Applied Scientist Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Kforce has a client that is seeking a Senior Manager of Data Science in Raleigh, NC.
Key Responsibilities:
Scope & Impact:
* Set the vision and strategic priorities, acting as a recognized expert for Data Science
* Lead and develop a team of data scientists and ML engineers, setting the cultural tone for the group
* Drive applied research with a clear path to production, explicitly balancing innovation against real-world constraints including latency, cost, and reliability
* Build and scale evaluation science capabilities within the team, including offline evaluation frameworks, automated benchmarking pipelines, and human-in-the-loop feedback systems to rigorously measure model quality and business impact
* Champion hands-on rapid prototyping and iteration
* Collaborate with other Data Science teams to maximize re-use of components and patterns, eliminating waste, duplication and unnecessary customization
* Operate with broad scope, coordinating across multiple cross-functional teams, systems, and domains
Technical & Product Leadership:
* Collaborate closely with other Data Science teams, to define and execute the AI roadmap across the content lifecycle, maximizing reuse in areas including: Content collection (e.g. -web scraping-) and transformation; Metadata extraction, enrichment, and classification; Agentic workflows turning real-world events and legal content into legal intelligence; AI-powered downstream product capabilities
* Design and deploy scalable, production-grade AI systems, including: LLM-powered document understanding and generation; Agentic workflows balancing agent autonomy and efficiency with required structure and accuracy; Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines; Hybrid ML + rules-based systems for structured content
* Lead through execution and by example: Actively writing code, not just delegating
REQUIREMENTS:
* Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field strongly preferred, or equivalent practical experience
* Bachelor's degree in a relevant field with significant applied experience in data science, machine learning, or AI
* 8+ years of relevant experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI
* 4+ years of leadership experience (direct or indirect team management)
* Cloud infrastructure experience on AWS (preferred), Azure, or Google Cloud Platform
* Familiarity with vector databases, knowledge graphs, and hybrid retrieval architecture, CI/CD, RESTful API Design and model serving tools
* Familiarity with AI Coding Tools (e.g. GitHub CoPilot, Claude Code, OpenAI Codex)
* Proficient with Python, ML and LLM tooling such as Google ADK, LangChain, ML Frameworks (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch) and prompt tuning techniques
Preferred Background:
* Graduate degree in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or equivalent experience
* 8+ years of post-degree experience, with 4+ years in a data science or applied AI leadership role, with a focus on NLP/LLM systems
* Prior experience in legal tech, legal AI, or document-intensive domains is highly desirable
* Familiarity with ethical/legal considerations in deploying generative AI in professional settings
Success in this role requires:
* Leading through both technical expertise and organizational influence
* Acting as a change agent, embedding best practices into workflows and systems
* Driving both team development and strategic outcomes across a broad scope
* Ability to select the right tools and technologies to solve business problems
The pay range is the lowest to highest compensation we reasonably in good faith believe we would pay at posting for this role. We may ultimately pay more or less than this range. Employee pay is based on factors like relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, location, performance, union contract and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.
We offer comprehensive benefits including medical/dental/vision insurance, HSA, FSA, 401(k), and life, disability & ADD insurance to eligible employees. Salaried personnel receive paid time off. Hourly employees are not eligible for paid time off unless required by law. Hourly employees on a Service Contract Act project are eligible for paid sick leave.
Note: Pay is not considered compensation until it is earned, vested and determinable. The amount and availability of any compensation remains in Kforce's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified in its discretion consistent with the law.
This job is not eligible for bonuses, incentives or commissions.
Kforce is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, or disability status.
By clicking ?Apply Today? you agree to receive calls, AI-generated calls, text messages or emails from Kforce and its affiliates, and service providers. Note that if you choose to communicate with Kforce via text messaging the frequency may vary, and message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. You will always have the right to cease communicating via text by using key words such as STOP.