Data Scientist

The Coca-Cola Company is evolving into a more digital-first, data-driven enterprise to fuel sustainable growth, increase speed to market, and unlock new sources of value. Rapid advances in technology, data, and AI create a unique opportunity to accelerate the KO system's next chapter of growth by reimagining our core competitive advantages. Building on a strong foundation of modernized infrastructure, global digital experiences, early data capabilities, and proven use cases, we are now shifting from early wins to scaled, end to end impact on growth, productivity, and efficiency.

This next phase moves us from an analog world to a fully digitized one, powered by a digital growth engine that embeds data, technology, and AI into our most critical business domains. Success will require more than technology implementation, it demands a strategic transformation of core capabilities, a domain based, product centric operating model, and a cultural shift toward experimentation, data and technology fluency, and seamless partnership between business and digital teams.

Job Description Summary

The Director, Data Science is responsible for leading advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI initiatives that transform enterprise data into actionable business insights and strategic decision-making. This role partners closely with business leaders, Product teams, Digital Services, and Operating Units to identify high-value opportunities, develop predictive models, and deliver scalable analytics solutions that drive growth, productivity, and operational excellence.

The Director combines deep expertise in data science, statistical modeling, and AI with strong business acumen to solve complex business challenges and enable data-driven decision making across the Coca-Cola system. Working across multiple functions, the role translates business problems into analytical solutions, builds intelligent products and models, and ensures insights are embedded into business processes to maximize value realization.

Success in this role requires strong technical leadership, analytical thinking, strategic problem-solving, and the ability to communicate complex insights in ways that influence business decisions.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead the development and execution of advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI solutions that address strategic business priorities.

• Partner with business stakeholders to identify opportunities where data science can improve growth, productivity, customer experience, and operational performance.

• Design, develop, and deploy predictive models, machine learning algorithms, optimization models, and statistical analyses to solve complex business problems.

• Transform large, complex datasets into actionable insights, recommendations, and decision-support capabilities.

• Develop scalable analytical products, reusable models, and AI-enabled solutions that drive measurable business value.

• Partner with Product, Data Engineering, and Digital teams to operationalize machine learning models and integrate analytics into digital products and business workflows.

• Evaluate model performance, monitor business outcomes, and continuously refine analytical approaches to improve accuracy and effectiveness.

• Establish best practices for data science, experimentation, model governance, feature engineering, and responsible AI.

• Communicate analytical findings through compelling business storytelling, executive presentations, and visualization tools that influence strategic decisions.

• Mentor and develop data scientists while fostering a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous learning.

• Stay current on emerging AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics technologies, identifying opportunities to accelerate business transformation.
  
  ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT

• Drives enterprise business outcomes by transforming data into predictive insights and AI-powered decision capabilities.

• Influences strategic decisions through advanced analytics, forecasting, optimization, and business intelligence.

• Enables Operating Units and business functions to make faster, more informed decisions through scalable analytical solutions.

• Partners across Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, and Digital organizations to solve high-value business challenges.

• Establishes enterprise standards and best practices for data science, model development, and analytical excellence.

• Develops organizational capability in AI, machine learning, and data-driven decision making.
  
  INNOVATION & COMPLEXITY

• Solves highly complex business problems using advanced statistical methods, machine learning, optimization, and AI techniques.

• Develops innovative analytical approaches for ambiguous business challenges with incomplete or evolving data.

• Balances technical rigor with practical business application to maximize organizational value.

• Leverages emerging AI technologies, generative AI, and advanced analytics platforms to improve business performance.

• Continuously evaluates new algorithms, methodologies, and technologies to advance enterprise analytical capabilities.
  
  COMMUNICATION & INFLUENCE

• Partners with senior business and digital leaders to define analytical priorities and translate business challenges into data science opportunities.

• Presents complex analytical findings in clear, actionable business language that drives executive decision-making.

• Influences cross-functional stakeholders through data-driven recommendations and measurable business outcomes.

• Collaborates closely with Product, Engineering, Data, and Business teams to deliver integrated analytical solutions.

• Builds trusted relationships across the organization to promote data literacy and a culture of evidence-based decision making.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned, in response to evolving business needs and market dynamics.

Candidate Profile

A strategic and business-focused data science leader with deep expertise in advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Combines technical excellence with strong business acumen to transform complex data into actionable insights, scalable AI solutions, and measurable business outcomes.

Recognized for solving high-impact business problems, influencing executive decisions through analytics, and building high-performing teams that deliver innovative, data-driven solutions across global organizations.

Experience & Qualifications

• 10-15+ years of experience in data science, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, or quantitative analytics within complex global organizations.

• Proven experience developing and deploying predictive models, machine learning solutions, statistical analyses, and AI applications that deliver measurable business value.

• Strong expertise in machine learning, predictive modeling, optimization, experimentation, and statistical analysis.

• Experience programming in Python, R, SQL, and modern data science frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, or equivalent.

• Experience partnering with Data Engineering, Product Management, and Digital organizations to operationalize analytical solutions.

• Demonstrated success translating complex analytical findings into strategic business recommendations for executive leadership.

• Strong business acumen with experience supporting Commercial, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, or Customer functions.

• Experience with cloud analytics platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP), modern data platforms, and AI-enabled technologies.

• Proven leadership experience developing high-performing technical teams and fostering innovation.

• Advanced degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Economics, Operations Research, or a related quantitative discipline preferred.
• Fluent in English and Mandarin, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders across functions in a fast-paced environment.

Agile Methodology, Business Process Modeling, Change Management, Cloud Platform, Communication, Data Flow Diagram, DevOps, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Architecture Framework, Microsoft Azure Databricks, Microsoft Office, User Experience (UX)

Location(s):
China

City/Cities:
Shanghai

Travel Required:
00% - 25%

Relocation Provided:
No

Job Posting End Date:
October 9, 2026

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what's possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors - curious, empowered, inclusive and agile - and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:30
Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.