Roles › Chief Executive Officer › Chief Data (& Analytics) Officer › Data Science & ML

Data Science & ML

What does a Data Science Manager do?

Uses statistics and machine learning to predict, classify, recommend, and optimize.

Steady demand Team: Data Science & ML Reports into: Chief Data (& Analytics) Officer

What they actually do

Owns models in production: churn, fraud, forecasting, recommendations.
Prioritizes which problems are worth modeling vs. just analyzing.
Sets standards for model quality, fairness, monitoring.
Increasingly owns generative-AI initiatives.

Hiring demand

Steady demand. Regular postings, but fewer than the busiest roles. Expect a longer search or more specialization.

Ad space

Who they work with

AnalyticsData engineeringSoftware engineeringProduct

Typical tools

Pythonscikit-learn / PyTorchMLflowCloud ML platforms

Skills to get there

Statistics & ML
Python
Experiment design
Communicating uncertainty

Title ladder

Common titles for this role at each level. Companies vary; see Role titles decoded.

Level	Typical titles
Entry	Junior / Associate Data Science Manager · Data Science Manager I
Mid	Data Science Manager · Data Science Manager II
Senior	Senior Data Science Manager · Lead Data Science Manager
Expert (IC track)	Staff / Principal Data Science Manager
Management track	Manager, Data Science & ML → Director of Data Science & ML → VP

See the free training path →

See current openings

Searching for: Data Science Manager · anywhere in the US · change

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How to get here

Salary (US) as of 2026-11

Median$175K

Typical range$133K–$250K

Senior / manager$265K

Sources:

Mapped to BLS 11-3021 (no DS-manager-specific OES code). Big-tech total comp (Levels.fyi) runs far above base-salary sources; a Capital One posting listed $170,872-$267,900.

Experience to get here

Entry level5-6 years as a data scientist before a first manager role

Typical title6-10 years total, 1-3 years leading people or projects

Bachelor's in a quantitative field required; master's or PhD common and can substitute for years (Capital One: 6 yrs with BS, 4 with MS, 1 with PhD).

Typical prior roles

Senior Data ScientistStaff / Lead Data ScientistAnalytics ManagerMachine Learning Engineer

Must have

Hands-on ML and statistics credibility (Python, SQL, model lifecycle)
Experience leading projects or people (postings ask for 1-2+ years of management)
Prioritizing which problems are worth modeling vs. analyzing
Stakeholder management with product, engineering and executives
Setting standards for model quality, monitoring and fairness

Milestones people hit first

Mentored or tech-led 2-3 data scientists through a delivered project
Owned a production model's roadmap (churn, fraud, forecasting) and its business metric
Ran hiring loops and wrote the team's interview rubric
Presented a model-driven recommendation that leadership acted on

Certifications

AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - AssociateAmazon Web Services

Nice to havein postings: rarely

Exam fee	$150
Training	AWS Skill Builder free tier; paid prep optional
Renewal	recertify by exam every 3 years
Typical total	$150-400

Time: 6-10 weeks part-time
Prerequisites: none

Manager postings almost never require certs; cloud ML certs matter only at AWS-centric shops.

Google Cloud Professional Machine Learning EngineerGoogle Cloud

Nice to havein postings: rarely

Exam fee	$200
Training	Google Skills learning path
Renewal	valid 2 years; renew via Google Skills
Typical total	$200-500

Time: 6-10 weeks part-time
Prerequisites: none

Signals platform fluency when managing MLOps work on GCP; not a hiring filter.

Training & learning

Burtch Works 2026 AI & Data Science Compensation Report FREE Burtch Works · community · free · 1 hourBenchmarks IC and manager pay by level, which you will need for hiring and your own negotiation.
The Data Scientist Job Market in 2026 FREE 365 Data Science · community · free · 30 minutesManagers write the job descriptions; this shows what the market currently asks for.
Deep Learning Specialization DeepLearning.AI on Coursera · course · Coursera subscription ($49/mo or Coursera Plus $239/yr) · about 3 months at 10 hrs/weekKeeps technical credibility current as teams take on deep learning and generative AI work.
DeepLearning.AI short courses on agents, RAG and evaluation FREE DeepLearning.AI · learning path · short courses free · 1-2 hours eachDS managers increasingly own generative-AI initiatives; these cover the patterns quickly.
Reforge: Product Leadership and Technical Foundations courses Reforge · course · $1,995/yr individual membership · a few weeks per courseManagement-track skills (prioritization, stakeholder strategy) that DS ICs rarely get formally.

Sources & notes

No certification appears 'often' or is required in the manager postings reviewed (Capital One, Virtual Vocations); both list none. Years-of-management requirement varies (one posting: 3 yrs field + 2 yrs management). No BLS code maps directly; 11-3021 is the closest. Only two certifications listed because none others are credibly tied to this title.

Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.

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