Decision Science Manager

The Disney Decision Science + Integration (DDSI) is a consulting team that supports clients across The Walt Disney Company, including Disney Experiences, Disney Cruise Line, Media Networks (i.e. ABC, ESPN), Studio Entertainment, Disney Theatrical Group (e.g., Broadway shows), and Disney Interactive Media. They provide support in with yield management, revenue planning, forecasting, pricing, and optimization. Key partners to the DDSI organization include Marketing, Finance, Business Development, Research, and Operations. We develop, analyze, and execute strategies to maximize profitability and improve the value proposition for our Guests, Cast Members, and Shareholders. The team leverages technology, data analytics, optimization, statistical and econometric modeling to explore opportunities, shape business decisions and drive business value.

The Decision Science team focuses on creating innovative analytical products to inform business decision making through data. The team is interested in all fields related to data science, with emphasis on operations research, machine learning, econometrics, and statistics. 

This role sits in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

What You’ll Do

The Decision Science Manager will lead the research and development roadmap and execution for core scientific capabilities that support the decision science products within DDSI.  This involves conceptualizing, designing, and developing new data and decision science capabilities, which could lead to reusable software services that have potential for broad use.  In this position you will act as a thought partner and subject matter expert to develop and refine ideas, generate hypothesis, analyze data and apply advanced statistical and optimization models to formulate solutions.  The Decision Science Manager focuses on leading complex projects or technical initiatives that materially enhance the team’s capabilities, assists and mentors team members, and takes a broad perspective to identify innovative solutions concerning system requirements and design.

• Influences via conducting research and developing/prototyping/testing foundational decision science models for the core scientific disciplines that form the basis of DDSI decision science based products.

• Understands a large, or multiple significant, lines of business (e.g., media, resorts, etc.) or business domains (e.g., sales, marketing, finance, pricing)

• Applies knowledge of multiple technical disciplines and business domain to develop algorithms and evaluate output via tools such as Python, R, Tableau, Gurobi, AWS cloud tools

• Innovates to address new or large problems, which may relate to system requirements and design

• Brainstorms and collaboratively creates solutions for complex decision-science based products or product features.

• Impacts the success of projects or technical initiatives, including through responsibility for design proposals; may also drive clear definition of detailed responsibilities relative to partner teams

• Checks in with leader to confirm or seek feedback on approach, risks, and issues for projects or initiatives. Requires relatively little guidance in further development of technical knowledge and skills

• Negotiates responsibilities or leads change within and across functional teams

• Breadth to assume responsibility for output, based on multiple technical disciplines, or depth to introduce key technical innovations

Required Qualifications & Skills 

• 7+ years of relevant/related experience

• Competence in mathematical computing with at least one programming language (e.g. Python, R, Java), and the ability to learn technical methods and tools independently

• Ability to understand and support multiple large business domains

• Competence in multiple topics from statistics, optimization, machine learning, and/or econometrics. Distinction in breadth of knowledge enabling responsibility for large, complex, or varied output

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience with writing research proposals and leading and executing R&D projects

• Proven knowledge of revenue management context, including demand forecasting, resource allocation, and pricing 

• Proven knowledge of programming concepts like data structures, object-oriented programming and design patterns.

• Familiarity with software development tools such as GitLab/GitHub, Docker, and cloud computing tools such as AWS

Required Education 

• Bachelor's degree in Advanced Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience

Preferred Education

• Masters or Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Advanced Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science or comparable field of study, and/or equivalent work experience