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Founding Data Scientist Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Nash, Inc.

Senior Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA · On-site +1

Senior Data Scientist About Nash Nash is the autonomic logistics platform. We unify decisioning and ... Prior experience at an early-stage company or in a founding data role. Why this role matters The ...

Nash

Senior Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180 - $240/hr

Senior Data Scientist About Nash Nash is the autonomic logistics platform. We unify decisioning and ... Prior experience at an early-stage company or in a founding data role. Why this role matters The ...

Parafin, Inc

Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA · On-site

The Data Science Team Our Impact Data is core to Parafin's mission to grow small businesses. Our ... Since our founding, we have grown the team to include perspectives from graduate studies in physics ...

Zip

Senior/Staff Data Scientist, EPD

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180K - $220K/yr

Your Role As a founding Data Scientist for Procure-to-Pay (P2P) at Zip, you'll collaborate extensively with cross-functional teams to provide the models, data products, and insights necessary for ...

Arch

Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA · On-site

You'll work directly with our CTO and founding team to model customer behavior, optimize campaign ... experience in data science, ML engineering, or analytics roles in fast-paced environments

Knit Health

Senior Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA · On-site

Knit is led by a founding team from the University of California Berkeley who have developed a ... Why this role The data science team is responsible for understanding provider needs and clinical ...

Socket.dev

Machine Learning Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$180 - $250/hr

Role Description Founding Data Scientist / Machine Learning Engineer We're looking for a highly ambitious Data Scientist to help build the predictive intelligence layer behind nowfluence. This is not ...

ReadyOn, Inc.

Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$140 - $190/hr

Behind that system is a founding team of experts in labor markets, enterprise software, and AI ... Data Scientists who thrive in ambiguous, high-impact environments and naturally set technical ...

Parafin

Data Scientist, Underwriting

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$190 - $230/hr

Our Impact Data science is integral to Parafin's mission. Our platform partnerships and lending ... Since our founding, we have grown the team to include perspectives from graduate studies in physics ...

FlightStory

Senior Data Scientist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$185K/yr

SENIOR DATA SCIENTIST COMPANY: STEVEN.COM REPORTING TO: HEAD OF DATA INTELLIGENCE LOCATION: LOS ... Powering all of it is our Innovation and Technology Organisation (ITO) - Steven.com's founding ...

Stanfordlivetickets

Biomedical Data Science

Palo Alto, CA · On-site

$110 - $170/hr

The Department of Pathology at Stanford School of Medicine, one of its founding departments, stands ... The successful candidate will apply modern data science, biomedical informatics, and artificial ...

Tacit

Machine Learning Scientist

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$180K - $270K/yr

We are backed by General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, and Greylock Partners, with a founding team ... data streams from our custom sensing hardware. You'll play a pivotal role in advancing our ...

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All JobsFounding Data Scientist JobsFounding Data Scientist Jobs in California

Founding Data Scientist information

What is a founding data scientist?

Founding Data Scientists are data professionals who join a company at its earliest stages, often as one of the first technical hires. They are responsible for setting up the company's data infrastructure, developing initial machine learning models, and establishing best practices for data analysis. Their role is highly strategic, often collaborating closely with founders to influence product direction and data-driven decision-making. In addition to technical expertise, Founding Data Scientists need to be adaptable, entrepreneurial, and comfortable working in fast-paced, uncertain environments.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a founding data scientist?

To thrive as a Founding Data Scientist, you need expert knowledge in statistics, machine learning, and data analysis, often supported by an advanced degree in a quantitative field. Familiarity with tools such as Python, R, SQL, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP), and experience with data pipeline and model deployment frameworks is typically required. Strong problem-solving abilities, entrepreneurial mindset, and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly set exceptional candidates apart. These skills are crucial for building reliable data products from scratch, influencing company direction, and driving data-driven decision-making in an early-stage environment.

What are some unique challenges a founding data scientist faces in an early-stage startup environment?

As a Founding Data Scientist in an early-stage startup, you often wear multiple hats, balancing hands-on model development with strategic planning and infrastructure setup. You'll likely be responsible for establishing data processes, selecting tech stacks, and setting up data pipelines from scratch, often with limited resources. Close collaboration with engineering, product, and leadership teams is essential, as your insights will directly influence business strategy. This role demands adaptability, strong communication skills, and a proactive mindset, as priorities can shift rapidly in a startup setting.

What are popular job titles related to Founding Data Scientist jobs in California?

For Founding Data Scientist jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Founding Data Scientist jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Founding Data Scientist jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Founding Data Scientist jobs?

Cities in California with the most Founding Data Scientist job openings:

Founding Data Scientist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Founding Data Scientist job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 84% Full Time, 13% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution.

Founding Data Scientist / Data Analyst

AI ECD Inc.

San Jose, CA • On-site

$120 - $180/hr

Other

Posted 5 days ago

Job description

Remote · Bay Area ideal Full-time · Founding team AI ECD Inc.

We are the team behind Kidooo AI, the AI agent for personalized parenting and child development. We help parents understand their child's progress, turn everyday observations into clear next steps, and build more confident daily routines. We want someone who can define what progress actually means for a family, measure it honestly from imperfect real-world data, and tell us when the numbers do not support the story we want to tell.

The stack

Analysis

Python (pandas, scikit-learn) Jupyter Cohort and funnel analysis Longitudinal methods

Data

Amplitude or PostHog Metabase or Looker A/B testing Bayesian methods for small samples

Agile

Slack JIRA Google Workspace Weekly sprints

What you will build

  • The metrics that matter: Define what activation, retention, and genuine parent value look like for Kidooo, and build the reporting that makes them visible across the team.
  • Funnel visibility across the core flows: Instrument and analyze onboarding, video upload, processing, results, daily practice steps, and progress tracking, so we know exactly where families drop off and why.
  • Developmental analytics: Turn sparse, irregular, parent-reported observations into defensible signals about a child's progress. This is messy longitudinal data with real missingness, and it sits directly behind the progress tracking parents see.
  • Experimentation practice: Stand up an approach that works at early-stage sample sizes, where classic A/B testing is often underpowered and the honest answer is sometimes "we cannot tell yet."
  • Personalization inputs: Build the segmentation and cohorting that lets our AI systems adapt to a family's context, in close partnership with engineering.
  • Market and competitive intelligence: Track the parenting and child development landscape, including competitor positioning, pricing, and feature moves, and turn it into analysis that informs what we build next and how we position it.

Who you are

  • Quantitatively strong: BS or MS in Statistics, Data Science, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated ability. Portfolio, dashboards, or shipped analyses count more than the degree.
  • 2+ years in analytics or data science on a real product. Strong Python; working SQL is enough. What matters more is that you are AI-native: you use LLMs and modern AI tooling as a normal part of how you explore data, prototype, and ship. You have owned analyses that changed a product decision, not only analyses that were presented.
  • A clear communicator: You can explain a confidence interval to a founder, a designer, and a parent, and you write conclusions people can act on.
  • A full-range builder: You move between a simple dashboard and a retention model without ceremony, build your own instrumentation rather than inheriting it, and stay honest with sparse longitudinal data, including when the honest answer is that the sample cannot support a conclusion yet.
  • Mission-driven owner: You care deeply about parenting and child development, you define the question rather than waiting to be handed it, and you measure success by whether families using Kidooo are actually better off.

Nice to have: background in developmental psychology, epidemiology, education research, or health outcomes; experience with psychometrics or validated assessment instruments; causal inference beyond A/B testing; prior work in health, edtech, or other high-trust domains.

Purpose

Build technology that helps families make confident child-development decisions.

Ownership

Work alongside founders to build our data foundation and decision-making culture from zero to one.

Hybrid culture

Remote-friendly culture with regular in-person collaboration for Bay Area team members.

Ready to measure something that matters?

Open to remote; Bay Area local is ideal. We'd love to hear from you.

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