Group Data Scientist

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,400,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company in Bengaluru seeks a seasoned machine learning scientist to design and deploy ML-driven decision systems for complex optimization problems, including planning, routing, and resource allocation.

You will translate real-world challenges into well-defined mathematical formulations, prototype rapidly, and work with ML engineers to productionize models with attention to latency, monitoring, and reproducibility.

Qualifications

• Experience applying ML and optimization to real-world decision-making problems.
• Ability to translate complex problems into tractable technical solutions.
• Proficiency in Python and ML frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow).

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of ML and decision-science solutions for planning, sequencing, routing, allocation, and resource optimization.
• Translate ambiguous real-world challenges into well-defined mathematical, algorithmic, or learning formulations with clear objectives, constraints, and measurable success metrics.
• Prototype and iterate using agentic coding tools and modern development workflows while maintaining engineering discipline.
• Partner with ML engineers and platform teams to productionize models with attention to latency, throughput, monitoring, versioning, and safe deployment.
• Document methodologies, results, and trade-offs clearly for technical and business stakeholders.

Skills

Advanced Python

ML & optimization

Problem structuring

Communication

Experiment design

Statistics

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

OR-Tools

Ray RLlib

Stable Baselines

SQL

Docker

Git

MLflow

Cloud platforms

Job description

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Lead the design and development of ML and decision-science solutions for high-impact operational problems, including planning, sequencing, routing, allocation, and resource optimization.
• Translate ambiguous real-world challenges into well-defined mathematical, algorithmic, or learning formulations with clear objectives, constraints, and measurable success metrics.
• Rapidly prototype and iterate using agentic coding tools and modern development workflows to accelerate experimentation, code generation, refactoring, and test creation while preserving strong engineering discipline.
• Develop, benchmark, and improve models across areas such as:
  • Optimization and solver-based methods:MILP, CP-SAT, constraint programming, heuristics, metaheuristics, and search-based techniques
  • Decision Intelligence and Reinforcement Learning:contextual bandits, offline RL, deep RL, Monte Carlo Tree Search, policy learning, and value-based methods
  • Predictive ML:forecasting, estimation, and probabilistic models that support downstream decision systems
• Design rigorous evaluation frameworks, including simulation environments, counterfactual analysis, ablation studies, stress testing, and scenario-based performance assessment.
• Define KPIs, acceptance criteria, and experimentation standards to ensure solutions are both scientifically sound and operationally relevant.
• Partner closely with ML engineers and platform teams to productionize models, with attention to latency, throughput, reproducibility, monitoring, versioning, and safe deployment practices.
• Provide technical leadership in model selection, experimentation strategy, and research direction, while mentoring less experienced scientists and raising the quality bar across the team.
• Document methodologies, assumptions, results, and trade-offs clearly, and communicate recommendations effectively to both technical and business stakeholders.
• Strong experience applying machine learning and algorithmic methods to real-world decision-making or optimization problems.
• Demonstrated proficiency with agentic coding assistants and AI-supported development workflows to accelerate research and engineering output without compromising code quality, maintainability, or testing standards.
• Advanced Python skills and strong hands-on experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorchpreferred, or TensorFlow.
• Solid grounding in algorithms, optimization, probability, statistics, and experimental design.
• Proven ability to structure messy, high-ambiguity business problems into tractable technical solutions with measurable impact.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts, experimental findings, and trade-offs to diverse stakeholders.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Strong experience applying machine learning and algorithmic methods to real-world decision-making or optimization problems.
• Demonstrated proficiency with agentic coding assistants and AI-supported development workflows to accelerate research and engineering output without compromising code quality, maintainability, or testing standards.
• Advanced Python skills and strong hands-on experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorchpreferred, or TensorFlow.
• Solid grounding in algorithms, optimization, probability, statistics, and experimental design.
• Proven ability to structure messy, high-ambiguity business problems into tractable technical solutions with measurable impact.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts, experimental findings, and trade-offs to diverse stakeholders.

• Expertise in Python, PyTorch, OR-Tools and solver stacks, RL libraries such as Ray RLlib or Stable Baselines, SQL, Docker, Git, MLflow, and cloud platforms.

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