Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations

ingrammicro· Ingram Micro Inc
Apply Now ↗
📍 Irvine, CA, United States of AmericaFull time💰 USD 159K–270K

About this role

Accelerate your career. Join the organization that's driving the world's technology and shape the future. 

Ingram Micro is a leading technology company for the global information technology ecosystem. With the ability to reach nearly 90% of the global population, we play a vital role in the worldwide IT sales channel, bringing products and services from technology manufacturers and cloud providers to business-to-business technology experts. Our market reach, diverse solutions and services portfolio, and digital platform Ingram Micro Xvantage™ set us apart. Learn more at www.ingrammicro.com

Come join our team where you’ll make technology happen in surprising ways. Let’s shape tomorrow - it’ll be a fun journey!

We are seeking an experienced Data Scientist / Senior Consultant to drive the science and strategy behind Ingram Micro’s global Search and Recommendation systems. The role partners closely with a diverse team of scientists, engineers, product leaders, and industry experts to build large‑scale models that meaningfully improve discovery, relevance, and commercial outcomes across an enterprise ecosystem.

You will be responsible for the technical strategy, model development, experimentation, and production impact, delivering measurable improvements to the performance of search and recommendation engines worldwide. The role is hands‑on and high‑visible requiring deep technical expertise and the ability to communicate complex concepts to non‑technical audiences.

Scope

  • Own multi-quarter technical development, vision, and roadmap for search, ranking, personalization, discovery, and recommendation systems.
  • Engage with a globally distributed team of Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers
  • Be accountable for model quality, experimentation rigor, and production impact
  • Influence platform, tooling, and architecture decisions in partnership with science, engineering, and business leadership

Qualifications

  • Master’s or Ph.D. in a quantitative field (Computer Science, Data Science, AI, Statistics, Applied Math, Engineering, Economics, or similar technical fields)
  • 10+ years functional experience including a minimum of 5+ years position specific experience in search, recommendation, information retrieval, or personalization at scale
  • Track record of owning production search or recommendation systems with measurable business impact

Hands-On Technical Ownership

  • Expertise in developing and leading the deployment of enterprise level Search Algorithms and Recommendation Engines at global scale
  • Develop model design for ranking, relevance, personalization, semantic retrieval
  • Build applications leveraging LLMs, deep learning, transformers, generative AI, semantic search, vector databases, and RAG pipelines
  • Design and interpret A/B tests and quasi‑experiments tied to business metrics
  • Tools/stack experience: Python, SQL, Jupyter, R, Julia, SAS, MATLAB, etc…
  • Experience with GCP (Big Query, VertexA, Gemini) strongly preferred
  • Experience developing Search/Recommendation Agents is a plus
  • Work with large‑scale behavioral, content, and transactional datasets to solve highly ambiguous problems

Organizational & Technical Leadership

  • Partner with and mentor mid- and senior -level scientists
  • Set bar for modeling excellence, experimentation discipline, production readiness
  • Promote reusable ML platforms and standardization over one‑off solutions
  • Serve as an executive-facing authority on search and recommendation science

Stakeholder & Business Leadership

  • Translate ambiguous business problems into scalable AI and ML solutions
  • Communicate technical models, engines, systems to non-technical stakeholders
  • Partner with Product, Engineering, and Business to balance near-term wins vs. long-term platform bets

Success Metrics

  • Sustained improvements in relevance, engagement, and conversion
  • High-retention, high-performing ML team with strong internal mobility
  • Systems that scale globally with reliability and defensible scientific rigor
  • Measurable impact to financial results and customer experience

#LI-RT1 

The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $158,900.00 - $270,100.00 per year.

The ranges above reflect the potential annual base pay across the U.S. for all roles; the applicable base pay range will depend on the candidate’s primary work location, pay grade, and variable compensation plan. Individual base pay within each range depends on various factors, in addition to primary work location, such as complexity and responsibility of role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills. Base pay ranges are reviewed and typically updated each year. Offers are made within the base pay range applicable at the time of hire. New hires starting base pay generally falls in the bottom half (between the minimum and midpoint) of a pay range.

At Ingram Micro certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases, annual bonus or sales incentives and long-term incentives. These awards are allocated based on position level and individual performance. U.S.-based employees have access to healthcare benefits, paid time off, parental leave, a 401(k) plan and company match, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, and wellbeing benefits, among others.

This is not a complete listing of the job duties.  It’s a representation of the things you will be doing, and you may not perform all these duties.

Please be prepared to pass a drug test and successfully pass a pre-employment (post offer) background check.

Ingram Micro Inc. is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable law.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations role at ingrammicro?
The listed salary for this Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations position at ingrammicro is USD 159K–270K. This is an Full time role.
Where is the Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations position at ingrammicro located?
This Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations role at ingrammicro is based in Irvine, CA, United States of America. The position is listed as on-site or hybrid. Check the full job description or apply directly to confirm the work arrangement.
Is the Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations role at ingrammicro full-time or part-time?
This is listed as a Full time position. It is posted as a Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations role in the Ingram Micro Inc department at ingrammicro.
Which team or department does the Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations at ingrammicro belong to?
This Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations position is part of the Ingram Micro Inc department at ingrammicro. See the full job description for more information about the team structure and responsibilities.
How do I apply for the Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations position at ingrammicro?
Click the "Apply Now" button on this page. You will be redirected to ingrammicro's official application portal hosted on workday where you can submit your application directly.
When was the Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations job at ingrammicro posted?
This Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations position at ingrammicro was posted on Aug 24, 2026. Apply as soon as possible — early applications are often reviewed first.
Sr Principal Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations
ingrammicro · 💰 USD 159K–270K
Apply for this role ↗

You'll be redirected to ingrammicro's official application page on Workday.