Data Science Lead

Placements24; Gqeberha; Hybrid; ZAR 1,976,000 - 2,964,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance & dental

Stock options or equity

Professional development budget

Fully remote with flexible hours

Retirement plan with company matching

Generous PTO

Home office equipment allowance

Impactful projects

Regular virtual team events

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Data Science Lead to guide a remote team in developing and deploying advanced analytics solutions. The role focuses on designing a scalable data science strategy, mentoring senior and junior scientists, and delivering predictive models that drive business value.

A strong academic background and hands-on leadership are essential for success in a fully remote setting. The successful candidate will mentor team members, collaborate with stakeholders across departments, and

Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in a quantitative field.
• 7+ years of experience in data science, with 2–3 years in a leadership role.
• Proven experience deploying ML models in production.
• Proficiency in Python or R and related libraries.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with big data technologies (Spark, Hadoop).
• Experience working in a fully remote team environment.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of data scientists, fostering their professional growth.
• Develop and implement advanced statistical and machine learning models to solve business problems.
• Define the data science roadmap and prioritize projects based on business impact.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to translate requirements into data science initiatives.
• Oversee the data science lifecycle from exploration to deployment.
• Ensure quality, accuracy, and reliability of models and insights.
• Communicate complex findings to non-technical audiences.
• Stay current with advancements in data science and AI.
• Champion reproducible research and ethical AI.
• Design and conduct experiments to validate hypotheses.
• Contribute to data infrastructure and tooling.

Skills

Leadership

Data storytelling

Collaboration

Cloud

Communication

ML deployment

Problem solving

Data analytics

Education

Master's/PhD in CS/Stats/Math/Physics

Tools

Python

R

scikit-learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

pandas

Spark

Hadoop

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a data-driven organization focused on leveraging advanced analytics to solve complex business challenges, is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Data Science Lead. This pivotal role involves leading a team of talented data scientists, defining the company's data science strategy, and driving the development and deployment of sophisticated machine learning models and analytical solutions. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of statistical modeling, machine learning algorithms, data mining techniques, and programming languages such as Python or R. This is a fully remote position, offering flexibility and the opportunity to work from anywhere.

You will be responsible for mentoring junior team members, collaborating with stakeholders across various departments, and communicating complex findings in a clear and concise manner. Our client is committed to fostering a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and scientific rigor. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of data science within the organization and to contribute to impactful projects that drive business value. We are looking for a leader who can inspire a team, champion data-driven decision-making, and deliver cutting-edge solutions that address critical business needs. The objective is to build and scale our client's data science capabilities, transforming raw data into actionable insights and predictive models. A strong academic background combined with practical, hands-on experience is essential. This role demands both technical expertise and strong leadership acumen to guide the team effectively in a remote setting. The focus will be on developing advanced analytical models and implementing them to solve real-world business problems.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of data scientists, fostering their professional growth.
• Develop and implement advanced statistical and machine learning models to solve business problems.
• Define the data science roadmap and prioritize projects based on business impact.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into data science initiatives.
• Oversee the entire data science lifecycle, from data exploration and feature engineering to model development, validation, and deployment.
• Ensure the quality, accuracy, and reliability of analytical models and insights.
• Communicate complex technical findings and recommendations to non-technical audiences.
• Stay current with the latest advancements in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
• Champion best practices in data science, including reproducible research and ethical AI.
• Design and conduct A/B tests and other experiments to validate hypotheses.
• Contribute to the development of data infrastructure and tooling.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or a related quantitative field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in data science, with at least 2-3 years in a leadership or team lead role.
• Proven experience in developing and deploying machine learning models in a production environment.
• Expertise in statistical modeling, machine learning algorithms (e.g., regression, classification, clustering, deep learning), and data mining techniques.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R and relevant libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, pandas).
• Strong SQL skills and experience with big data technologies (e.g., Spark, Hadoop).
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, capable of explaining complex concepts to diverse audiences.
• Experience working in a fully remote team environment.
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects and deliver results in a timely manner.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking skills.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) for data science workloads is a plus.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous stock options or equity grants.
• Significant budget for professional development, conferences, and training.
• Fully remote work arrangement with flexible hours.
• Retirement savings plan with company matching.
• Generous paid time off and holidays.
• Home office equipment allowance.
• Opportunity to work on impactful and challenging projects.
• Regular virtual team social events and collaborative sessions.