Lead Data Scientist

Salt; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Salt is building a new AI Lab and seeks a Lead Data Scientist to drive AI initiatives from concept to production. The role requires hands-on coding, model development and deployment across the full tech stack.

You will lead a team of data scientists, mentor peers, and shape the technical direction of AI solutions for banking use cases, leveraging modern ML frameworks and cloud platforms.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Data Science, ML, AI Engineering or related field.
• Degree in Computer Science, AI, ML, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering or similar quantitative discipline.
• Hands-on Python development and strong SQL.
• Proven track record of taking ML/AI models into production.
• Solid understanding of software engineering principles: Git, APIs, testing, CI/CD, containerisation.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or GCP.
• Familiarity with PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face, LLMs, RAG, vector databases, and agentic AI.
• Banking/fintech exposure is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development and deployment of AI/ML solutions across banking use cases.
• Own full lifecycle from problem definition to deployment, monitoring and optimisation.
• Develop production-grade solutions using Python, SQL and modern ML/AI frameworks.
• Build and productionise GenAI, LLM, RAG, NLP and related AI solutions.
• Collaborate with Data Engineers, Software Engineers and Product teams to move AI into production.
• Develop robust ML pipelines, APIs, model-serving components and MLOps processes.
• Establish best practices for model deployment, testing, monitoring and reproducibility.

Skills

Python

SQL

Full-stack data science

CI/CD

Containerization

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science / AI / ML / Math / Statistics

Tools

Git

APIs

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

My client is looking for a Lead Data Scientist to join a newly established AI Lab. This is a high-impact opportunity for a technically strong, hands-on Data Scientist who can take AI and machine learning solutions from concept through to production.

The ideal candidate will have a strong Computer Science / technical academic background and be a genuine full-stack Data Scientist- someone who can write production-ready code, build models, work across the engineering stack and deploy solutions independently, rather than relying on separate teams to operationalise their work.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development and deployment of advanced AI and machine learning solutions across banking use cases.
• Own the full lifecycle from problem definition, data preparation and modelling through to deployment, monitoring and optimisation.
• Develop production-grade solutions using Python, SQL and modern ML/AI frameworks.
• Build and productionise GenAI, LLM, RAG, NLP and agentic AI solutions where relevant.
• Work closely with Data Engineers, Software Engineers and Product teams to take AI solutions into production.
• Develop robust ML pipelines, APIs, model-serving components and MLOps processes.
• Establish best practices around model deployment, testing, monitoring, reproducibility and responsible AI.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and identify opportunities to create tangible value for the bank.
• Mentor Data Scientists and contribute to the technical direction of the new AI Lab.

Ideal Candidate

• 8+ years' experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, AI Engineering or a related technical field.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering or another highly quantitative discipline.
• Strong hands-on Python development skills and excellent SQL.
• Proven track record of taking machine learning / AI models into production.
• Strong understanding of software engineering principles including Git, APIs, testing, CI/CD and containerisation.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or GCP.
• Experience with modern ML/AI technologies such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face, LLMs, RAG, vector databases and agentic AI is highly desirable.
• Banking, financial services or fintech experience would be advantageous.

What Will Differentiate You

My client is particularly interested in "full-stack" Data Scientists who are equally comfortable experimenting with models and engineering them into scalable production systems.

Strong preference will be given to candidates with a rigorous Computer Science or technical background over candidates whose background is primarily business, commercial or MBA-focused.

The successful candidate will be a builder -technically autonomous, hands-on and capable of taking an AI solution from an initial idea all the way through to production.

*** Only successful candidates will be contacted ***