There is also a need to productize and scale data cleanup and processing, which is also largely a backend task. Engineers also work jointly with data scientists to make sure the models scale and verify that the quality of results in production meets the requirements.

Option 1 — Data Science Reports to Engineering
Having data science report to engineering creates full alignment between the disciplines and doesn’t require a clear delineation between data science and engineering skills.

Option 2 — Data Science Reports to Product
Since product needs should be the drivers for data science projects, having data science report to product creates full alignment on goals and deliverables.

Option 3 — Data Science Separate from Product and Engineering
This has the benefit of giving visibility to the data science team and making it more accessible to the entire organization.

As a rule of thumb, joint reporting usually results in better alignment between teams, given a single decision maker at the top.