Data Scientist

illumin • Toronto, Golden Horseshoe • 1d ago

Who we are

At illumin, we are transforming the advertising landscape. Our platform offers an integrated space for journey planning, execution, and reporting. It empowers marketers to connect with their audiences in powerful ways through real-time data and easy-to-use visual tools. By seamlessly combining media planning and buying in an intuitive interface, marketers can take complete control of their campaigns, meeting customers wherever they are in the buying journey and maximizing the impact of their ad spend through personalized insights for smarter decision-making.

We are at a pivotal moment, evolving into a product-led company with a team of over 100 skilled professionals and new leadership guiding our path forward. By harnessing the power of data, advancing our AI capabilities, and deeply investing in our people, we are preparing for a future that will redefine what’s possible in journey advertising.

Our work is guided by two beliefs: that the ability to execute is paramount to success and that we are only as good as our people. As we grow and transform, we are looking for team members (illumineers) who share our bias for speed, delivery over perfection, and an entrepreneurial mindset. Joining us now is a chance to be part of our transformation.

Who we need

Reporting to the Director, AI, we are looking for a Data Scientist to play a pivotal role in transforming complex data into impactful solutions that drive the success of our AdTech platform. In this role, you will craft and optimize algorithms to improve ad targeting, delivery, and bidding strategies. Utilizing big data technologies, you will build scalable systems, enhance recommendation models, and ensure the efficiency and flexibility of data science processes. The AI team is actively developing LLM-based solutions—including Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, AI workflows, and autonomous AI agents—to automate and generate insights across various aspects of the company’s operations. Therefore, candidates with experience in building applications powered by large language models (LLMs) are strongly preferred.

This is a full-time, on-site opportunity working Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in our downtown Toronto office. Our headquarters are located within minutes of St. Andrew and Union subway stations.

What's in it for you

Impact. You are driven to change an industry by delivering a platform that clients actively seek out and value. Our customers recognize and value our relentless focus on driving their success. As part of a small Data Science team within a publicly traded, product-led company, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the revolutionary impact of our product on ad campaigns. This is an opportunity to influence feature development and optimization, drawing on data analytics to provide actionable recommendations that will be instrumental in driving innovation and maintaining the efficiency of our tools and systems.

Technical exposure. Our platform processes nearly 150 billion requests daily, driving programmatic traffic globally across all devices, streaming services, and out-of-home targeted advertising. Working with data at this scale is a rare opportunity. This is a chance to apply your skills and grow your expertise in analyzing vast datasets and extracting actionable insights to optimize live campaigns and platform features, ensuring measurable improvements for advertisers.

Professional development. You want to grow - your skills, your influence, your career. We push the limits to improve and to reach our full potential, individually and as a company. We are committed to building the strengths of our team. You will be supported by your manager and have access to one-on-one coaching with our Chief Empowerment Officer's team. Your accountabilities, learning opportunities, and scope for ownership and career growth will rapidly expand as we continue to step up to meet the increased value and shifting needs for AdTech.

How you will make an impact:

Develop innovative solutions. You will design, develop, and refine algorithms to enhance ad targeting, delivery, and bidding strategies. You will build predictive models to segment audiences, predict conversion likelihood, and forecast engagement.
Design and develop LLM-powered solutions. You will take part in the design and development of solutions leveraging large language models (LLMs) as part of our broader initiative to integrate AI across diverse workflows and operational domains.
Analyze and extract insights. You will analyze large datasets from advertising campaigns, user interactions, and platform performance to draw actionable insights. You will develop reports and dashboards to visualize key metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), return on ad spend (ROAS), and audience behaviour.
Build scalable data solutions. You will leverage big data technologies to process and analyze massive datasets efficiently. Using data insights, you will develop and refine recommendation systems to suggest ideal audiences, ad formats, and bidding strategies. You will ensure the scalability of data science models and workflows to accommodate growing data volumes and user demands.
Optimize campaigns. You will apply advanced statistical techniques to optimize live campaigns, including bid adjustments, creative improvements, and audience targeting refinements. You will conduct A/B or multivariate testing to identify the most effective strategies for different audience segments.
Optimize platform performance. You will monitor platform features to ensure they deliver optimal results for advertisers, identifying and troubleshooting anomalies or inefficiencies in data pipelines and algorithms. You will help maintain our data mining tools and platforms while staying up-to-date with new approaches and trends in the field, incorporating them into your own solutions.
Collaborate. You will work with product managers, engineers, and designers to integrate data science solutions into the platform. You will provide data-driven recommendations to enhance features such as dynamic ad creatives, real-time analytics, and programmatic ad placements. You will communicate the performance and results of the models to management, providing clear and actionable recommendations based on the findings.

What you bring:

The experience. You bring the combined academic and professional expertise in addressing data science and AI challenges in the advertising, financial, or insurance industries; you have a solid understanding of economic principles. You have experience developing and refining data-driven and LLM based solutions to enhance product performance and user experience. A Masters in Data Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or Actuarial Science is preferred.
The drive. You are highly analytical, innovative, and solution-oriented and you excel at turning complex data problems into actionable insights. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, adapt to shifting priorities, and can make informed decisions quickly.
The technical expertise. You have a proven track record of analyzing, benchmarking, and optimizing the performance of data pipelines and machine learning models. You are experienced in LLM bases application development and are proficient in Python, SQL, and working with large datasets using current data science tools and methodologies.
The interpersonal skills. You have excellent written and verbal communication skills and can relay complex data concepts effectively to technical and non-technical stakeholders. You can build trust and collaborate seamlessly with cross-functional teams, sharing knowledge and adopting constructive feedback. You value diverse perspectives and understand how they contribute to better decision-making and innovation.
The growth mindset. You are naturally curious and eager to learn. You view setbacks as opportunities for growth, using them to refine your approach. Resourceful and self-motivated, you stay current with the latest trends, tools, and techniques in data science, machine learning, and AI to stay ahead in the field.

What else should you know about us?

We are undergoing a transformative shift. We are embracing change and the opportunities that come with it, empowering every illumineer to innovate, experiment, and bring forward new ideas. Whether accessing new technology, restructuring workflows, or expanding your team, you will have full support if you can make the business case.

We are a broad and diverse team, but we all share a passion for success, a drive to do more, and a love of creating connections. We hire for talent and commitment and provide the guidelines and guidance to elevate skills, knowledge, and abilities across all areas. This is a place where proven methods meet bold ideas, offering opportunities to grow personally and professionally.

To support a healthy work-life balance, we offer a flexible work environment, a meal credit for your in-office days, and a free massage with an RMT in-house every eight weeks. That is in addition to our comprehensive benefits, which include life, AD&D, long-term disability insurance, and coverage for prescriptions, dental, vision, mental health, and professional health services. You will also have access to a workplace advisor, the Vitality Wellness app, and a $300 annual healthcare spending account.

Apply now

If you want to seize the opportunity to impact a company and influence an industry, and you have 70% of what we are looking for, apply now. We can't promise an interview, but we will consider your whole application.

What you can expect from our interview process:

A virtual interview with a senior Talent Advisor to discuss your experience and interest in the role and an online technical assessment.
An in-person technical interview with a Data Science team member to understand your strengths and discuss your experience.
An in-person with the VP, AI and Director AI to further explore your experience and discuss how it aligns with the needs of the team and our clients. It will be an opportunity to ask any further questions about the role, team and product trajectory.

illumin is firmly committed to diversity within its community and welcomes applications from racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous People of North America and the world, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ persons, and those who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

We are committed to providing equitable opportunities in employment and to providing a workplace which is free from discrimination and harassment. We are equally committed to providing an inclusive and accessible workplace. If you require accommodations at any stage of the interview process, please email us at hr@illumin.com [hr@illumin.com] .