Lead Data Scientist - Network Planning and Design (applied ML, optimization, simulation)

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.

JOIN TARGET AS A LEAD DATA SCIENTIST - NETWORK PLANNING AND DESIGN

About us:

Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.

A role with Target Data Sciences means the chance to help develop and manage state of the art predictive and prescriptive algorithms that use data to automate and optimize decisions at scale. The Target Data Sciences - Supply Chain Optimization team leverages operations research, simulation, and machine learning to help Target makes intelligent supply chain business decisions. This involves writing high-performant, scalable code as well as designing analytical solutions to extract insights and to prescribe best courses of action.

Join Target’s Last Mile and Operations Design team where your goal will be to accelerate omni-channel experimentation to foster a culture of continuous innovation at Target. We believe that continuous innovation is critical to delivering and exceeding our brand promise of “Expect More Pay Less” to Target’s guests irrespective of their preferred channel of engagement and commerce. You will enable continuous innovation and drive business performance in our Target Last Mile Delivery space.

As a Lead Data Scientist - Network Planning and Design, you will be responsible for building the analytical models and decision-support systems that shape Target’s long-term supply chain architecture and investment roadmap. This includes developing and evolving a portfolio of optimization models, simulations, digital twins, forecasting and capacity models as well as scenario-planning tools used to evaluate billions of dollars in potential network and capability investments.

As a Lead Data Scientist - Network Planning & Design you will drive:

Strategic Problem Framing and Executive Influence:

• Define and structure ambiguous supply chain problems into clear frameworks for decision-making in partnership with Network Design, Flow, and Capacity Planning teams
• Synthesize insights into compelling narratives for executive audiences and guide decision-making at scale
• Influence senior stakeholders across Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Technology, Strategy and Merchandising

Advanced Modeling and Decision Science:

• Own the development of optimization, simulation, forecasting, digital twin, and machine learning capabilities supporting Target’s long-term network strategy
• Apply operations research and advanced analytics to decisions including network footprint, capacity planning, inventory placement, product flow, automation, transportation, and reverse logistics
• Ensure models accurately represent real-world constraints, uncertainty, and operating dynamics while remaining scalable and actionable
• Establish strong practices for scenario analysis, sensitivity testing, model validation, and decision support
• Build reusable analytical capabilities that enable faster and more consistent strategic decision-making
• Own, maintain, and continuously enhance strategic planning models to ensure accuracy, scalability, and alignment with evolving business needs

Cross Functional Alignment and Partnership:

• Partner across Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Technology, Strategy, and Merchandising teams to maintain a strong pulse on customer needs, priorities, and decision contexts, aligning cross-functionally on assumptions, decisions, and business requirements
• Drive clarity across cross-functional teams regarding constraints, assumptions, and strategic implications

Tech, Data, AI and Innovation:

• Partner with Engineering, Product, and Technology teams to transform analytical models into scalable decision-support tools and products
• Advance the use of modern optimization solvers, cloud computing, machine learning, and AI where they improve model performance or decision quality
• Establish strong practices for model governance, reproducibility, testing, documentation, and auditability
• Champion experimentation and emerging methods that advance Target’s network planning capabilities

• Mentor and coach data scientists and analysts in structured problem solving, systems thinking, and executive communication
• Elevate modeling and analytical standards within the team

Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.

About you:

• PhD/MS in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics or related quantitative field
• 5+ years of experience leading large-scale implementations of supply chain optimization, simulation and machine learning modeling end to end
• Demonstrated proficiency in one or more programming languages: Python, R, Kotlin or Java
• Demonstrated experience writing highly performant code and deploying algorithms in a production environment. Proficient in predictive/prescriptive algorithms and ML Ops
• Experience working with large event-driven distributed systems and multi-threaded applications
• Experience in application/software architecture (definition, process modeling, etc.)
• Experience writing production datasets in SQL/Hive or building internal/production data tools for research or experimentation in a scripting language like Python
• Experience working with mathematical optimization libraries or solvers (e.g. Gurobi)
• Passion for solving relevant real-world problems using a data science approach
• Experience in implementing advanced statistical techniques like regression, clustering, PCA, forecasting (time series), etc.
• Experience producing reasonable documents/narratives suggesting actionable insights
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to clearly tell data driven stories through appropriate visualizations, graphs, and narratives
• Self-driven and results oriented; able to meet tight timelines
• Collaborative team player with ability to partner effectively across time zones

This position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target’s needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member’s core role will need to be performed both onsite at the Target HQ location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.

Benefits Eligibility

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to candidate.accommodations@HRHelp.Target.com.Non-accommodation-relatedrequests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.