Data Scientist

Samba; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 50,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Samba in Amsterdam is seeking a Junior Data Scientist to own end-to-end delivery of significant data science projects with minimal guidance. You will bring deep expertise in Identity and audience modelling and build production-ready solutions using modern ML and AI methodologies.

You will collaborate closely with peers, product, and engineering to translate business requirements into technical specs and contribute to team standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in a quantitative field; Master's strongly preferred.
• 2+ years of hands-on data science delivering complex projects independently.
• Advanced Python with production-quality code, testing, and documentation; strong SQL and PySpark.
• Databricks workflows, Delta Lake and job orchestration; cloud knowledge (AWS or GCP).
• Solid command of core ML: regression, classification, clustering, evaluation, design.
• MLOps: experiment tracking and reproducible model deployment.
• Exposure to modern AI: RAG, LLM-augmented models, vector databases, semantic search.
• Strong communication; able to document work and discuss with others.
• Experience mentoring junior data scientists and shaping team standards.
• Team player with collaborative mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of significant data science projects from scoping to deployment.
• Make independently reasoned decisions on methodology and evaluation; document in technical solutions.
• Lead solution design; break down epics into user stories with acceptance criteria; DataOps practices.
• Implement advanced ML workflows including entity resolution and semantic matching.
• Develop reusable tools and libraries; conduct code reviews to raise standards.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and operations; translate business needs into specs.
• Partner with data engineering on scalable pipelines and cross-functional design reviews.

Skills

Python

SQL

PySpark

Databricks

MLOps

Communications

Mentoring

Teamwork

AWS/GCP

Statistical ML

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Databricks

Delta Lake

AWS

GCP

Job description

Samba is a media intelligence company. We know what the world is watching, reading, and thinking about — in real time, at scale, across every screen. Our data exists with the consent of over a billion people, organized into the most complete picture of consumer attention ever built. The biggest brands in the world use that picture to make smarter decisions. We think it’s the most interesting data asset on the planet, because it’s the most culturally relevant.

As a Junior Data Scientist at Samba in Amsterdam, you will own end-to-end delivery of significant data science projects with minimal guidance. You are a reliable, autonomous contributor with deep expertise in at least one of Samba's core domains — Identity and audience modelling and the technical range to build production-ready solutions using modern ML and AI methodologies. You'll work closely with peers, product, and engineering.

What You'll Do:

• Own end-to-end delivery of significant data science projects from problem scoping and approach design through to production deployment

• Make sound, independently-reasoned decisions on methodology, model selection, and evaluation; document them clearly in technical solution documents covering problem statement, approach, metrics, and timeline

• Lead solution design for your own initiatives; break down complex epics into well-scoped user stories with clear acceptance criteria, adopting DataOps and MLOps best practices throughout — experiment tracking, pipeline orchestration, model monitoring, and reproducibility

• Implement advanced ML and AI-powered workflows including entity resolution, probabilistic record linkage, embedding-based matching, semantic similarity, and LLM-augmented pipelines

• Develop and maintain reusable tools, libraries, and documentation that improve team efficiency and technical standards; conduct code reviews with constructive, specific feedback that raises the bar

• Be a team player and collaborate with different teams.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and operations — translate business requirements into technical specifications, partner with data engineering on scalable pipeline design, and participate in cross-functional design reviews and working groups

Who You Are:

• Bachelor's degree required in Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics or a related quantitative field; Master's strongly preferred

• 2+ years of hands-on data science experience with demonstrated ability to own and deliver complex, multi-sprint projects independently

• Advanced Python (or any other programming language+Claude/Codex/any other) with production-quality code, testing, and documentation; strong SQL and PySpark for billion-row datasets

• Databricks (nice to have/learn for 2027) workflows, Delta Lake, and job orchestration; working knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS or GCP)

• Solid command of core ML — regression, classification, clustering, model evaluation, and experimental design — applied to complex, high-volume data (2 questions to level)

• Proficiency with MLOps practices: experiment tracking and reproducible model deployment

• Exposure to modern AI methodologies: RAG systems, LLM-augmented models, vector databases, and semantic search (showcase+examples)

• Strong communicator — able to translate technical work into clear documentation, user stories, and cross-functional conversations

• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior data scientists and contribute to team standards

• Team player

Samba is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.We strive to empower connection with one another, reflect the communities we serve, and tackle meaningful projects that make a real impact.

Samba may collect personal information directly from you, as a job applicant, Samba may also receive personal information from third parties, for example, in connection with a background, employment or reference check, in accordance with the applicable law. For further details, please see Samba's Applicant Privacy Policy. For residents of the EU , Samba Inc. is the data controller.