mail@lukedav.is | lukedav.is | GitHub | LinkedIn | (303) 478 2957 | Queens, NY
Data scientist and leader with nine years of experience empowering organizations with data and insights. I’ve worked on every part of the data and analytics process: creating internal tools, deriving datasets from big data sources, analyzing complex experiments, building statistical models, and creating metrics and insights from imperfect data. I’ve worked extensively cross-functionally with product and executive stakeholders to shape major business decisions that affect millions of users.
| Tools | Strategic Skills | Technical Skills |
|---|---|---|
| SQL: Redshift, Snowflake, BigQuery, DBT | Data team management, process, strategy, and hiring | R expert, experienced in Python |
| Big data in Spark / Hive on AWS EC2 | Robust executive presentation experience | Statistical modeling |
| Dashboards in Tableau, Shiny, Looker, Mixpanel | Project management / Jira / GitHub | Statistics for inference + experiment design |
Experience
Skillshare
Staff Data Scientist, January 2020 - Present
Lead data analytics and data science for internationalization, payments, and content strategy at Skillshare, an online learning platform for creativity with nearly 1 million active paying subscribers. Recognized with company-wide values awards for Community (2021) and Transparency (2022).
Executive Partnership
Led multiple “root cause” analyses on behalf of executive team to determine overarching business trends and opportunities around new user acquisition, churn, and payments processing. Worked with full C-suite to prepare presentations for company’s board. Analysis led to major shifts in company strategy, saving millions of dollars in acquisition marketing spend.
Team Leadership
Oversee and coordinate analytics work across company’s highest priority: international expansion. Manage two data analysts as direct reports and manage relationships with cross-functional stakeholders. Maintain internal team R package.
User Segmentation
Used k-means to create company’s first user segments. Output put into production and widely adopted on Content, Marketing, and Brand Strategy teams. Uncovered underserved high value user segments like Aspiring Influencers and Careerist Creatives.
Experimentation
Lead A/B test analysis for company’s payments and internationalization efforts. Analyzed complex tests of new user onboarding features and international payment methods.
edX
Sr. Data Scientist, February 2019 - January 2020
Partnered closely with Head of Data to create strategy and process for data team at edX, a non-profit online course provider with over 13 million monthly visits.
Data Strategy + Capacity Building
Created an executive-level strategic plan for nascent data team. Used stakeholder interviews to prioritize key verticals to prove value of investment in data. Mentored junior data scientists, created hiring process, and led the team’s adoption of analytics engineering practices.
Experimentation
Analyzed A/B test of full site redesign. Created iterative testing plan to pull product team out of indecision arising from earlier confusing results. Demonstrated 20% lift in key conversion rates.
Publicis Groupe / Digitas
Sr. Data Scientist, December 2015 - February 2019
Provided analytics solutions on over 20 client projects at Digitas. Transferred to parent company Publicis, the world’s 3rd largest advertising company, to build big data tools.
Analytics Tool Building
Built the PeopleCloud Analytics Environment, the company’s big data advanced advertising analytics platform for data professionals around the world. Wrote Python / PySpark package to standardize data access and implement visualizations for common analyses. Led international trainings for over 100 data professionals.
Price Optimization
Used time series methods and random forests to project demand for tickets to the broadway musical School of Rock. Created system to suggest revenue-optimizing prices based on projections and complex business requirements.
Earlier Experience
Analyst at Center for Effective Philanthropy, 2015
Analyst at Latitude Research, 2013-2015
ACLU of Massachusetts
Volunteer Data Scientist, January 2017 - January 2019
Co-led data analysis in CPCS v. Attorney General, which led to the largest dismissal of convictions arising from tainted evidence in U.S. history.
Education
Carnegie Mellon University
BS in Psychology, September 2009 - May 2013
Completed coursework in the psychology of expertise, machine learning, data visualization, and statistics.
Awarded multiple competitive undergraduate research grants for work on educational computer games. Won 2012 Pittsburgh Global Game Jam Judges’ Choice Award for Get Pumped, a networked multiplayer video game created in 48 hours.