Principal Data Scientist

Hybrid: In-office (Irvine, CA) required a minimum of 3 days per week.

Who we are:
Xponential Fitness is the largest global franchisor of health and wellness brands. The portfolio of brands includes Club Pilates, the nation's largest Pilates brand; CycleBar, the nation's largest indoor cycling brand; StretchLab, a concept offering one-on-one and group stretching services; YogaSix, the largest franchised yoga brand; Pure Barre, a total body workout that uses the ballet barre to perform small isometric movements; Rumble, a boxing-inspired full-body workout; BFT, a functional training and strength-based fitness program; and Lindora, a metabolic health brand. Through the Company’s  brands and the On-Demand virtual platform, XPLUS, Xponential Fitness continues to push their mission forward to make health and wellness accessible to everyone.

Summary/Objective: 

The Principal Data Scientist will lead the development and deployment of AI/ML models that power strategic decision-making, automation, and innovation at Xponential Fitness. As a key leader within the Data, Analytics & AI pillar of the Technology department, this role is responsible for building scalable, high-impact AI-driven solutions that enhance customer engagement, operational efficiency, and predictive decision-making. 

This role requires a strong blend of technical expertise, strategic vision, and business acumen to translate complex data science concepts into actionable business solutions. The Principal Data Scientist will collaborate closely with engineering, BI, and business teams while ensuring all AI/ML model development, deployment, and governance remain within the Technology department. 

Pay Range: $175,000 - $190,000

Key Responsibilities:

AI & Machine Learning Development 

• Design, build, and deploy machine learning models that drive automation, personalization, forecasting, and operational efficiencies. 

• Lead the end-to-end AI/ML model lifecycle, including data acquisition, model training, validation, deployment, and ongoing optimization. 

• Develop and implement MLOps best practices, ensuring seamless integration of AI models into production environments. 

• Ensure AI solutions are scalable, explainable, and aligned with responsible AI principles. 

AI Strategy & Enterprise Adoption 

• Define and execute the AI/ML roadmap, ensuring alignment with business goals and enterprise technology initiatives. 

• Partner with BI, analytics, martech, finance, operations, and customer experience teams to identify opportunities where AI-driven solutions can drive impact. 

• Work closely with engineering and infrastructure teams to integrate AI models with enterprise data platforms and applications. 

• Educate and guide leadership teams on AI capabilities, risks, and opportunities, ensuring strategic adoption of AI-driven insights. 

Governance, Compliance & Performance Optimization 

• Establish best practices for AI model governance, bias mitigation, explainability, and monitoring. 

• Ensure AI solutions adhere to SOX, PCI, GDPR, and internal security standards, collaborating with cybersecurity teams. 

• Continuously monitor AI model performance, adjusting maintain accuracy, fairness, and reliability. 

Collaboration & Leadership 

• Serve as a mentor and technical leader for data scientists and ML engineers within the Technology department. 

• Work closely with data engineers and BI teams to ensure seamless data integration and feature engineering for AI models. 

• Present AI/ML-driven insights to executive leadership, shaping data-driven decision-making and strategy. 

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental and Vision benefits
• Empower is our 401k company. We offer Traditional and Roth 401k plans. Employer match is 4% and starts matching at the beginning of year 2. Your 401k would be fully vested at the start of year 3
• Complimentary corporate memberships to XPLUS and XPASS
• Discounts on retail brand merchandise- up to 30% off wholesale price
• On-site gym 
• On Campus Amenities: Reborn Coffee Shop, Hangar 24, Mini Putting Green, Basketball Court, Bird Sanctuary, Car Washing Services (M/W), Dry Cleaning Services

Xponential Fitness LLC provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Qualifications:

• Experience: 10+ years in data science, machine learning, or AI-driven analytics, with at least 5 years in a senior or leadership role. 
• Technical Proficiency: Expertise in Python, SQL, and Apache Spark for large-scale data processing, distributed computing, and production ML pipelines. Extensive experience with machine learning libraries such as Scikit-learn for traditional ML and TensorFlow/ PyTorch for deep learning, including model optimization and deployment at scale. 
• AI/ML Model Deployment: Experience with MLOps, CI/CD pipelines, cloud-based AI architectures, and production model monitoring. 
• Deep Learning & Advanced AI: Strong knowledge of NLP, computer vision, recommendation systems, and generative AI. 
• Data Architecture & Engineering Collaboration: Familiarity with data pipelines, feature engineering, and enterprise-scale AI deployment. 
• Business Acumen: Ability to translate AI capabilities into actionable business value while aligning with corporate goals. 
• Communication & Influence: Ability to present AI insights to executive stakeholders and drive enterprise-wide adoption. 
• Education: Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI, Machine Learning, or a related field.