Principal Data Scientist, IT Analytics

Intro

Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!

Why you'll love this job

This job is a lead role in the Operations Research and Advanced Analytics (OR&AA) team. Positioned within the Information Technology organization, the OR&AA team at American Airlines has a long history of being on the leading edge of analytics in the airline domain. Nearly four decades ago we launched the revenue management revolution with our yield management strategy. Today our diverse team of passionate analytics professionals supports decision making across the airline, including pricing and revenue management, fleet and network optimization, crew and flight scheduling, airport and maintenance operations and customer/social media analytics. We are constantly on the lookout to bring together exciting technologies, like generative AI, with cutting-edge analytical methods, like deep learning, computer vision, and natural language processing, to create a competitive edge for American.

What you'll do

As part of the OR&AA team, you will play a technical lead role on a team of OR and data science professionals responsible for providing advanced analytics solutions to one or more business organizations within American Airlines.

Specifically, you'll do the following:

• Lead OR&AA teams in developing and rolling out industry-leading analytical models, tools and systems that drive customer satisfaction, profitability, and reliability
• Provide technical leadership and vision for analytical solutions for the OR&AA team and the company
• Lead initiatives to continuously improve policies, procedures and technology solutions impacting our customers and team members
• Identify, execute, and measure impact of opportunities for competitive advantage through innovation; bring in novel techniques with first-of-a-kind application
• Build strong relationships and creditability with business leaders; work with business partners to identify opportunities to apply advanced analytics solutions to business needs
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to team members inside and outside OR&AA
• Identify technical gaps within the OR&AA team and orchestrate training efforts to advance OR&AA’s technical excellence

All you'll need for success

Minimum Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

• Master’s degree in Data Science, ML/AI, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Statistics, Computer Science, or related technical discipline
• 5 years of experience developing ML/AI, Operations Research, and Analytics solutions
• 3 years of experience leading ML/AI, Operations Research, and Analytics projects, either formally or informally
• 2 years of Python experience developing ML/AI, Generative AI, Operations Research solutions
• Proven ability to build, cultivate and promote strong relationships with business partners, IT counterparts, and external groups
• Proficiency in one or more of the following: Machine Learning/AI, Generative AI, Data Science, Statistics, Optimization, Simulation, Forecasting

Preferred Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

• 5+ years of experience implementing large, complex projects
• 2+ years of experience building and deploying advanced analytics solutions to support one or more of the following airline business domains
  • Contact Centers, Digital Customer Experience
  • Loyalty, Marketing
• 2+ years of experience building:
  • Large Language Model based solutions
  • Agentic AI solutions
  • Natural language processing (NLP) models
  • Customer engagement and predictive customer analytics models
  • Targeted offers and personalization models
• 5+ years of Python experience developing machine learning/AI solutions
• 2+ years of experience developing analytical models in a Cloud environment
• 2+ years of experience working closely with software engineering teams to implement complex analytics solutions
• 2+ years of experience working closely with privacy and legal teams

Preferred Qualifications- Education & Prior Job Experience

• 5+ years of experience implementing large, complex projects
• 2+ years of experience building and deploying advanced analytics solutions to support one or more of the following airline business domains
  • Contact Centers, Digital Customer Experience
  • Loyalty, Marketing
• 2+ years of experience building:
  • Large Language Model based solutions
  • Agentic AI solutions
  • Natural language processing (NLP) models
  • Customer engagement and predictive customer analytics models
  • Targeted offers and personalization models
• 5+ years of Python experience developing machine learning/AI solutions
• 2+ years of experience developing analytical models in a Cloud environment
• 2+ years of experience working closely with software engineering teams to implement complex analytics solutions
• 2+ years of experience working closely with privacy and legal teams

Skills, Licenses & Certifications

• Proven ability to build, cultivate, and promote strong relationships with IT counterparts, business partners, and external groups
• Ability to drive for results with an aptitude for engaging employees in multiple workgroups
• Ability to prioritize a large list of potential projects within an environment of limited resources
• Ability to thrive in a sense-of-urgency environment and leverage best practices
• Ability to think strategically and use sound judgment and initiative in making decisions
• Ability to concurrently handle multiple responsibilities while working with others
• Excellent analytical, planning and organizational skills
• Experience working with Agile project management methodologies and tools

What you'll get

Feel free to take advantage of all that American Airlines has to offer: 

• Travel Perks: Ready to explore the world? You, your family and your friends can reach 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights across our global network.
• Health Benefits: On day one, you’ll have access to your health, dental, prescription and vision benefits to help you stay well. And that’s just the start, we also offer virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts and more. 
• Wellness Programs: We want you to be the best version of yourself – that’s why our wellness programs provide you with all the right tools, resources and support you need.
• 401(k) Program: Available upon hire and, depending on the workgroup, employer contributions to your 401(k) program are available after one year.
• Additional Benefits: Other great benefits include our Employee Assistance Program, pet insurance and discounts on hotels, cars, cruises and more

Feel free to be yourself at American

From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity are the foundation of the dynamic workforce at American Airlines. Our 20+ Employee Business Resource Groups are focused on connecting our team members to our customers, suppliers, communities and shareholders, helping team members reach their full potential and creating an inclusive work environment to meet and exceed the needs of our diverse world.

Are you ready to feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction as you do your part to keep the largest airline in the world running smoothly as we care for people on life’s journey? Feel free to be yourself at American.