Senior Manager, Data Science
Newport Beach, California 610 Newport Center Drive, 92660CULTIVATE A BETTER WORLD
Food served fast does not have to be a typical fast-food experience. Chipotle has always done things differently, both in and out of our restaurants. We are changing the face of fast food, starting conversations, and directly supporting efforts to shift the future of farming and food. We hope you will join us as we continue to learn, evolve, and shape what comes next on our mission to make better food accessible to everyone.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Chipotle is building a modern, enterprise-grade Data Science organization focused on reliability, governance, and the delivery of high-impact machine learning solutions. As Senior Manager, Data Science, you will lead a team of data scientists and/or analytics engineers responsible for developing, deploying, and operationalizing production ML models that improve decision-making across Digital, Restaurant Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, and the broader enterprise.
You will partner closely across Data Engineering, BI Engineering, Product & Technology, and business teams to define model development standards, experimentation frameworks, and operational practices that ensure long-term model reliability and transparency. This role will also play a key part in supporting Chipotle’s Data Science and AI vision and roadmap by helping evaluate emerging capabilities, aligning ML efforts with platform strategy, and advancing responsible, strategic adoption of AI technologies.
This is a hands-on leadership role that translates data science strategy into reliable, scalable solutions that power the business every day.
LOCATION
This position will be based in our Newport Beach, CA office 4 days per week (with work from home on Friday). Remote work is not available for this role.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Leadership & Strategy:
Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing Data Science team of data scientists and/or analytics engineers.
Partner with the Director of Analytics Engineering to build and execute Chipotle’s Data Science strategy, roadmap, operating model, and AI enablement goals.
Support the development and adoption of frameworks, guidelines, and capabilities that enhance Chipotle’s readiness for scalable AI integration.
Define and enforce modern data science, analytics engineering, and MLOps best practices.
Establish standardized frameworks for experimentation, causal inference, model validation, and success measurement.
Promote a culture of documentation, peer review, testing, and operational excellence.
Data Science, MLOps & AI Execution:
Own the complete ML lifecycle—from problem framing through data sourcing, modeling, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
Build, manage, and maintain reliable feature pipelines and ML workflows.
Deploy production ML models and implement observability for drift, data quality, concept changes, bias, performance, and SLAs.
Ensure reproducibility through versioning, testing, documentation, and proper model lineage.
Modernize Chipotle’s data science capabilities by exploring and evaluating emerging technologies and future platform capabilities, including potential expansion into cloud-native ML platforms.
Support Chipotle’s AI enablement efforts by helping evaluate emerging AI capabilities and potential applications.
Ensure all ML products follow governance, risk, security, and explainability expectations.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Partner with Digital, Marketing, Restaurant Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, Product, and other business teams to identify and prioritize high-value ML opportunities.
Collaborate with engineering teams to design production-ready ML solutions based on enterprise platform strategy.
Partner with the Data Engineering team to strengthen Data Science–owned transformations and ensure high-quality, reliable data pipelines.
Contribute to platform modernization efforts by helping define when Data Science should use specific data transformation patterns or workflows in alignment with the broader platform strategy.
Translate business needs into statistical, machine learning, causal inference, or optimization solutions.
Collaborate with BI Engineering to align KPIs, metrics, and logic between analytics output and ML-driven insights.
Communicate insights, model performance, risks, and decisions clearly to executive, technical, and operational audiences.
Build trust and adoption of ML-based solutions across the business through strong storytelling, clarity, and measurable outcomes.
WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE TABLE
Required:
8+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, predictive modeling, recommendation systems, or advanced analytics.
3+ years managing or leading data scientists and/or analytics engineers.
Hands-on proficiency in Python, SQL, and modern ML frameworks.
Experience deploying and maintaining enterprise-grade production ML models.
Strong experience with model lifecycle management, monitoring, versioning, and reproducibility.
Experience with experimentation frameworks (A/B testing, uplift modeling, causal inference).
Familiarity with modern data governance/cataloging systems such as Unity Catalog and/or Snowflake Horizon.
Experience with feature store technologies.
Strong communication, executive storytelling, and cross-functional partnership skills.
Preferred:
Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Economics, etc.) or equivalent work experience.
Master’s or PhD in a quantitative field.
Experience with generative AI, embeddings, LLM prompting, or retrieval-augmented approaches.
Experience with vector search technologies.
Experience applying responsible AI practices (fairness, explainability, risk mitigation).
Experience with DBT or similar data transformation frameworks.
Experience with real-time or event-driven ML patterns.
Experience in retail, restaurant, QSR, or consumer analytics.
PAY TRANSPARENCY
A reasonable estimate of the current base pay range for this position is $147,000.00–$217,500.00. You are also eligible for annual cash bonuses and equity awards based upon performance and other factors. Actual compensation offered may vary depending on skill level, experience, and/or education. Chipotle offers a competitive total rewards package, which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k, sick leave, vacation time, and much more. Visit https://jobs.chipotle.com/benefits for more details.WHO WE ARE
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle has restaurants in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe. With employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM
Chipotle Mexican Grill is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. As a people-first company rooted in values, our purpose extends beyond serving nutritious food using real ingredients. It means hiring world-class individuals and fostering a culture that champions diversity, ensures equity, and celebrates inclusion. All qualified applicants, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply.
Qualified applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or certain state or local laws. Please contact ADAaccommodations@chipotle.comif you need an accommodation due to a disability to complete an application, job interview, and/or to otherwise participate in the hiring process. This email does not respond to non-accommodations related requests.