Data scientist resume keywords

We counted the skills in 336 open data scientist job postings from 119 employers, including Reddit, Lyft and Pinterest. The ones employers ask for most are AI (72% of postings), machine learning (65%) and analytics (51%).

Top skills and tools in data scientist postings

#	Keyword	Share of postings
1	AI	72%
2	machine learning	65%
3	analytics	51%
4	statistics	49%
5	Python	49%
6	SQL	48%
7	A/B testing	48%
8	product roadmap	32%
9	causal inference	31%
10	forecasting	22%
11	marketing	21%
12	prototyping	17%
13	dashboards	16%
14	LLMs	16%
15	data engineering	16%
16	data analysis	15%
17	sales	15%
18	algorithms	13%
19	operations research	13%
20	product analytics	10%
21	customer experience	10%
22	go-to-market	9%
23	automation	9%
24	data pipelines	8%
25	payments	8%
26	product strategy	8%
27	UX	7%
28	compliance	7%
29	Apache Spark	7%
30	generative AI	7%

Share of the 336 postings whose description names the skill (plurals and common spellings, such as “JS” and “JavaScript”, count as one).

Soft skills employers mention

analytical skills · 20%cross-functional · 9%leadership · 8%decision making · 7%reporting · 6%communication · 4%ownership · 4%

Show these through results in your bullets (“led a team of six”) rather than listing them as adjectives.

How to use these keywords on your data scientist resume

Start with the posting, not this list. These are averages across 336 jobs; the one you're applying for has its own priorities. Use this page to spot common gaps, then match the specific posting.
Name skills the way employers do. If you use “AI”, “machine learning” and “analytics”, write those exact words. Applicant tracking systems and recruiters search for them, and a close synonym can be missed.
Put each skill in a bullet that shows a result. Naming statistics inside a bullet about what you achieved with it, with a number where you can, is stronger than listing it alone in a skills section.
Add only what's true. If you've worked with “statistics”, “Python” and “SQL” but your resume doesn't say so, add it. If you haven't, leave it out: interviews expose padded resumes quickly.

More about data scientist jobs

Resume keywords for other jobs

How these numbers are calculated

Every figure comes from open data scientist job postings on MANY Hired, imported from employers' own career pages. For each posting we pick out the skills, tools, certifications and qualifications its description names, then count how many postings ask for each one. A job counts as data scientist by its title. Updated November 8, 2026.