Durban Principal Data Scientist — Lead ML & Mentorship

Placements24; Durban; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Performance-based bonus

Generous leave allowances

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Principal Data Scientist in Durban to lead the most advanced machine learning initiatives. You will architect algorithms, guide ML strategy, and collaborate with business stakeholders to shape data-driven decisions.

You will mentor junior data scientists, drive production deployments, and stay at the forefront of ML/AI advancements, ensuring scalable pipelines and impactful insights for the e-commerce analytics client base.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s in a quantitative field (e.g., CS, Stats, Math, Physics).
• 7+ years of data science experience focusing on ML and statistical modeling.
• Proven track record deploying predictive models in production.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced ML models and statistical algorithms.
• Analyze large datasets to identify trends and opportunities for business improvement.
• Develop and implement data mining and data analysis strategies.
• Translate analytical findings into actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
• Mentor junior data scientists and analysts.
• Stay updated on advances in data science and AI.
• Collaborate with engineers to build scalable data pipelines and productionize models.
• Evaluate and select tools and technologies for data analysis and modeling.
• Present findings to executive leadership and stakeholders.
• Conduct rigorous validation and A/B testing of models and hypotheses.

Skills

Python

R

Machine learning

Statistical modeling

Leadership

Experiment design

Communication

Education

PhD or Master’s in a quantitative field

Tools

Scikit-learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Pandas

NumPy

Spark

Hadoop

SQL

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Principal Data Scientist in Durban to lead the most advanced machine learning initiatives. You will architect algorithms, guide ML strategy, and collaborate with business stakeholders to shape data-driven decisions.

You will mentor junior data scientists, drive production deployments, and stay at the forefront of ML/AI advancements, ensuring scalable pipelines and impactful insights for the e-commerce analytics client base.