Founding Data Scientist
- Salary
- $200K - $250K
- Level
- Mid
- Work type
- Hybrid · Palo Alto
Not stated in the posting: visa.
Open. First seen 6 November 2026.
About the role
About Us
We're living through a fundamental shift in how people discover, evaluate, and purchase products. The next generation doesn't respond to traditional marketing -- they build relationships with brands through authentic social interactions, seek recommendations from communities they trust, and expect personalized experiences that feel human, not corporate.
Nectar Social's standard text
At Nectar, we're building the AI-native social operating system that enables this new era of commerce. We believe every social interaction should deepen the relationship between brands and their communities while creating genuine value for both sides.
Founded by ex-Meta product and engineering leaders, we've raised over $30M in total capital from investors including GV and True Ventures. We work with brands like Oura Health, Caraway, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Kosas, OLIPOP, and many more. We're building the future of social commerce -- where community, conversation, and commerce converge.
Role Overview
As our First Dedicated Data Science Hire, you will have massive scope, high ownership, and direct influence on the future of social commerce. You will work directly with our engineering and product teams to translate vast, unstructured datasets, including full-spectrum Reddit networks, Meta creator ecosystems, and campaign data, into core product features and proprietary industry standards.
Key Responsibilities
- Product-Driven Data Science: Own core analytics features, including building our next-generation Earned Media Value (EMV) metric, multi-touch attribution modeling, and deep commerce platform integrations.
- Data foundations: Partner with Engineering to improve how our data is structured and retrieved, improving the efficiency and value of our reporting.
- Exploratory Analytics & R&D: Develop trend-forecasting algorithms and out-of-the-box analytical models on proprietary dataset architectures.
- Metric Creation: If you have ever wanted to own the metric rather than report on it, this role was designed for you. Define and standardize proprietary Nectar metrics that shape how consumer brands go to market.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Product and Software Engineering to translate models into production code without relying on engineering teams to rewrite logic.
- Data Desk Support: Contribute technical leadership to our high-visibility Data Desk initiative, powering public reports cited by the likes of the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Forbes and contributing to data-driven customer acquisition.
Minimum Qualifications
- Experience: 4–7 years of data science experience
- Education: Bachelor’s in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
- Technical Skills: Advanced Python proficiency and expert SQL capabilities. Proven software engineering fundamentals with a track record of writing clean, production-ready code.
- Domain Adaptability: High comfort with ambiguity, fast-paced execution, and a rapid learning curve in new domain spaces.
- Written Communication: Exceptional writing skills, with a demonstrated ability to turn complex data and analysis into clear, compelling narratives for non-technical and public-facing audiences.
- Technical Rigor: Strong foundation in Python and SQL, with the capability to write clean, maintainable code independently.
- Technical Writing: Demonstrated ability to turn data analysis into clear, compelling writing for non-technical readers, such as reports, blog posts, or research summaries.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience in social media ecosystems, influencer platforms, or creator economy tools (e.g., CreatorIQ, Meta).
- Background working with massive, unstructured text, media, or social network data.
- Experience in technical writing for external artifacts (blog posts, reports)
What We Offer
- Competitive compensation and early equity
- Health, vision, and dental benefits + 401(k) match
- ClassPass membership for fitness and wellness classes
- $50/month mobile stipend for all employees, and $50/month internet stipend for remote employees
For our Palo Alto Office
- Hybrid schedule: 4 days in office, plus 3 remote flex days per quarter (after your first 3 months)
- Free lunch in the office
- $1,000/month housing stipend for living near the office
- Fully paid for commuter benefits (train stipend or Palo Alto parking reimbursement)
What this role asks for
Particular to this role
SQL
Rare in Nectar Social's other 23 open postings.
Standard for data science / ML roles
Python
Common in data science / ML postings at any company.
94% of this description is written for the role. The rest is Nectar Social's standard text, folded away below.
Compared with Nectar Social's other open jobs.
The team: Product HIRES STEADILY
This role is one of 4 open in Product. 2 were posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in April: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.
WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS
Generative AI (2 of 4), LLM (2 of 4), Machine Learning (2 of 4), Python (2 of 4), SQL (2 of 4)
OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM
- Founding Data Scientist posted Oct 12
- Staff Product Manager, AI posted Apr 30
- Staff Product Manager, AI posted Apr 30
From the team and dates on Nectar Social's own job board.
Other openings for this role
2 open postings for this role in Palo Alto, CA, first posted 6 October 2026. The company is likely hiring for more than one position. None has been taken down and posted again.
- 6 November 2026 – open (this posting)
- 6 October 2026 – open
See Data Scientist salaries in the United States →
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