Your Impact

Handshake is looking for a Senior Data Scientist, Product Analytics to help shape the strategy and direction of our products through predictive analytics, experimentation, and deep user insights. In this role, you’ll play a critical part in driving product vision by surfacing opportunities to increase user engagement. You’ll partner closely with product, engineering, and analytics stakeholders to influence key decisions across our platform serving students, employers, and universities. This position is embedded within our Data team and reports to the Senior Manager of Data & Analyt

Your Role: As a Senior Data Scientist at Handshake, you will:

• Drive product strategy by uncovering and quantifying high-leverage opportunities for growth, engagement, and monetization

• Partner with product managers, engineers, and cross-functional leaders to define success metrics, establish measurement frameworks, and align on strategic goals

• Analyze user behavior across cohorts and product surfaces to identify actionable insights that inform the product roadmap

• Lead the design, execution, and interpretation of A/B tests and other experiments to validate hypotheses and guide product development

• Develop predictive models and analytical tools that improve personalization, recommendation systems, or other data-informed features

• Build and maintain dashboards and self-service tools that inform ongoing product health and performance monitoring

• Collaborate with Analytics Engineering to improve data infrastructure and define scalable data models

• Communicate complex analyses and findings clearly and persuasively to non-technical stakeholders across the organization

Your Experience

• 5+ years of professional experience in data science, preferably in product analytics or consumer technology

• Demonstrated ability to influence product strategy through analytics, experimentation, and modeling

• Advanced proficiency in SQL and experience working in Python (Pandas, NumPy, etc.) or R in notebook environments

• Deep understanding of A/B testing, causal inference, and experimental design best practices

• Experience analyzing user funnels, behavioral segmentation, and time-series trends

• Excellent communication skills—able to translate technical findings into clear business recommendations

• Familiarity with BI tools such as Looker, Hex, or Mode

Bonus Areas of Expertise

• Experience in a multi-sided marketplace environment

• Familiarity with dbt or similar data modeling tools

• Background in user segmentation, engagement modeling, or monetization strategy

About us

Handshake is the career platform for Gen Z. With a community of over 17 million students, alumni, employers, and career educators, Handshake’s network is where career advice and discovery turn into first, second, and third jobs. Nearly 1 million companies use Handshake to build their future workforce—from Fortune 500 to federal agencies, school districts to startups, healthcare systems to small businesses. Handshake is built for where you’re going, not where you’ve been.

When it comes to our workforce strategy, we’ve thought deeply about how work-life should look at Handshake. With our hybrid-work model, employees benefit from collaboration and shared team experiences three days per week in our vibrant offices, and enjoy the flexibility of remote work two days per week (unless noted in the specific job posting). Handshake is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, London, and Berlin.

What we offer

At Handshake, we'll give you the tools to feel healthy, happy and secure.

Benefits below apply to US employees in full-time positions.

💰 Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company.

🍼 16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents.

💝 Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support.

📚 Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000 stipend for you to grow your skills and career.

💰 Financial coaching through Origin to help you through your financial journey.

🛜 Monthly internet stipend and a brand new MacBook to allow you to do your best work.

🚃 Monthly commuter stipend for you to expense your travel to the office (for office-based employees).

🥗 Free lunch provided 3x a week across all offices.

🤝 Referral bonus to reward you when you bring great talent to Handshake.

🏦 401k Match: Handshake offers a dollar-for-dollar match on 1% of deferred salary, up to a maximum of $1,200 per year.

🏝 All full-time US-based Handshakers are eligible for our flexible time off policy to get out and see the world. In addition, we offer 13 standardized holidays, and 2 additional days of flexible holiday time off. Lastly, we have a Winter #ShakeBreak, a one-week period of Collective Time Off.

💻 Handshake offers $500 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home.

🍼 Family support: Parental leave coaching and support provided by Parentaly. We partner with Maven Clinic to provide a lifetime coverage up to $15K for expenses related to fertility and family forming!

💰 Lifestyle Savings Account: We offer you an annual stipend of $500 to use for purchases such as fitness classes, gym memberships, work-from-home setup, and more.

Looking for more? Explore our mission, values and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Handshake is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or reasonable accommodation, please let your recruiter know during initial communications.