champion analytical and modelling standards: Apply and uphold shared practices for problem framing, model development, evaluation, reproducibility, documentation, and governance so that data science work is consistent, traceable, and supported by clear evidence. Collaborate, communicate and influence: Work closely with colleagues across Tech, Data, Product, and Commercial teams to align priorities, communicate findings and trade-offs clearly, and support the adoption of delivered insights and solutions. What we’re looking for: We’re looking for someone who brings deep technical expertise and naturally aligns with our values. You are Customer Obsessed - ensuring every decision and model starts with the customer; Curious - questioning assumptions and embracing experimentation; and Connected - showing up to collaborate. Substantial hands-on experience applying statistical modelling and machine learning to complex customer or business problems, with a proven track record of delivering end-to-end solutions that drive measurable impact. A strong understanding of experimentation and evaluation, with demonstrated ability to design robust offline and online tests (e.g., A/B testing), establish credible baselines, and connect technical model performance with commercial outcomes. Advanced programming skills for preparing large datasets and developing production-quality modelling code, alongside familiarity with AWS (e.g., SageMaker), modern data tools (Snowflake, Databricks), and model-lifecycle platforms (MLflow, Metaflow). A collaborative and disciplined mindset, combining strong analytical communication skills to frame ambiguous problems with stakeholders, with a commitment to reproducibility, documentation, and providing constructive peer review to fellow data scientists. Highly Regarded: Domain expertise in recommendation, ranking, and personalisation. Experience with modern approaches like two-tower architectures, semantic embeddings, sequence modelling, or cold-start strategies. We know not everyone will meet every requirement, and that’s okay. If you’re excited about the role and believe you can make a difference, we’d love to hear from you. A few other things we want you to know... As an equal opportunity employer, carsales welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, and life experiences. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. If you have a disability or require adjustments to participate fully in the recruitment process, please let us know - we’re here to support you. We understand the importance of work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements, including part-time options. If you’d like to explore this, just ask during the process. We’re also a proud Circle Back Initiative employer, which means we commit to responding to every applicant. Successful candidates joining the carsales team will need to complete a National Police Record check and must have full-time Australian working rights. So come and join our team - because every role is a big role in our plans to go big. Are you ready to be a big part of something big? At carsales, we’re all about making buying and selling a great experience. Since 1997, we’ve been evolving with the new economy to help people choose how they move today and tomorrow. When it comes to your career, we want to offer meaningful opportunities that empower you to make a lasting impact. But for that to happen, we strive to feel small - small enough to stay agile, learn across teams, and connect authentically with each other. With a vision to be the global leader in online vehicle marketplaces, we’re transforming how people buy and sell across the world. We discover new ideas and bring them to life. We continue to grow, and we continue to evolve and we’re not afraid to take bold steps to get there. This role sits within the AI & Data Science team, which helps build the intelligence behind how millions of our customers discover, buy, and sell vehicles. With technical depth and a collaborative culture, the team works hand-in-hand with engineering, product, design, and security to turn bold ideas into real-world impact for our customers. We embrace hybrid working, combining the flexibility of remote work with the energy and connection of in-person collaboration. We champion flexibility and offer a range of policies and leave options to support your wellbeing. What’s on offer: A place where you can move your career forward, where you’ll be continuously backed to make new ideas happen, and the chance to do work that makes real, significant impact in the world. We’re proud to be recognised as one of Australia’s Best Workplaces™ by Great Place to Work®, a Family Friendly Workplace and a WORK180 endorsed employer for women. The support of a highly engaged, high-performing team including a leadership team that you’ll actually have face time with. 24 weeks paid parental leave for primary caregivers, four weeks paid secondary caregivers leave and paid family & fertility planning leave.