Data Scientist

Bespoke Labs; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,214,000 - 2,266,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI research organization is seeking a high-impact Senior Data Scientist for a 2-4 months contract. This remote role requires deep expertise in machine learning and applied statistics to curate datasets for AI model training. Candidates should have at least 6 years of experience in data science, a strong background in applied statistics, and proven production ownership of models. The position involves algorithm design, hands-on coding, and developing assessment metrics for data quality.

Qualifications

• 6+ years as a Data Scientist or Applied Scientist.
• Proven ownership of models in production.
• Strong background in applied statistics.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement custom statistical models.
• Write scalable PySpark and Python code.
• Develop custom quantitative metrics and benchmarks.
• Run validation cycles and refine data-curation logic.
• Ensure final training inputs meet ML standards.

Skills

Python (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, PyTorch / TensorFlow)

Apache Spark (PySpark or Spark SQL)

Applied Statistics

Feature Engineering

SQL

SQL

Tools

PySpark

NumPy/Pandas

Scikit-learn

PyTorch/TensorFlow

Job description

Senior Data Scientist: AI Training Data (2-4 Months Contract)

Company: BespokeLabs (VC-backed; founded by IIT & Ivy League alumni)

Location: Remote

Role Type: Contract (2-4 Months)

Time Commitment: 40 hrs/week (Full-time availability required)

Compensation: Hyper-competitive hourly rate (matching top-tier Senior Data Scientist bands) Experience: 6+ years

About BespokeLabs

BespokeLabs is a premier, VC-backed AI Research lab with an exceptionally talent-dense team of IIT and Ivy League alumni. We don’t just build tooling around AI—we build the massive-scale data systems and reasoning architectures that directly power next-generation models. Our research shapes the frontier of AI: we’ve published breakthroughs like GEPA, driven foundational datasets like OpenThoughts, and shipped state-of-the-art models including Bespoke-MiniCheck and Bespoke-MiniChart. More on our website bespokelabs.ai :)

Role Overview

We are looking for a high-impact Senior Data Scientist for an intensive, 2-month sprint. You will leverage your deep expertise in production-grade machine learning and applied statistics to develop the algorithms and logic that curate and evaluate datasets for advanced AI model training.

This is not a traditional model-building or research role. We need a seasoned practitioner who has already owned the end-to-end DS lifecycle at scale. You will use your intuition for feature engineering, statistical validity, and large-scale data processing to programmatically generate, shape, and validate AI training data.

What You Will Do (The Contract)

• Algorithm Design: Design and implement custom statistical models and programmatic logic (e.g., anomaly detection, active learning, similarity scoring) to evaluate data quality, complexity, and redundancy at scale.
• Hands-on At-Scale Coding: Write scalable PySpark and Python (NumPy/Pandas) code to apply these algorithms across massive datasets, translating experimental logic into reliable, large-scale workflows.
• Metric Formulation: Develop custom quantitative metrics and heuristic benchmarks to rigorously assess the fidelity and suitability of data subsets for specific AI training objectives.
• Validation & Iteration: Run high-speed validation cycles, analyzing the output of data-curation algorithms to diagnose skew, bias, or noise, and iteratively refining the logic.
• High-Level Curation: Apply Senior-level domain expertise in predictive modeling and feature engineering to ensure the final training inputs meet the strict standards required for state-of-the-art ML systems.

What You Bring to the Table (Your Past Experience)

To be successful in this contract, you must have a track record of:

• The End-to-End DS Lifecycle: Framing problems, modeling, validation, production, and iteration.
• Production Ownership: Building and deploying ML and statistical models on large-scale datasets.
• Large-Scale Data Processing: Working with Apache Spark to develop scalable feature pipelines and offline training workflows.
• Experimentation: Designing and analyzing rigorous experiments (A/B tests, causal inference).
• Impact: Translating complex model outputs into clear product and business decisions.

Required Qualifications (Non-Negotiable)

• Experience: 6+ years as a Data Scientist or Applied Scientist.
• Production Background: Proven ownership of models running in production environments.
• Applied Statistics: Strong background in applied statistics and experimentation frameworks.

Core Technical Skills

• Languages: Python (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, PyTorch / TensorFlow) and Strong SQL.
• Big Data: Apache Spark (PySpark or Spark SQL) for large-scale data processing.
• Methodologies: Feature engineering, model evaluation, statistical modeling, and hypothesis testing.

Strong Signals (Highly Valued)

• Scale: Models trained on TB-scale datasets.
• Domain Specificity: Experience in high-complexity domains such as: Recommendations, Pricing, Fraud / risk, Search / ranking, or Growth & experimentation.
• Collaboration: Experience deploying models alongside data engineering pipelines.

Out of Scope (Who Should Not Apply)

• BI / reporting-only roles
• SQL-only analysts
• Research-only ML roles with no production ownership