Manager, Data Science
AI in this role
The Manager, Data Science leads a team of data scientists delivering diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics solutions that drive data-informed decision making across the FAS Division. This role oversees a portfolio of Traditional AI and Generative AI initiatives, applying advanced analytics, machine learning, and large language model (LLM) technologies to solve complex business challenges.
The role is responsible for advancing Vanguard's data science strategy and capabilities by leveraging large and complex datasets to uncover actionable insights, improve business outcomes, and support strategic initiatives across functions such as Marketing, Sales, Digital, and Client Experience.
Core Responsibilities
- Lead and manage a team of data scientists delivering a portfolio of AI, machine learning, and Generative AI solutions that support business objectives and strategic decision making.
- Oversee the development and deployment of diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics models, evaluating alternative approaches to address complex business problems and expand organizational capabilities.
- Partner with business stakeholders to understand objectives, challenge assumptions, formulate hypotheses, and translate business needs into scalable analytical solutions.
- Ensure data quality and integrity by identifying inconsistencies, validating assumptions, and addressing data gaps across analytics initiatives.
- Provide technical leadership in experimental design, statistical analysis, model validation, and AI/ML best practices.
- Serve as a trusted analytics advisor on cross-functional initiatives, influencing strategy and promoting adoption of advanced analytics and AI capabilities across the organization.
- Design and evolve data science frameworks, analytical methodologies, and data mining approaches to identify meaningful trends and business opportunities within large-scale datasets.
- Evaluate emerging analytics, machine learning, and Generative AI technologies to enhance organizational capabilities and maintain a competitive advantage.
- Communicate complex findings, business implications, and actionable recommendations to senior leaders and stakeholders.
- Execute departmental priorities and operational plans while collaborating with leaders to achieve near-term and long-term business objectives.
- Hire, develop, coach, and lead a high-performing team. Establish performance expectations, provide ongoing feedback, support career development, and make compensation decisions in alignment with Human Resources policies and practices.
- Participate in special projects and other responsibilities as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience in Data Science, Machine Learning Engineering, AI Engineering, or related technical disciplines.
- Demonstrated expertise in supervised and unsupervised learning, statistical modeling, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), Generative AI, and agent-based AI solutions.
- Strong understanding of LLM evaluation frameworks, prompt engineering and optimization, context engineering, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures.
- Proficiency in programming and data engineering techniques used to access, transform, and prepare large-scale datasets for machine learning applications.
- Experience developing and deploying statistical, machine learning, and AI-based solutions in production environments.
- Experience building explainable AI/ML solutions and applying model interpretability and attribution methodologies.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Analytics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Special Factors
Sponsorship
Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.About Vanguard
At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission.
To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.
How We Work
Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.
How we rate this
Manager, Data Science at Vanguard rates 89 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Open the description and count.
Prepare for this job
A free preview built only from this posting: what it asks for, what you could be asked in an interview, and how to adjust your resume.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- How do you structure and test a prompt to get consistent output from a language model?
- How would you design a retrieval step so the model answers from real data instead of guessing?
- How do you decide that one model's output is better than another's for a given task?
- What NLP problem have you worked on, and how did you measure whether it actually worked?
- How would you decide a model or AI system is ready to ship?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Prompt Engineering, RAG, AI Evaluation, and NLP. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them — a tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Lead with what you built, trained or shipped — this role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.
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