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Vanguard

Senior Data Scientist

Malvern, PA

Enterprise Advice (EA) is one of Vanguard's new strategic initiatives, and is uniquely setup to blend business, IT, and product management into a cohesive, dynamic organization. EA's mission is to improve outcomes for all individual investors through access to Vanguard's superior, trusted advice and perspectives.

This exciting Senior Data Scientist role sits within a strategic new business area for the organization at the heart of Vanguard's Engine 2, Product Intelligence. This is a fast growing, ambitious team, and is a strategic enabler to the growth of Vanguard's advice footprint. Our objective is to develop a deep understanding of Vanguard's Enterprise Advice products and applying it to continually improve our products over time. We use quantitative analytics and research to inform product design, measure success, and continually grow the value delivered to Vanguard's various global advice businesses and end-investors, taking an inside-out and outside-in look at the product's performance and impact in order to inform strategic product decisions.

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By bringing together a variety of different types of data and information, and integrating learnings from analytics and research, we are able to (1) understand where and how our products are most successful, (2) identify opportunities to improve, and (3) measure their impact through continuous analysis and experimentation.

In this job, you will:

In this role, you will support Vanguard's senior management by developing and executing the product analytics efforts across EA's global advice product lines and work closely with product owners to ask strategic business questions, define product success measures, and track success over time in order to derive key insights that drive product adoption and improve outcomes for end-investors.

  • Lead and execute analytic projects to provide insight into client needs and behavior, supporting product management and consumer adoption decisions.
  • Serve as the analytics expert on cross functional teams for large strategic initiatives; engage with project sponsors and stakeholders to understand the business and bring structure and translate needs into requirements through analytic approach.
  • Acquire structured and unstructured data and prepare it for analysis.
  • Investigate, extract, clean, transform, quality control, and manage data using SQL and Base SAS programming techniques.
  • Identify and diagnose data inconsistencies and errors, and utilize analytics to fill data gaps and blaze new data trails.
  • Analyze data to describe client behavior and preferences including understand product and service usage, diagnose opportunities to enhance product value, profile and size user populations, target clients for treatment, and measure the impact of testing and experimentation initiatives.
  • Identify and utilize appropriate analytic methods and specialized tools to generate insights, answer the business questions, and fulfill project objectives.
  • Prepare and deliver insight presentations and action recommendations.
  • Communicate complex material to diverse audience.
  • Guide business partners on the interpretation, implications, and use of analytic results; consult on statistical problems (test design, significance testing, confidence intervals, weighting).
  • Develop and apply knowledge of the company's businesses and data to shape the analytic road map; contribute to the growth of the analytic community; mentor analysts.


Successful candidates will excel in these three areas:





  • Technical ability



    : Demonstrated experience with a slew of supervised, as well as unsupervised Machine Learning & Optimization models to be able to not only apply, but also modify existing out-of-the-box techniques for the problem at-hand. Knowledge of and experience with sequence-preserving modeling and forecasting techniques are beneficial, acquired through experience with time-series analysis, natural language processing, speech processing, network analyses, genome sequencing, econometrics forecasting, etc. is a plus. Experience extracting, cleaning and manipulating large and diverse data sets; demonstrated programming skills with proven ability to think, design, and code computationally efficient solutions using Python, Spark, and above-average data querying / manipulation skills using SQL.




  • Strategic thinking:



    Proven ability in managing complex projects, formulating business and analytical problems. Asking the right questions, problem solving, and the ability to synthesize a variety of complex data points and inputs is necessary to identify the most salient metrics in driving product enhancements. Apply a deep level of understanding of Vanguard products, businesses, and clients, to develop product-level analytics strategies and identify the best approach to meet the needs of the various stakeholders and businesses in support of their key objectives. Comfort working with complex investment products.




  • Communication:



    This candidate will develop highly effective working relationships with internal clients, senior leaders, and key stakeholders and need to collaborate across a variety of different team members including product owners, methodology specialists, solution consultants, product strategist, business UX teams, etc. Strong executive presence and presentation of findings and results, as well as consultative support to the broader organization will be required as we build out and enhance the product analytics capabilities. Demonstrated experience in communicating complex analytical solutions, data relationships, and results and their business impacts to multiple business partners via data visualization, oral, and written communication methods.


Core Responsibilities

  • Engages with internal partners to understand business strategy, questions and goals. Brings structure to business requests, translates requirements into an analytical project approach, and leads complex projects through completion. Delegates tasks and provides tactical and strategic guidance to peers. Serves as the analytics expert on cross-functional teams for large strategic initiatives.
  • Acquires and compiles structured and unstructured data and verifies its quality, accuracy and reasonableness.
  • Performs analyses of historical data to surface trends and insights using advanced analytical methods. Validates analytical techniques employed by other analysts.
  • Prepares and delivers expert level visualizations and internal presentations that translate analytic insights into tangible, actionable solutions for business partners to implement.
  • Develops, owns and manages recurring analytic or reporting processes.
  • Actively develops the analytics community at Vanguard by mentoring, coaching and connecting others with resources and training. Participates and presents during scheduled analytics seminars.
  • Participates in special projects and performs other duties as assigned.


What it takes

  • Minimum of five years related work experience.
  • Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience. Graduate degree preferred.


Specializations that will have an impact

  • Master's or higher degree in Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, Biophysics, Economics, Physics, or Engineering.
  • Two years of experience in job offered or two years of experience in data science position(s) including as a Senior Data Scientist, Data Scientist, Software Engineer II, Research Scholar, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Fellow, and/or Mathematics Professor.


Special factors

  • Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.
  • Employment is contingent on a successful background and drug-screening result


About Vanguard

We are Vanguard. Together, we're changing the way the world invests.

For us, investing doesn't just end in value. It starts with values. Because when you invest with courage, when you invest with clarity, and when you invest with care, you can get so much more in return. We invest with purpose - and that's how we've become a global market leader. Here, we grow by doing the right thing for the people we serve. And so can you.

We want to make success accessible to everyone. This is our opportunity. Let's make it count.

Inclusion Statement

Vanguard's continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: "Do the right thing."

We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard's core purpose through our values.

When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard's core purpose.

Our core purpose: To take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

Job ID: Vanguard-132136
Employment Type: Other

Perks and Benefits

  • Health and Wellness

    • FSA
    • HSA
    • Health Reimbursement Account
    • Fitness Subsidies
    • On-Site Gym
    • HSA With Employer Contribution
    • Health Insurance
    • Dental Insurance
    • Vision Insurance
    • Life Insurance
    • Short-Term Disability
    • Long-Term Disability
    • Mental Health Benefits
    • Virtual Fitness Classes
    • Pet Insurance
  • Parental Benefits

    • Non-Birth Parent or Paternity Leave
    • Birth Parent or Maternity Leave
    • Fertility Benefits
    • Adoption Assistance Program
    • Family Support Resources
    • Adoption Leave
  • Work Flexibility

    • Flexible Work Hours
    • Hybrid Work Opportunities
  • Office Life and Perks

    • Company Outings
    • Commuter Benefits Program
    • Casual Dress
    • Happy Hours
    • Snacks
    • Some Meals Provided
    • On-Site Cafeteria
  • Vacation and Time Off

    • Personal/Sick Days
    • Paid Holidays
    • Paid Vacation
    • Volunteer Time Off
    • Leave of Absence
  • Financial and Retirement

    • Relocation Assistance
    • Performance Bonus
    • 401(K) With Company Matching
    • 401(K)
    • Financial Counseling
    • Profit Sharing
  • Professional Development

    • Promote From Within
    • Mentor Program
    • Shadowing Opportunities
    • Access to Online Courses
    • Tuition Reimbursement
    • Internship Program
    • Lunch and Learns
    • Leadership Training Program
  • Diversity and Inclusion

    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
    • Employee Resource Groups (ERG)

Company Videos

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