Director of Data Science Engineering

AppNexus is an internet technology company that enables and optimizes the real-time sale and purchase of digital advertising. Our powerful, real-time decisioning platform supports core products that enable publishers to maximize yield; and marketers and agencies to harness data and machine learning to deliver intelligent and customized campaigns. Headquartered in New York City, AppNexus employs over 1000 professionals in offices spanning five continents.

AppNexus is looking for an intellectually curious, results-oriented, and energetic Director of Data Science Engineering who is eager to take on the opportunity of having an immediate impact on our products related to predictive analytics, data science and machine learning. Every day we grapple with fascinating software architecture questions on a global platform that operates at massive scale. We pair program, we have impromptu design discussions, and we ask and answer questions of each other constantly. Line by line, we’re writing the best software in the advertising technology industry. You will work very closely with our executives, and lead a small team of Senior Engineers with an array of backgrounds, collaborating to research and design novel algorithmic products.

* Apply deep, creative, rigorous thinking to solve broad, platform-wide technical and/or business problems * Provide guidance and develop senior members of the Data Science Engineering Team; Educate, mentor and collaborate, both to build out specific projects and to continuously learn and teach new technology and techniques * Guide team in researching, designing, simulating, and/or prototyping new product features per business needs * Work with Product Management and a cross-functional team using agile methodologies to ensure optimal team performance and delivery * Communicate findings and solutions clearly to a variety of audiences, by drafting clear, comprehensive specs for engineers or explaining algorithmic concepts to product managers * Own and drive software development life cycle for multiple products in a fast-paced environment * Ability to evaluate, recommend and deploy new tools or systems whether they be built in house, open source, or commercial offerings * Spend 20% of time coding * Engage in hiring and recruiting by working very closely with our internal Talent Acquisition Group

**About your skills:** * BA/BS/MS degree and 5+ years of experience (Degree in Computer Science or related field preferred) * 5+ years of analytical solution experience with strong system and mathematical skills * Passion for building systems and solutions that manifests itself as delivering successful projects * Ability to dive deep when needed and strategize across tools, platforms, and create solutions across a diverse stack * Excellence at formulating, understanding, and solving complex, non-routine problems * Experience working with Big Data, Machine learning, distributed systems using technologies such as Hadoop, Spark, Python, Java and Scala * Aptitude for diving into learning new theory and new technology, and for standing up or improving organizational processes to enhance communication and productivity within and across teams * Provide daily guidance to Optimization Engineering team members in a complex, high-performance platform by working through creative solutions, identifying issues and roadblocks, and reviewing system architecture decisions **More about you:** * You are passionate about a culture of learning and teaching. You love challenging yourself to constantly improve, and sharing your knowledge to empower others * You like to take risks when looking for novel solutions to complex problems. If faced with roadblocks, you continue to reach higher to make greatness happen * You care about solving big, systemic problems. You look beyond the surface to understand root causes so that you can build long-term solutions for the whole ecosystem * You believe in not only serving customers, but also empowering them by providing knowledge and tools