Data Scientist | Contract

IQ Business Group; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 450,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

iqbusiness is seeking a Data Scientist on a 12‑month contract to collaborate with an international partner from Welgemoed, Cape Town. This hybrid role combines on‑site work with two days remote work, focusing on text analytics, statistical analysis, and data preparation.

You will work with researchers and stakeholders to develop data‑driven insights, build analytical prototypes, and deliver clear reports. Ideal for someone early in their career with ownership and curiosity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field and 2+ years in data science or similar role.
• Strong Python skills and experience with common data science libraries.
• Experience with NLP workflows and applied data exploration.
• Experience with Git for version control; ability to document findings clearly.

Responsibilities

• Conduct text analysis using NLP methods and topic modelling.
• Perform statistical analyses and data cleaning to support research.
• Structure, clean, and organize datasets for reproducibility and quality.
• Build analytical prototypes and scripts; use AI coding assistants for rapid iteration.
• Contribute to internal dashboards (Plotly Dash).
• Document workflows and communicate results to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Collaborate with team using Git for version control.
• Participate in scoping discussions translating research needs into tasks.
• Demonstrate ownership and reliable delivery.

Skills

Python

Pandas

NumPy

scikit-learn

spaCy/NLTK

NLP workflows

Statistics

Git

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's Degree in CS/IS/Engineering/Data Science/Statistics

Tools

Plotly Dash

OpenAI API

LangChain

LlamaIndex

LangGraph

Docker

Azure

HTML/CSS/JS basics

Job description

iqbusiness is seeking to employ a Data Scientist on a 12-month contract to collaborate with an international partner from our offices in Welgemoed, Cape Town, Northern Suburbs. This is a hybrid role (3 days on-site; 2 days WFH). As a Data Scientist, you will support research projects with a focus on text analytics, statistical analysis, and data preparation. You will collaborate with researchers and stakeholders to develop data‑driven insights and contribute to analytical prototypes and reports. This position is ideal for someone early in their career who is eager to learn, curious, and comfortable working independently on well‑defined tasks with a great sense of ownership.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct text analysis using established NLP methods (e.g., preprocessing, tokenisation, topic modelling, entity extraction).
• Perform statistical analyses, exploratory data analysis, and data cleaning to support research objectives.
• Structure, clean, and organise datasets to ensure reproducibility and data quality.
• Build small analytical prototypes and scripts, leveraging modern AI coding assistants to iterate quickly.
• Contribute to internal dashboards (e.g., using Plotly Dash).
• Document analytical workflows and communicate results clearly to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Collaborate with team members using Git for version control.
• Participate in scoping discussions to translate research needs into analytical tasks.
• Demonstrate ownership over assigned tasks and reliability in delivery.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Data Science, Econometrics, Statistics, or a related field
• A minimum of 2 years of experience as a Data Scientist or in a similar data‑focused role
• Working knowledge of Python and common data science libraries (Pandas, NumPy, scikit‑learn, spaCy/NLTK)
• Familiarity with NLP workflows and hands on experience applying them in academic or practical settings
• Knowledge of basic statistics and experience with data exploration
• Experience using Git for basic version control
• Strong interest in the frontier of AI and AI agents – actively tracks new developments, experiments with emerging tools and models, and is eager to apply them to research problems
• Ability to write clear documentation and communicate findings effectively

Advantageous Skills

• Experience with Plotly Dash or other visualisation tools
• Hands‑on experience with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic) or agent frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex, LangGraph)
• Basic exposure to web development concepts (HTML/CSS/JavaScript)
• Experience working with financial datasets such as stock time series
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (Azure), containerization (Docker), or Linux environments
• Experience with additional programming languages (R, Julia, TypeScript)

Note: As all business roles require honesty in the handling of or access to cash, finances, financial systems, or confidential information, our recruitment process requires that the following background checks be completed: credit, criminal, ID, and qualification verification.

iqbusiness is committed to sustainable growth and transformation; we embrace diversity and employ previously disadvantaged individuals.