Senior Data Scientist, AI Search / AEO Research

Accountabilities:

• Lead original research into AI search and answer-engine behavior, developing evidence-based insights into how AI systems discover, interpret, and represent brands and products.
• Design rigorous studies, benchmarks, market analyses, and performance research that help define how AI Shopping capabilities and outcomes should be measured.
• Develop quantitative models, measurement frameworks, and analytical methodologies for evaluating AI visibility, product representation, and search performance.
• Apply statistical analysis, causal inference, econometric techniques, and experimentation to distinguish meaningful signals from noise.
• Design and analyze A/B tests and other experiments to validate hypotheses and identify opportunities for improving AI search outcomes.
• Translate research findings into actionable recommendations that inform product strategy, roadmap priorities, and optimization approaches.
• Collaborate closely with product and other cross-functional teams to turn research into practical AI Shopping capabilities and measurement tools.
• Present research findings and recommendations directly to customers, helping them understand what AI search data means for their businesses and digital strategies.
• Turn complex datasets and analytical results into clear narratives, defensible points of view, benchmarks, whitepapers, and other thought-leadership materials.
• Contribute to establishing a new research and measurement function, defining methodologies and processes where established industry playbooks do not yet exist.
• Monitor developments across AI search, AEO/GEO, SEO, e-commerce, digital markets, and emerging AI visibility tools to continuously refine research approaches.
• Represent the organization externally through research publications, industry discussions, customer presentations, conferences, or other thought-leadership opportunities as appropriate.

Requirements

• Demonstrated expertise or a strong, evidence-based point of view on AI search, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
• Strong quantitative foundation with advanced data science, statistical analysis, and causal inference or econometric skills.
• Fluency in Python, SQL, or comparable analytical technologies, with the ability to frame questions, design analyses, build models, and defend methodologies.
• Proven experience conducting original research, including benchmarks, market studies, performance studies, or comparable research where you owned the question and methodology.
• Strong understanding of SEO, search discovery, and how users and algorithms discover and evaluate information.
• Hands-on experience designing and running A/B tests or other experimentation frameworks.
• Ability to translate complex quantitative findings into clear, compelling narratives for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to defend analytical conclusions and communicate recommendations confidently.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous environments and building measurement frameworks or research functions from the ground up.
• Genuine curiosity about e-commerce, marketing, analytics, consumer behavior, and the factors influencing how shoppers and algorithms make decisions.
• External recognition for research, such as press coverage, published whitepapers, industry benchmarks, or conference presentations, is a plus.
• Customer-facing, consulting, or advisory experience is preferred, particularly the ability to present research findings and recommendations directly to customers.
• Familiarity with the AEO/GEO tooling ecosystem and current approaches to measuring AI visibility is desirable.
• Experience working in e-commerce, martech, search, or closely with retail brands and product data is a plus.
• An advanced degree or academic research background in economics, digital markets, computational social science, or another quantitative discipline is desirable.

Benefits

• $136,000–$182,000 USD per year salary range for the San Francisco market.
• Remote-first and hybrid working environment, depending on role and location.
• Opportunity to work at the intersection of AI, commerce, data science, and digital search.
• High-impact research role with direct influence on AI Shopping product strategy and roadmap development.
• Opportunity to define new measurement frameworks in an emerging field where established playbooks are still developing.
• Significant exposure to original research, experimentation, quantitative modeling, and thought leadership.
• Customer-facing opportunities to translate research into actionable business recommendations.
• Opportunity to publish research and contribute to industry conversations around AI search, AEO/GEO, and AI-powered commerce.
• Collaborative environment combining research, product, technology, and customer perspectives.

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