Data Scientist - Remote

About The Company

TaxSlayer, LLC is a pioneering leader in tax preparation software, empowering individuals and small businesses to confidently plan and file their tax returns online. Established in 1965, TaxSlayer has continuously innovated to simplify the tax filing process through an intuitive platform that ensures accuracy and maximizes refunds. Headquartered in Augusta, GA, with a satellite office in Charlotte, NC, TaxSlayer employs nearly 200 full-time staff and an additional 300 seasonal support agents. Our team comprises some of the brightest and most talented innovators dedicated to enhancing our products and exceeding customer expectations year after year.

About The Role

The Principal Data Scientist at TaxSlayer is a senior technical leader responsible for spearheading advanced machine learning and data science initiatives across the organization. This remote role is open to candidates residing in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, or Tennessee, with a preference for those near our Augusta, GA or Charlotte, NC offices. The successful candidate will own the end-to-end delivery of complex ML projects, including fraud detection, risk modeling, and customer intelligence, while collaborating cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Finance, and Marketing teams. The role demands a combination of hands-on technical expertise, strategic vision, and leadership in deploying cutting-edge AI technologies such as generative AI and large language models (LLMs).

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent 8+ years of industry experience.
• Proven success leading multiple end-to-end machine learning projects from ideation through production deployment and monitoring.
• High proficiency in supervised, unsupervised, and deep learning methods.
• Advanced expertise in Python and SQL, with strong software engineering fundamentals including version control, testing, and code design.
• Experience with AI technologies, including fine-tuning and deploying large language models (LLMs) and generative AI systems.
• Hands-on experience with MLOps, model deployment, monitoring, and production serving, preferably on cloud platforms such as Snowflake, Databricks, AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Strong background in statistical analysis, experimentation design, A/B testing, hypothesis testing, and causal inference.
• Experience building real-time or near-real-time scoring systems and production ML pipelines.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management abilities.
• Preferred: Experience in financial services, tax preparation, SaaS, fintech, or e-commerce industries.
• Preferred: Hands-on experience with fraud detection, anomaly detection, or risk modeling systems.
  
  

Responsibilities

• Lead the full lifecycle of strategic data science projects, from problem definition to production deployment, monitoring, and optimization.
• Develop and deploy advanced machine learning models focused on fraud detection, risk assessment, anomaly detection, customer segmentation, and churn prediction.
• Design and maintain real-time scoring pipelines, ensuring production reliability and optimal model performance.
• Lead fraud detection initiatives by designing detection algorithms and collaborating with compliance and investigation teams.
• Evaluate and implement emerging AI and ML technologies, including generative AI and LLMs, to enhance product capabilities.
• Define and document best practices for model development, testing, and deployment, serving as the subject matter expert.
• Build scalable data pipelines, feature engineering frameworks, and reusable modeling infrastructure to accelerate development.
• Monitor model performance, data quality, and business outcomes; identify issues and lead remediation efforts.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to define analytical requirements, establish success metrics, and deliver actionable recommendations.
• Present complex analytical findings and strategic recommendations to executive leadership and business stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, privacy, security, and governance standards in all modeling and analytical activities.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends in data science, ML, and AI; prototype and recommend innovations to improve customer experience and competitive advantage.
• Contribute to documentation, best practices, architectural decisions, and reusable code libraries to strengthen data science capabilities.
  
  

Benefits

• Flexible remote and/or hybrid work options depending on the role.
• Generous paid time off (PTO) bank plus paid holidays for exempt salaried employees.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans through Aetna and SunLife with multiple coverage options.
• 401(k) plan with 150% match on up to 3% contribution.
• Performance-based bonus and salary review process.
• Wellness program, life insurance, long-term and short-term disability coverage.
• Critical illness and accident insurance options.
• Education assistance programs.
• Company-paid parking, on-site fitness facility, and company store access.
  
  

Equal Opportunity

TaxSlayer is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable laws regarding discrimination. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees are valued and respected.