Senior Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations

8901 - Corp Office West Crk - 12800 Tuckahoe Creek Parkway, Richmond, Virginia, 23238 CarMax, the way your career should be Sr. Data Scientist, Search and Recommendations About The Team The Personalization data science team builds and maintains search algorithms and recommender systems that are at the forefront of creating a modern, engaging, digital shopping experience for our customers. We see millions of customers every week across web and mobile. We deploy custom deep learning embedding models, ranking and segmentation algorithms, and are constantly testing new approaches. Our systems are used in dozens of product use cases across the retail and wholesale businesses, which means we partner with many diverse teams throughout the organization. About The Role Understanding our business - the used vehicle market, our customers, and our digital products - is at the heart of what we do on this team. Our data is massive, rich, and often challenging to work with. In this role you will develop and maintain ML models that deliver a highly personalized experience for our customers, driving measurable impact to critical business metrics such as online engagement, lead initiation, and sales. You will also design and execute rigorous statistical tests that allow us to measure these impacts and optimize our systems. You'll work side by side with ML engineers on model deployments and service design, which means you'll be part of the end-to-end ML lifecycle and not just stuck in notebooks. If you love data and get excited about search and recommender algorithms, this role is for you. What You Will Do u2013 Essential Responsibilities u2022 Design, develop, deploy, and maintain ML products that create personalized experiences for our customers u2022 Analyze large-scale behavioral data (search queries, click-through rates, purchase patterns, inventory turnover) to surface insights about customer preferences and system performance u2022 Design, execute, and interpret statistical tests (A/B tests, holdout experiments, pre/post analyses) to measure the impact of algorithm changes and new features u2022 Partner with ML engineers on model deployment and ML product development (APIu2019s, data services, etc.) u2022 Translate complex data and ML findings into clear narratives for technical and non-technical stakeholders alike u2022 Partner closely with cross functional teams in Product, Strategy, Technology, and Operations u2022 Stay current on research and best practices in recommender systems and search; bring new ideas to the team Qualifications and Requirements u2022 3+ years of experience in a data science role, preferably in e-commerce, marketplace, or a data-rich environment u2022 Degree in quantitative discipline field such as math, data science, statistics, computer science u2022 Advanced degree (Masteru2019s/Ph.D.) is preferred u2022 Strong Python skills and experience with SQL for data manipulation, analysis, and model development, as well as foundational software development experience u2022 Solid foundation in statistics, including hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and experimental design - you should be comfortable explaining why a test result is or isn't significant u2022 Experience working with large datasets using tools like Spark, Databricks, or similar u2022 Experience with recommender systems, search/ranking algorithms, or embeddings is a plusu2014but if you haven't worked on these yet and are eager to learn, we'll get you there u2022 Comfort with ambiguity and ability to drive clarity when requirements are fuzzy u2022 Collaborative mindsetu2014you enjoy working with engineers, PMs, and analysts, not just other data scientists Work Location and Arrangement: This role will be based out of the either the Richmond, VA Home Office, the Dallas, TX Technology Hub or the Atlanta, GA CarMax Auto Finance Office and has a Hybrid work arrangement. Work Authorization: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Sponsorship will not be considered for this specific role. About CarMax CarMax disrupted the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity experience customers want and deserve. This innovative thinking around the way cars are bought and sold has helped us become the nationu2019s largest retailer of used cars, with over 200 locations nationwide. Our amazing team of more than 25,000 associates work together to deliver iconic customer experiences. Along the way, we help every associate grow their career and achieve their best, at work and in their community. We are recognized for our commitment to training and diversity and are one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work Foru00ae. Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion : CarMax is committed to bringing together people from different backgrounds and perspectives, providing employees with a safe, welcoming, and inclusive work environment. CarMax is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, and any other characteristics protected by law. Upon an applicant's request, CarMax will consider reasonable accommodation to complete the CarMax Job Application. Upon an applicant's request, CarMax will consider reasonable accommodation to complete the CarMax Job Application.

Created: 2026-02-12