Lead Data Scientist, Demand Forecasting

Scout Motors is building its first enterprise demand forecast - and there's no sales history to build it on. 

As a VW Group–backed EV company in the run-up to launch, Scout has reservations data, an enthusiastic and loyal community, and a product about to enter the market — but not the years of historical sales a demand model usually leans on. That's the problem this role owns: building a rigorous, probabilistic forecast from the signals that do exist, and growing it into the analytical engine of Scout's planning system as real demand data arrives. 

This is the first dedicated modeling seat in Integrated Business Planning. You'll develop the demand forecasting model and own the data behind it — then partner with IT and Product Management to productionize it into the digital IBP product Scout is building, so the forecast lives where the business actually plans and decides.

Become part of an iconic brand that is set to revolutionize the electric pick-up truck & rugged SUV marketplace by achieving the following:

• →Build Scout's first demand forecasting model — probabilistic rather than point-estimate, forecasting unconstrained demand at the grain the business plans on. Convert reservation backlog with explicit probabilities, phase the timing of that conversion, and layer in organic demand as its own signal.  
• →Solve the cold-start problem — stand up a credible forecast before there's sales history, using reservations, configurator and order data, market analogs, and structured priors — then systematically replace assumptions with data as the market gives it to us.  
• →Own the demand data end to end — source, define, and steward the data that feeds the forecast; build the pipelines and the feature/data layer; own data quality and the shared definitions everyone downstream depends on.  
• →Partner across the business to get the inputs and outputs right — work with the teams that own the signals feeding the forecast and the teams that consume it, so the model is grounded in real inputs and lands in a format the business can actually use. 
• →Make the forecast legible — document methodology and assumptions, quantify uncertainty honestly, and explain the model's logic clearly to non-technical stakeholders in Finance, Commercial, Production, and Procurement.  
• →Productionize with IT and Product — partner with engineering to move the model from notebooks into the IBP digital product (pipelines, deployment, monitoring, retraining) 
• →Stand up forecast measurement — back-testing, accuracy tracking, and model monitoring, so the forecast improves on a known cadence as post-launch data accumulates and the model is retrained against reality.  
• →Lay the foundation for what's next — build the data and modeling base that Scout's future AI/ML planning capabilities will extend. 

• To be considered for career opportunities at Scout Motors, applicants must be 18 years of age or older. 
• Residing in San Francisco: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Scout Motors will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 
• Residing in Los Angeles: Scout Motors will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. 
• Residing in New York City: This role is not eligible for remote work in New York City.

Scout Motors is committed to employing a diverse workforce and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, disability, pregnancy, or any other characteristics protected by law. Scout Motors is committed to compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws. If you require reasonable accommodation to complete a job application, pre-employment testing, or a job interview or to otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact ScoutAccommodations@scoutmotors.com.