Senior Data Scientist, Search & NLP

Senior Data Scientist, Search & NLP

As a Senior Data Scientist on our Search & Algorithms team, you'll own NLP analytics for our next-generation semantic search experiences. You'll apply NLP and LLM-based techniques to a proprietary corpus of millions of real consumer search interactions—extracting signals like buyer vs. seller intent and conversational patterns to improve how our models rank and personalize results. You'll also prototype data products that turn those signals into features product and engineering can ship. This is an AI-native role: LLM evaluation tooling and AI-assisted workflows are core to how you'll work, not afterthoughts.
What You'll Do

Measure and evaluate semantic search models using NLP and LLM-based evaluation frameworks on real user queries—surfacing buyer vs. seller context, exploration vs. transaction signals, and conversational patterns that inform ranking and personalization.
Prototype data products that leverage conversational query data and behavioral signals to drive personalized search experiences, translating NLP insights into actionable features for product and engineering teams.
Design tests for search model changes; define primary and guardrail metrics; communicate results clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Instrument and analyze conversational AI data using LLM observability and evaluation tooling—tracking model outputs, scoring response quality, and surfacing patterns across large volumes of AI-generated interactions to inform model and product improvements.
Partner with search product and engineering leadership to define success metrics, shape the analytics roadmap for search, and present findings to senior leadership.
Work in an AI-native way: apply agentic AI workflows, LLM APIs, and AI-assisted development to accelerate your work and help set the standard for how our team uses AI. Actively evaluate and adopt new tooling as the space evolves.
What You'll Bring

5+ years in data science, with 2+ years focused on NLP, text analytics, or search analytics.
Hands-on NLP experience: query classification, intent detection, semantic similarity, entity extraction, or LLM-based evaluation.
Strong Python skills and proficiency with NLP libraries (Hugging Face, spaCy, scikit-learn, or similar).
Experience analyzing conversational and LLM-generated data using observability or evaluation tooling (e.g., Langfuse, Braintrust, or similar platforms for tracing, scoring, and evaluating AI outputs).
Robust SQL skills and comfort working with large-scale clickstream or query log datasets.
Solid experimentation fundamentals: A/B testing, power analysis, and statistical inference.
Ability to build rapid prototypes and translate analytical findings into product-ready recommendations.
Excellent communication skills—able to present NLP and AI concepts clearly to product and executive stakeholders.
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Linguistics, Information Science, or a related field.
Preferred Qualifications

Experience with search ranking analytics, query log analysis, or information retrieval measurement.
Hands-on experience with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, or similar) and prompt engineering for evaluation, scoring, or analytical tasks.
Experience working with LLM observability platforms (Langfuse, Braintrust, or similar) to instrument, trace, and evaluate AI product performance at scale.
Prior work in consumer-facing search products or two-sided marketplace analytics.
Experience with Snowflake or similar cloud data warehouses.
Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, NLP, or a related field.
How We Work:

We balance creativity and innovation on a foundation of in-person collaboration. For most roles, our employees work three or more days in our offices, where they have the opportunity to collaborate in-person, adding richness to our culture and knitting us closer together.
How We Reward You:

Realtor.com is committed to investing in the health and wellbeing of our employees and their families. Our benefits programs include, but are not limited to:
Inclusive and competitive medical, Rx, dental, and vision coverage
Family forming benefits
13 Paid Holidays
Flexible Time Off
8 hours of paid Volunteer Time off
Immediate eligibility into Company 401(k) plan with 3.5% company match
Tuition Reimbursement program for degreed and non-degreed programs
1:1 personalized Financial Planning Sessions
Student Debt Retirement Savings Match program
Free snacks and refreshments in each office location
Do the best work of your life at Realtor.com®
Here, you'll partner with a diverse team of experts as you use leading-edge tech to empower everyone to meet a crucial goal: finding their way home. And you'll find your way home too. At Realtor.com®, you'll bring your full self to work as you innovate with speed, serve our consumers, and champion your teammates. In return, we'll provide you with a warm, welcoming, and inclusive culture; intellectual challenges; and the development opportunities you need to grow.
Diversity is important to us, therefore, Realtor.com® is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of age, color, national origin, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, status as a disabled veteran and/or veteran of the Vietnam Era or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, Realtor.com® will provide reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified disabled individuals.
Benefits that fit your life

Your well-being matters to us, and we want you to live your best life. These are just some of the ways we can help keep you and your family safe, healthy, and happy.
Physical health

Good health is all about making good choices and having the right health options throughout your life. To help you, we provide:
Flexible medical, vision, and dental insurance
Reproductive care (most locations)
Access to fertility and family-building services (most locations)
Gender-affirming coverage, so you can feel and be your truest self
Access to an inclusive, integrated virtual healthcare navigation program (most locations)
Autism programs to support you and your family (most locations).
Telemedicine services (most locations).
Emotional well-being

Your emotional well-being is just as important as your physical health. As Realtor.com, you'll be seen, heard, valued, and cared for in many ways.
Employee Assistance Program, including work/life counseling and guidance, legal services, and financial services
Generous paid time off (sick time, vacation time, and various leave programs) to meet your unique needs
Phone and video counseling services to support your emotional health
Mental health support for children ages 18 months to 17 years (most locations)
Access to a mindfulness app to support your emotional well-being
Financial health

It's no secret that financial peace of mind greatly contributes to your overall health and well-being. We can help enhance your financial security—now and into the future.
401(k) with 3.5% employer match (3% in Canada)
Accidental death and disability insurance
Tuition reimbursement to support career-related studies
Debt management support through online tools, education, and expert help
Caregiving support

We give you the space and support you need so you can be present for your family during major life events, like birth, illness, or injury. You'll have the resources, time, and flexibility to take care of things when life happens.
Exceptional paid parental leave to help you welcome your newest family addition
Lactation support services for new parents (most locations)
Backup child and adult care (most locations)
A parenting app featuring child development tracking, parenting tips, and a supportive community of anonymous parents and caregivers (most locations)
Access to a healthcare concierge service that