Head of AI & Data Science Innovation

Placements24; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Health benefits

Professional development

Conference opportunities

Job summary

Placements24 seeks an experienced Lead Data Scientist to head AI/ML initiatives in Tembisa, SA. You will define the data science roadmap, translate business problems into actionable analytics, and drive innovation in a collaborative setting.

You will mentor a team of data scientists and engineers, collaborating with stakeholders to deliver high-impact solutions, and communicate insights to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related quantitative field.
• 7+ years of experience in data science with a proven track record of leading ML projects.
• Expertise in statistical modeling, ML algorithms (supervised, unsupervised, deep learning), and experimental design.
• Proficiency in Python or R and libraries such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn.
• Strong experience with data manipulation tools (SQL, Spark) and big data technologies.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced ML models and AI solutions.
• Mentor and guide a team of data scientists and engineers.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across departments to identify data-driven opportunities.
• Perform complex data analysis, feature engineering, and model evaluation.
• Stay current with AI advances and advocate their adoption.
• Communicate findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Skills

Machine learning

Statistical modeling

Experiment design

Python

R

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Education

Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related quantitative field

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

scikit-learn

SQL

Spark

Job description

Placements24 seeks an experienced Lead Data Scientist to head AI/ML initiatives in Tembisa, SA. You will define the data science roadmap, translate business problems into actionable analytics, and drive innovation in a collaborative setting.

You will mentor a team of data scientists and engineers, collaborating with stakeholders to deliver high-impact solutions, and communicate insights to both technical and non-technical audiences.