Data Science Director Jobs in Pennsylvania
Data Science Director jobs in Pennsylvania are in strong demand, with active hiring concentrated in healthcare analytics, financial services, and technology across seniority levels from senior manager to VP of data. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Greater Wilmington corridor anchor most of the openings, where employers like Independence Blue Cross, PNC Financial Services, and Comcast have established data leadership teams. The most sought-after specialties in Pennsylvania right now are machine learning strategy, health data governance, and enterprise AI product development. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find Data Science Director JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 10+ Data Science Director jobs
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process . Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants .
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants .
POSITION SPECIFICS
We are seeking a Senior Data Engineer with deep expertise in database design, optimization, and data access strategies to support our growing data science and machine learning initiatives within the Computational Intelligence and Visualization Application Department in the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State . In this role, you will architect and optimize data systems that empower our data scientists to efficiently research, train, and deploy both traditional and ML-based algorithms and applications.
The ideal candidate is a PostgreSQL expert who also brings hands-on experience with other modern data storage technologies—such as NoSQL, graph, and time-series databases —and can guide the organization in choosing the right tools and structures for each data use case.
Located in either State College, PA or Reston, VA
ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.
You will:
- Design and maintain scalable, high-performance database solutions to support data science workflows and ML experimentation
- Partner with data scientists to understand data access patterns and develop storage strategies that accelerate analysis and model training
- Serve as the internal subject matter expert on PostgreSQL —including schema design, indexing, partitioning, and query optimization
- Evaluate and integrate alternative database technologies (e.g., MongoDB, Neo4j, Redis, Cassandra) where they provide clear advantages
- Lead efforts to optimize data pipelines for both structured and unstructured data used in algorithm development
- Ensure data integrity, security, and governance across storage systems
- Implement monitoring, automation, and performance-tuning tools for all database environments
- Advise on data lifecycle management—balancing accessibility for R&D with efficiency and compliance requirements
Required skills/experience includes:
- 5+ years of experience in data engineering, database architecture, or related technical roles
- Expert-level proficiency in PostgreSQL (query tuning, schema design, indexing, partitioning, replication)
- Strong understanding of data modeling , normalization vs. denormalization tradeoffs, and query optimization
- Experience with non-relational databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, Neo4j, Redis, or DynamoDB)
- Familiarity with machine learning workflows and how data is consumed for training, evaluation, and deployment
- Experience with cloud database services (AWS RDS/Aurora, GCP Cloud SQL, Azure Database)
- Proficiency in SQL and one or more scripting languages (Python preferred)
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills—comfortable working closely with data scientists, ML engineers, and software developers
Preferred skills/experience includes:
- Experience architecting hybrid data ecosystems spanning relational, NoSQL, and analytical databases.
- Knowledge of data lake, warehouse, and feature store architectures (e.g., Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, Feast)
- Familiarity with ETL/ELT frameworks and data orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, dbt)
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field
Work location can be fully on-site located in State College, PA or Reston , VA. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process.
MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS
If filled as R&D Engineer - Data Science (ARL) - Principal Professional, this position requires:
Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
19+ years of relevant experience
Required Certifications:
None

If filled as R&D Engineer - Data Science (ARL) - Advanced Professional, this position requires:
Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
5+ years of relevant experience
Required Certifications:
None

If filled as R&D Engineer - Data Science (ARL) - Senior Professional, this position requires:
Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
14+ years of relevant experience
Required Certifications:
NoneARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Intel Community (IC), and other federal government customers.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our website at www.arl.psu.edu .
BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES
Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.Notice regarding employment at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL):
Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure information environment involving Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.
SALARY & BENEFITS
The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $121,704.00 - $265,704.00.Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure
Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page .
CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS
Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here .
EEO IS THE LAW
Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.
Federal Contractors Labor Law Poster
PA State Labor Law Poster
Penn State Policies
Copyright Information
Hotlines
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process . Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants .
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants .
POSITION SPECIFICS
We are seeking a Senior Data Engineer with deep expertise in database design, optimization, and data access strategies to support our growing data science and machine learning initiatives within the Computational Intelligence and Visualization Application Department in the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State . In this role, you will architect and optimize data systems that empower our data scientists to efficiently research, train, and deploy both traditional and ML-based algorithms and applications.
The ideal candidate is a PostgreSQL expert who also brings hands-on experience with other modern data storage technologies—such as NoSQL, graph, and time-series databases —and can guide the organization in choosing the right tools and structures for each data use case.
Located in either State College, PA or Reston, VA
ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.
You will:
- Design and maintain scalable, high-performance database solutions to support data science workflows and ML experimentation
- Partner with data scientists to understand data access patterns and develop storage strategies that accelerate analysis and model training
- Serve as the internal subject matter expert on PostgreSQL —including schema design, indexing, partitioning, and query optimization
- Evaluate and integrate alternative database technologies (e.g., MongoDB, Neo4j, Redis, Cassandra) where they provide clear advantages
- Lead efforts to optimize data pipelines for both structured and unstructured data used in algorithm development
- Ensure data integrity, security, and governance across storage systems
- Implement monitoring, automation, and performance-tuning tools for all database environments
- Advise on data lifecycle management—balancing accessibility for R&D with efficiency and compliance requirements
Required skills/experience includes:
- 5+ years of experience in data engineering, database architecture, or related technical roles
- Expert-level proficiency in PostgreSQL (query tuning, schema design, indexing, partitioning, replication)
- Strong understanding of data modeling , normalization vs. denormalization tradeoffs, and query optimization
- Experience with non-relational databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, Neo4j, Redis, or DynamoDB)
- Familiarity with machine learning workflows and how data is consumed for training, evaluation, and deployment
- Experience with cloud database services (AWS RDS/Aurora, GCP Cloud SQL, Azure Database)
- Proficiency in SQL and one or more scripting languages (Python preferred)
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills—comfortable working closely with data scientists, ML engineers, and software developers
Preferred skills/experience includes:
- Experience architecting hybrid data ecosystems spanning relational, NoSQL, and analytical databases.
- Knowledge of data lake, warehouse, and feature store architectures (e.g., Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, Feast)
- Familiarity with ETL/ELT frameworks and data orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, dbt)
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field
Work location can be fully on-site located in State College, PA or Reston , VA. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process.
MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS
If filled as R&D Engineer - Data Science (ARL) - Principal Professional, this position requires:
Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
19+ years of relevant experience
Required Certifications:
None

If filled as R&D Engineer - Data Science (ARL) - Advanced Professional, this position requires:
Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
5+ years of relevant experience
Required Certifications:
None

If filled as R&D Engineer - Data Science (ARL) - Senior Professional, this position requires:
Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science
14+ years of relevant experience
Required Certifications:
NoneARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Intel Community (IC), and other federal government customers.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our website at www.arl.psu.edu .
BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES
Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.Notice regarding employment at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL):
Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure information environment involving Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.
SALARY & BENEFITS
The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $121,704.00 - $265,704.00.Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure
Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page .
CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS
Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here .
EEO IS THE LAW
Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.
Federal Contractors Labor Law Poster
PA State Labor Law Poster
Penn State Policies
Copyright Information
Hotlines
See All 10 Data Science Director Jobs in Pennsylvania
Find roles in Pennsylvania that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Data Science Director JobsData Science Director Jobs by City in Pennsylvania
Where Pennsylvania roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Data Science Director Job Market in Pennsylvania
A snapshot from current Pennsylvania openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Education
- Technology & Software
What Pennsylvania Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in data science director jobs across Pennsylvania.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in data science, statistics, computer science, or a related quantitative field
- Seven or more years of data science experience including at least three years managing data teams
- Demonstrated ability to translate complex analytical findings into executive-level strategy and decisions
- Proficiency with machine learning frameworks, Python or R, and cloud data platforms such as AWS or Azure
- Experience leading cross-functional collaboration with engineering, product, and business stakeholders
- Strong background in data governance, model risk management, or regulatory compliance in a Pennsylvania-regulated industry
Data Science Director Jobs in Pennsylvania: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a data science director in Pennsylvania?
The path to a data science director role in Pennsylvania typically starts with a graduate degree in data science, statistics, applied mathematics, or computer science, followed by progressive experience as an analyst, senior data scientist, and data science manager. Pennsylvania has no state-issued license specific to this role, but candidates targeting healthcare or financial services employers often strengthen their profile with credentials such as a Certified Analytics Professional designation or domain-specific certifications recognized by Pennsylvania regulators in those sectors.
How much do data science directors make in Pennsylvania?
Data science directors in Pennsylvania earn a median of about $106,850 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $63,340 for the lowest 10% to over $162,290 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire data science directors in Pennsylvania?
Employers hiring data science directors in Pennsylvania right now include Gettysburg College, PA Compensation Rating Bureau, and GSK, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Pennsylvania's concentration of large health systems, regional banks, and insurance carriers means data leadership roles here often involve regulated-industry analytics and compliance-aware modeling.
Which Pennsylvania cities have the most data science director jobs?
Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Pipersville account for the largest share of data science director openings in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia drives volume through its dense cluster of health systems, insurers, and financial services firms, while Pittsburgh's growing technology and robotics ecosystem anchors demand there, and suburban markets outside each city add openings tied to corporate headquarters and research campuses.
Are there remote data science director jobs in Pennsylvania?
Yes, and more than most fields, since data science director work is primarily analytical and strategic rather than on-site. About 50% of data science director openings tied to Pennsylvania are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting how broadly employers have accepted distributed data leadership. The most fully remote positions tend to involve enterprise modeling, AI strategy, and platform architecture rather than roles requiring close collaboration with on-site lab or operations teams.
How can I get hired as a data science director in Pennsylvania with little or no experience?
The most realistic path is moving laterally from a senior data scientist or analytics manager role rather than applying to director positions directly. Large Pennsylvania employers such as UPMC, Independence Blue Cross, and PNC Financial Services run structured analytics development programs and regularly promote from within, so starting as a staff data scientist or analytics lead at one of these institutions puts you in line for director-track consideration. Building a portfolio of end-to-end ML projects and pursuing a Certified Analytics Professional credential adds measurable edge when competing for first-time director roles.
Where can I find and apply to data science director jobs in Pennsylvania?
You can find and apply to data science director jobs in Pennsylvania on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from employers actively hiring in the state. Search the available roles, identify the ones that match your experience and target industry, and apply directly to the positions that fit.
See All 10 Data Science Director Jobs in Pennsylvania
Find roles in Pennsylvania that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Data Science Director Jobs