Lead Data Scientist

Absa Group; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 950,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services institution seeks a skilled Data Scientist / AI Engineer to enhance their Advanced Analytics and AI team. The successful candidate will develop and deploy innovative machine learning models within the regulatory frameworks of the industry, ensuring adherence to architecture standards and best practices.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years in applied data science or AI roles.
• Experience in designing and deploying AI/ML solutions.
• Familiarity with financial industry use cases.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and deploy ML, AI models.
• Develop reusable AI blueprints for multiple use cases.
• Monitor and maintain model performance.

Skills

Python

Pandas

NumPy

Scikit-learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

MLOps

Communication

Data Governance

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering

PhD

Tools

Databricks

AWS Bedrock

SageMaker

Open search

Pinecone

FAISS

Milvus

LangChain

LlamaIndex

Weaviate

Job description

Empowering Africa's tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Data Scientist / AI Engineer to join our growing Advanced Analytics and AI team within the Chief Digital Transformation Office.

Our organization is a leading financial services institution offering universal banking products and services across Africa.

In this fast-paced, high-impact environment, the successful candidate will play a key role in the development, deployment, and operationalization of machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI, and agentic AI models. This role requires a strong technical foundation and the ability to apply data science and AI techniques within the regulatory, architectural, and risk frameworks of the financial services industry.

You will work across functional teams to deliver intelligent solutions that drive innovation and business performance, while ensuring adherence to enterprise data and AI architecture standards and best practices. Responsibilities include model selection, architecture design, and deployment strategies for financial use cases such as credit risk, fraud detection, customer engagement, and personalization.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and deploy production-grade ML, AI, generative AI, and agentic AI models.
• Develop reusable AI blueprints for multiple use cases.
• Develop guardrails in accordance with security and architecture standards.
• Partner with stakeholders across Business Units to identify, design, and deploy impactful solutions.
• Translate complex business problems into structured tasks and deploy models that deliver measurable value.
• Ensure solutions adhere to enterprise Data and AI architecture, security, governance, and operational standards.
• Build model pipelines using MLOps frameworks, ensuring scalability and performance.
• Monitor and maintain model performance, re-training as needed.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to data scientists.
• Stay updated with advancements in AI, including foundation models and AI governance.

Required Skills

• Proficiency in Python and data science tools (Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Experience with ML and AI platforms like Databricks, AWS Bedrock, or SageMaker.
• Hands-on experience with vector databases (Open search, Pinecone, FAISS, Milvus).
• Exposure to AI orchestration frameworks like LangChain, LlamaIndex, Weaviate.
• Experience with Model Evaluation frameworks.
• Deep understanding of classical ML, generative AI, and agentic AI.
• Strong grasp of MLOps tools and cloud platforms.
• Experience deploying models in regulated environments.
• Solid foundation in data pipelines, governance, and architecture principles.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage priorities.

Experience & Education

• Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or related field; PhD is a plus.
• 3–5+ years in applied data science or AI roles, preferably in financial services.
• Experience in designing and deploying AI/ML solutions, including generative AI.
• Familiarity with financial industry use cases.

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity employer and reserves the right not to make an appointment as advertised.