Lauren Howard
Scottsdale,IL
Summary
Accomplished Lead Data Scientist with over 6 years in machine learning and data quality enhancement. Expertise in AI-driven automation processes, increasing operational efficiency and minimizing manual tasks. Skilled in predictive modeling and anomaly detection, fostering teamwork and mentorship to deliver impactful solutions.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
Lead Data Scientist
Nielsen
10.2022 - Current
- Led a team to develop a comprehensive data quality enhancement suite, incorporating Anomaly Detection, Predictive Modeling and Statistical Analysis across multiple metrics. Successfully implemented and integrated multiple workflows to provide a holistic view of data quality and proactively improve data integrity.
- Developed an AI-driven automated process utilizing Ollama Mistral:v0.3 LLM to analyze human-written comments, achieving 88% accuracy in categorizing and suggesting next steps to optimize on-site maintenance visits, reducing manual decision-making and improved operational efficiency.
- Consulted with the Data Engineering team to automate data entry to reduce 25 manual hours per person per week across a team of 21.
- Reviewed and selected presentations as a key member of the Nielsen Data Science Conference Selection Committee, championing innovative machine learning & predictive analytical solutions.
Senior Data Scientist
Nielsen
06.2021 - 10.2022
- Architected and implemented an end-to-end Anomaly Detection pipeline using Seasonal Decomposition and Apache Airflow, autonomously monitoring 45,000+ weekly data points to proactively identify irregularities. Collaborated with Data Analytics to develop interactive dashboards to prioritize investigations and create visualizations for actionable insights and effective cross-team communication.
- Leveraged XGBoost and Causal Impact methodologies to optimize on-site maintenance visits. The 3 month pilot across 2 markets eliminated unnecessary visits and prioritized critical issues which improved the issue time-to-resolution metric by 22% and reduced the number of overdue issues by 86%.
- Applied Random Forest & Class Imbalance techniques to predict panelist viewing probabilities. Successfully contributed to a patented methodology identifying and addressing panelist non-compliance, to enhance incoming data quality for audience measurement.
Data Scientist
Nielsen
10.2019 - 06.2021
- Leveraged Bayesian Inference & Bootstrapping methodologies to estimate the US Smart TV ownership universe, a key metric in developing audience measurement methodologies for non-linear media consumption.
- Refactored, optimized and re-platformed legacy process in SAS & Java to PySpark, reducing runtime by 50% and implementing automated scheduling.
- Engineered a complex iterative algorithm to construct a representative household sample panel across multiple demographic & geographic control groups. Achieved precision within 2% of universe distributions across all control groups. Innovated a robust back-up sample methodology ensuring seamless panelist replacement without compromising sample integrity, to maintain statistical validity within the sample.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Certificate of Data Science
Metis Data Science Bootcamp
Chicago, IL03-2019
BSc. Environmental Earth Sciences
University of East Anglia
Norwich, UK06-2017
Skills
- Python
- SQL
- PySpark
- Git/GitLab
- Command Line
- Confluence
- Machine Learning
- Statistical Analytics
- Feature Engineering
- Anomaly Detection
- Time Series Decomposition
- Predictive Modeling
- Data Quality Assessment
- Natural Language Processing (NLP)
- Large Language Models (LLMs)
Programming & Tools
Machine Learning & Analytics
- Tableau
- Matplotlib
- Seaborn
- ArcGIS
- AWS
- Databricks
- Apache Spark
- Apache Airflow
- Presentations
- Report Writing
- Interviewing
- Onboarding
- Mentorship
Data Visualization
Big Data & Cloud
Data Communication
Leadership
Timeline
Lead Data Scientist
Nielsen
10.2022 - Current
Senior Data Scientist
Nielsen
06.2021 - 10.2022
Data Scientist
Nielsen
10.2019 - 06.2021
Bachelor of Science - Certificate of Data Science
Metis Data Science Bootcamp
BSc. Environmental Earth Sciences
University of East Anglia
Patents & Certifications
- LEAD - Nielsen Leadership Development Program, December 2024
- Methods and Apparatus for Co-Viewing Adjustment Patent #12041304, Issued July 2024