Data Scientist - Financial Services

Placements24; Rustenburg; Remote; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Retirement plan with company matching

Professional development & conference

Fully remote work environment

State-of-the-art technology & compute

Collaborative, innovative culture

Impactful projects in financials

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking an experienced Data Scientist in Rustenburg, North West, South Africa. The role focuses on leading advanced analytics, developing predictive models, and driving data-informed decisions across the organization.

You will work with large financial datasets to optimize risk management, improve customer experiences, and identify new business opportunities. The position is remote-first, enabling talent nationwide.

Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or a related quantitative field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Data Scientist in financial services or banking.
• Proficiency in Python or R and libraries like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement ML models for fraud detection, credit risk, customer segmentation, and algorithmic trading.
• Perform advanced statistical analysis and data mining on large datasets.
• Clean, transform, and prepare data for modeling and analysis; ensure data quality and integrity.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate requirements into data science solutions and maintain data pipelines.

Skills

Python

R

SQL

ML/DS

Spark

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Data Visualization

Education

Master's or PhD in CS/Statistics/Math/Phys

Tools

SQL

Spark/Hadoop

AWS/Azure/GCP

scikit-learn

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a progressive financial services provider in **Rustenburg, North West**, is seeking an innovative Data Scientist to lead their advanced analytics initiatives. This role is crucial for leveraging vast datasets to uncover insights, build predictive models, and drive data-informed decision-making across the organization. The ideal candidate will possess a strong foundation in statistical modeling, machine learning, and programming, combined with a deep understanding of financial markets and products. This position is designed for a motivated individual who thrives in a challenging, research-oriented environment and is passionate about transforming data into actionable strategies. The role involves working with complex financial data to optimize risk management, improve customer experiences, and identify new business opportunities. This is a remote-first position, allowing talent from across the country to contribute to our client’s success. The core of the work will involve developing and deploying sophisticated analytical solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement machine learning models and algorithms to address business challenges in areas such as fraud detection, credit risk assessment, customer segmentation, and algorithmic trading.


• Perform advanced statistical analysis and data mining on large, complex datasets.


• Clean, transform, and prepare data for modeling and analysis, ensuring data quality and integrity.


• Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into data science solutions.


• Develop and maintain robust data pipelines and analytical workflows.


• Evaluate and communicate model performance, providing insights and recommendations to business teams.


• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.


• Visualize data and model results effectively to communicate findings to both technical and non-technical audiences.


• Contribute to the development of the company’s data strategy and best practices.


• Mentor junior data analysts and scientists as the team grows.

Requirements

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or a related quantitative field.


• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Data Scientist, with a strong focus on financial services or banking.


• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, and experience with relevant libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).


• Expertise in statistical modeling, machine learning algorithms (regression, classification, clustering, deep learning), and data mining techniques.


• Strong SQL skills and experience with big data technologies (e.g., Spark, Hadoop).


• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and their data science services.


• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities.


• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to a diverse audience.


• Familiarity with the financial services industry and its specific data challenges is highly desirable.


• Ability to work independently and drive projects to completion in a remote setting.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary and performance-based bonuses.


• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.


• Generous retirement savings plan with company matching.


• Significant opportunities for professional development, training, and conference attendance.


• Flexible working hours and a fully remote work environment.


• Access to state-of-the-art technology and computational resources.


• A collaborative and innovative company culture focused on continuous learning.


• Chance to work on impactful projects that shape the future of financial services.