Staff Data Scientist

Get to know Okta Okta is The World's Identity Company. We free everyone to safely use any technology, anywhere, on any device or app. Our flexible and neutral products, Okta Platform and Auth0 Platform, provide secure access, authentication, and automation, placing identity at the core of business security and growth. At Okta, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We are not looking for someone who checks every single box - we're looking for lifelong learners and people who can make us better with their unique experiences. Join our team We're building a world where Identity belongs to you. The Technology, Data, and Intelligence Team Okta is the leading independent identity provider. The Technology, Data, and Intelligence (TDI) organization is the engine that powers Okta's global workforce, providing the technology and systems that enable our employees to do their best work. The Staff Data Scientist Opportunity We are seeking a highly experienced Data Scientist to lead the strategy, development, and operationalization of advanced analytics and predictive insights that power our Go-To-Market (GTM) motion. This role will operate as a senior technical and thought leader within the Enterprise Data & Insights organization, helping steer the evolution of data science capabilities across the company. You will be responsible for architecting scalable data science solutions that influence revenue, pipeline performance, customer value, and strategic business decisions. This includes setting the long-term data science roadmap, shaping platform and tooling choices, and implementing robust MLOps practices to ensure repeatability, governance, and operational excellence. A key part of this role will be enabling a future‑state citizen data science model through the creation of extensible frameworks, reusable assets, and self‑service capabilities. This is a high‑visibility, impact‑driven role that blends technical depth, product thinking, stakeholder partnership, and organizational leadership. What you’ll be doing Data Science Strategy & Leadership Own the end‑to‑end data science vision and multi‑year roadmap, aligning with GTM, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and Executive leadership. Define and drive the evolution of the data science platform, including model development environments, feature stores, ML pipelines, and production deployment frameworks. Establish and oversee MLOps standards, ensuring reproducibility, model monitoring, versioning, performance tracking, and continuous improvement cycles. Lead governance frameworks for responsible and transparent ML usage across the organization. Advanced Analytics & Predictive Modeling Build, deploy, and scale predictive models and optimization frameworks that impact revenue generation, pipeline health, customer engagement, and churn/retention. Develop advanced analytics solutions including lead scoring, propensity to buy, churn and risk identification, and deeper insights and correlation analysis on company key performance indicators. Partner closely with GTM leadership to translate business goals into analytical solutions and communicate complex findings in clear, business‑centric terms. Technical Architecture & Full‑Stack Development Architect and implement full‑stack data science workflows: data discovery, feature engineering, modeling, validation, deployment, performance measurement, and iteration. Collaborate with data engineering to shape the data ecosystem (databases, pipelines, feature stores, compute infrastructure) required for scalable ML. Deliver reusable libraries, templates, and tools to support a democratized, self‑service analytics environment. Evangelism & Enablement Mentor and guide data scientists, analysts, and cross‑functional teams on ML best practices, capabilities, and opportunities. Drive the foundation of a citizen data science program, enabling non‑technical teams to leverage ML‑powered insights safely and effectively. Represent data science across executive forums, cross‑functional initiatives, and enterprise programs. What you’ll bring to the role 7+ years of experience as a data scientist or machine learning practitioner, with at least 3‑5 years in a senior or staff‑level leadership role. Proven experience building full‑stack data science solutions—from data ingestion and feature generation to model deployment and monitoring. Deep expertise in: Machine learning algorithms (supervised/unsupervised, NLP, forecasting, optimization); statistical modeling and experimental design. Python and relevant ML libraries (scikit‑learn, TensorFlow/PyTorch, XGBoost, etc.); SQL and distributed data technologies. Strong fluency with cloud‑based analytics stacks (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and modern ML platforms (Databricks, SageMaker, Vertex AI, MLflow, etc.). Hands‑on experience implementing MLOps, CI/CD for ML, and automated training/deployment pipelines. Excellent communication skills, with a proven ability to translate analytical insights into business impact. Demonstrated success influencing and partnering with Sales, Marketing, GTM Operations, or Customer Success organizations. And extra credit if you have experience in any of the following Experience in a high‑growth SaaS, cybersecurity, identity, or enterprise software environment. Prior ownership of ML platform decisions and tooling evaluations. Experience building or enabling self‑service analytics or citizen data science capabilities. Familiarity with GTM analytics concepts such as funnel modeling, pipeline forecasting, account scoring, customer lifetime value (CLV), and revenue intelligence. Salary & Benefits The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in the San Francisco Bay area is between: $174,000 — $262,000 USD. The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington is between: $156,000 — $234,000 USD. In addition, Okta offers equity (where applicable), bonus, and benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), flexible spending account, and paid leave (including PTO and parental leave) in accordance with our applicable plans and policies. To learn more about our Total Rewards program please visit https://rewards.okta.com/us. What you can look forward to as a Full‑Time Okta employee Amazing Benefits Making Social Impact Developing Talent and Fostering Connection + Community at Okta Okta cultivates a dynamic work environment, providing the best tools, technology and benefits to empower our employees to work productively in a setting that best and uniquely suits their needs. Each organization is unique in the degree of flexibility and mobility in which they work so that all employees are enabled to be their most creative and successful versions of themselves, regardless of where they live. Find your place at Okta today https://www.okta.com/company/careers/. Some roles may require travel to one of our office locations for in‑person onboarding. Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran. We also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and convictions records, consistent with applicable laws. If reasonable accommodation is needed to complete any part of the job application, interview process, or onboarding please use this Form to request an accommodation. Okta is committed to complying with applicable data privacy and security laws and regulations. For more information, please see our Personnel and Job Candidate Privacy Notice at https://www.okta.com/legal/personnel-policy/. #J-18808-Ljbffr