Data Science Lead Jobs in San Francisco, CA
Data Science Lead jobs in San Francisco are in strong demand, concentrated in SoMa, the Financial District, and Mission Bay across technology, fintech, and life sciences. Employers hiring right now include Lyft, SIA, and Gusto. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
Find Data Science Lead JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 109+ Data Science Lead jobs











About Mercor
Mercor's mission is to organize human intelligence to power the AI economy. We're a leading AI data company, building the layer between human expertise and frontier models. Millions of domain experts on the platform are paid over $4 million per day to train frontier AI models. Mercor's APEX benchmark family measures AI's real-world impact on professional work. Mercor Enterprise brings this same infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies: helping companies capture how their best people actually work, translating that expertise directly back into agents.
Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious, fast-paced and deeply committed team. You’ll work alongside researchers, operators, and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society. Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in-person five days a week in our San Francisco, NYC, or London offices.
About the Role
As a Data Science Intern at Mercor, you’ll join a fast-moving, metrics-driven engineering team that powers critical decisions across the company. You’ll analyze data that directly impacts ranking, hiring efficiency, candidate experience, and revenue. From day one, you’ll work with real datasets, ship insights used by product and engineering, and prototype models that improve how we match talent to AI companies.
You’ll work closely with engineers, PMs, and leadership, designing experiments, evaluating LLM-powered systems, and building the foundations of data integrity and visibility across the platform. You’ll move quickly while maintaining a high bar for analytical rigor, clarity, and statistical correctness.
At the end of the process, you’ll be team-matched to where you can have the most impact, on one of the following:
Talent platform analytics – improving match quality, ranking, time-to-hire, and marketplace efficiency through experimentation and modeling.
Applied AI/human data insights – partnering with leading AI labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) to design evaluation rubrics, run human-in-the-loop studies, and understand how experts shape post-training data for frontier models.
What You’ll Work On
As an intern, you’ll take on projects such as:
Defining north-star metrics and feature-level KPIs for ranking, interview analytics, and payouts systems.
Designing and running A/B tests and quasi-experiments; translating results into product decisions within days.
Building dashboards and lightweight data models that empower teams to self-serve insights.
Instrumenting events with engineers and improving data quality, observability, and latency.
Prototyping models (from baselines to gradient boosting) to improve matching and scoring systems.
Evaluating LLM-powered agents through rubric design, human-in-the-loop experiments, and guardrail canary testing.
What We’re Looking For
Pursuing a degree in a quantitative field (graduating 2026–2028).
Strong fundamentals in statistics, SQL, and Python.
Experience with experiment design, causal reasoning, and data analysis.
Ability to communicate clearly with engineers, product managers, and leadership.
Curiosity about LLM evaluation, retrieval, ranking, or marketplace dynamics (a plus).
Excited to work in person and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
Nice-to-haves: experience with dbt, dashboarding tools, recommendation/search metrics, or LLM/agent evaluation.
Why Mercor
Impact: Your work powers how AI labs train and deploy their models
Learning: Get early exposure to frontier AI research and engineering
Growth: Work with a high-velocity team where interns ship to production
Benefits
Bi-annual performance bonus structure
Generous equity grant vested over 4 years
Up to $15k Relocation bonus
$10K housing bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office)
$1.5K monthly stipend for meals
Free Equinox membership
$200 monthly laundry reimbursement
$200 monthly personal wellness reimbursement
Health, Dental, Vision insurance
See All 109+ Data Science Lead Jobs in San Francisco
Find roles in San Francisco that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Data Science Lead JobsData Science Lead Job Market in San Francisco
Who's Hiring
- Lyft19

- SIA6

- Gusto6

- MERCOR6

- Tatari6

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software38
- Marketing & Advertising6
- Distribution & Wholesale6
Data Science Lead Jobs in San Francisco: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a data science lead job in San Francisco?
San Francisco's strongest hiring comes from technology platforms, fintech firms, and biotech companies clustered in SoMa, Mission Bay, and the Financial District. Candidates who stand out combine hands-on ML engineering with cross-functional leadership experience, since most San Francisco roles expect data science leads to own both model development and stakeholder communication. Building a visible portfolio on GitHub and engaging with the local data science community through meetups or conferences in the city gives a concrete edge.
Which companies hire data science leads in San Francisco?
Employers hiring data science leads in San Francisco right now include Lyft, SIA, and Gusto, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Francisco's employer mix leans heavily toward high-growth technology companies, established financial institutions, and venture-backed startups, many of which maintain dedicated data science teams that hire leads continuously.
Are there remote data science lead jobs in San Francisco?
Yes, data science lead roles are well-suited to remote work given their analytical and collaborative nature. About 73% of data science lead openings tied to San Francisco are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how broadly distributed these teams have become. Modeling, experimentation design, and cross-team strategy work are the functions most commonly performed fully remote, while on-site presence is most often expected for leadership meetings or stakeholder reviews.
How can I get a data science lead job in San Francisco with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in San Francisco is moving into a lead role from a senior individual contributor position at a local startup or mid-size technology company, where team structures are flatter and lead titles are earned faster. San Francisco biotech and fintech firms frequently promote strong senior data scientists into lead roles after demonstrating ownership of a product area. Transitioning through a staff or principal data scientist title at a larger Financial District employer is another recognized local route.
Which industries hire the most data science leads in San Francisco?
Most data science lead openings in San Francisco sit in Technology & Software, Marketing & Advertising, and Distribution & Wholesale, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Francisco's concentration of enterprise software companies, digital payments platforms, and life sciences firms in Mission Bay creates consistent, year-round demand for leads who can manage data science roadmaps at scale.
Related Jobs in California
See All 109+ Data Science Lead Jobs in San Francisco
Find roles in San Francisco that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Data Science Lead Jobs