Sephora Director of Data Science & AI
- Location
- ParisÎle-de-FranceFrance
- Employment
- Full-Time
- Seniority
- Director
- Posted
- Jul 16, 2026
About Sephora
Sephora is a global prestige beauty leader, renowned for redefining the retail experience through creativity, inclusivity, and expert service. Founded in France and now part of LVMH, the company brings together an exceptional portfolio of beauty brands with a distinctive culture of discovery and innovation. As an employer, Sephora offers a dynamic, customer-centered environment where talent is encouraged to learn, experiment, and grow across retail, digital, merchandising, operations, and corporate functions. Its teams are united by a passion for beauty, entrepreneurship, and belonging, making Sephora a compelling workplace for professionals seeking impact within a fast-moving international brand.
Sephora seeks Director of Data Science & AI in Paris La Défense to lead global AI strategy, deployment, and team leadership.
Role & Responsibilities
- Drive the overall deployment, industrialization, and maintenance of AI solutions across all geographic regions (North America, Europe-Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, China)
- Translate Sephora's AI strategy into concrete, scalable AI assets leveraging multidisciplinary expert teams including AI engineers, data engineers, MLOps, and LLMOps specialists
- Orchestrate, challenge, and govern the design of AI solutions aligned with defined strategy, assessing both in-house development and third-party solutions
- Ensure AI model scalability by defining development frameworks and building reusable core model algorithms
- Define and implement monitoring standards (MLOps, LLMOps) to guarantee reliability and performance of AI systems in production environments
- Provide strategic leadership to AI, data science, and related teams, setting clear objectives, developing capabilities, and fostering high delivery standards
- Secure consistency across all AI developments executed by global and regional AI Factory resources
- Establish make-or-buy strategy and select strategic AI partners to support Sephora's priorities
- Champion ethical AI practices and ensure compliance with data privacy and regulatory standards in collaboration with Data Governance and Legal departments
- Foster innovation positioning Sephora as a reference actor in AI adoption and deployment
Qualifications
- Minimum 10 years of professional experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced analytics, or related fields, with significant leadership experience
- Demonstrated track record of delivering AI strategies in complex, large-scale organizations
- Strong expertise in AI technologies, methods, and algorithms with proven ability to connect technical capabilities to business objectives
- Proven experience leading and managing multidisciplinary teams across multiple stakeholders and functions
- Proven ability to manage AI programs from strategy conception through deployment and scale-up
- Strong understanding of data governance, technology architecture, and organizational requirements for enterprise AI adoption
- Mastery of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) stack and reference solutions in data science and AI domains
- Experience in retail, consumer goods, digital, or omnichannel environments is a significant advantage
Skills
Experience
Minimum 10 years in artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced analytics, or related fields, with significant demonstrated leadership experience in deploying AI strategies within complex, large-scale organizations.
Education
Not specified; advanced degree in computer science, mathematics, data science, artificial intelligence, or related field is typically expected for this level of technical leadership.
Workplace
This position is based in Paris, Île-de-France, France.
Culture
Sephora fosters a dynamic, inclusive workplace where creativity, curiosity, and a passion for beauty are encouraged at every level. As an employer, it is distinguished by its focus on empowerment, continuous learning, and a collaborative retail culture that celebrates individuality and client-centric innovation.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Sephora, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «AI Strategy Director», «Head of Data Science & Machine Learning», «Chief AI Officer», «Director of Advanced Analytics & AI», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.