Head of AI Innovation & Data Science

Placements24; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Highly competitive salary with annual;

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Generous annual leave

Professional development budget

Advanced computing resources

Leadership development

Retirement fund contributions

Job summary

Placements24 in South Africa seeks a visionary Lead Data Scientist - AI Innovation to lead analytics and AI initiatives in Tembisa, Gauteng. You will develop advanced ML models and AI solutions to transform business operations and customer engagement.

You will mentor data scientists, translate complex findings into business value, and shape the AI roadmap. Work with cutting-edge technologies, apply statistical modeling, and ensure responsible data use across projects, influencing strategic

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative discipline.
• Minimum of 8 years of hands-on experience in data science and machine learning, with at least 2 years in a lead or senior mentorship role.
• Demonstrated expertise in building and deploying production-level machine learning models (e.g., classification, regression, clustering, NLP, deep learning).
• Strong proficiency in Python, R, and relevant data science libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, pandas, NumPy).
• Experience with big data technologies (e.g., Spark, Hadoop) and SQL.
• Solid understanding of statistical principles, experimental design, and hypothesis testing.
• Proven ability to translate complex business problems into data science solutions.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of advanced AI and machine learning models to solve complex business problems.
• Mentor and guide a team of data scientists, fostering their technical growth and ensuring high-quality project delivery.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for AI-driven solutions.
• Translate business requirements into data science and ML project plans, defining methodologies and success metrics.
• Conduct exploratory data analysis, feature engineering, and model selection to optimize predictive performance.
• Develop and deploy scalable ML models into production with MLOps collaboration.
• Stay current with AI research and advocate adoption where appropriate.
• Communicate complex findings clearly to technical and executive stakeholders.
• Ensure ethical and responsible use of data and AI technologies.

Skills

Leadership

Mentorship

Python

R

ML/AI

Communication

Cloud computing

Education

PhD in CS/Statistics/Math

Master's degree

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

scikit-learn

pandas

NumPy

Spark

SQL

Job description

Placements24 in South Africa seeks a visionary Lead Data Scientist - AI Innovation to lead analytics and AI initiatives in Tembisa, Gauteng. You will develop advanced ML models and AI solutions to transform business operations and customer engagement.

You will mentor data scientists, translate complex findings into business value, and shape the AI roadmap. Work with cutting-edge technologies, apply statistical modeling, and ensure responsible data use across projects, influencing strategic