Lead Data Scientist

MSP Staffing (PTY) LTD; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,600,000; Full time

Job summary

MSP Staffing (PTY) LTD client is seeking an accomplished Lead Data Scientist to drive development and deployment of ML/AI solutions in production. This permanent remote opportunity is suited to a senior data professional with strong technical expertise and proven leadership.

You will lead model design, training, monitoring, and mentoring of data scientists, work with lakehouse architectures and Power BI visualisations, and collaborate with stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 7+ years' experience across data science, data analytics or data warehousing, with substantial recent data science experience.
• At least 2 years' experience in a technical or engineering leadership role.
• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong production-level experience across machine learning, statistical modelling and AI system design.
• Advanced Python proficiency with strong experience in pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn and Jupyter.
• Experience with Delta Lake or comparable lakehouse environments and PySpark.
• Strong data warehousing and SQL expertise.
• Experience with Power BI and data visualisation.
• Demonstrated technical leadership, mentoring and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
• Willingness to travel to Johannesburg or Cape Town a few times per year for in-person meetings; proximity to either city is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, deployment, monitoring and retraining of machine learning and AI models.
• Apply advanced statistical modelling and data science techniques to solve complex business problems.
• Develop robust data science solutions using Python, Jupyter Notebooks, pandas, NumPy and scikit-learn.
• Work with Delta Lake or comparable lakehouse architectures, including PySpark, feature stores, training-data versioning and schema evolution.
• Develop and optimise data solutions using Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL, T-SQL and/or ANSI SQL.
• Produce meaningful analytics and visualisations using Power BI and Python-based tools.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to data scientists.
• Take ownership of delivery and collaborate with senior stakeholders.
• Potentially lead an Agile delivery squad within the Platform organisation.

Skills

Python

Power BI

SQL

Leadership

Mentoring

Communication

Stakeholder mgmt

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Tools

Delta Lake

PySpark

Jupyter

pandas

NumPy

scikit-learn

Azure Synapse

Azure SQL

Job description

Our client is seeking an accomplished Lead Data Scientist to drive the development and delivery of advanced data science solutions in a production environment. This permanent remote opportunity is suited to a senior data professional with strong technical expertise and proven leadership experience.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, development, deployment, monitoring and retraining of machine learning and AI models.
• Apply advanced statistical modelling and data science techniques to solve complex business problems.
• Develop robust data science solutions using Python, Jupyter Notebooks, pandas, NumPy and scikit-learn.
• Work with Delta Lake or comparable lakehouse architectures, including PySpark, feature stores, training-data versioning and schema evolution.
• Develop and optimise data solutions using Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL, T-SQL and/or ANSI SQL.
• Produce meaningful analytics and visualisations using Power BI and Python-based tools.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to data scientists.
• Take ownership of delivery and collaborate with senior stakeholders.
• Potentially lead an Agile delivery squad within the Platform organisation.

Requirements:

• 7+ years' experience across data science, data analytics or data warehousing, with substantial recent data science experience.
• At least 2 years' experience in a technical or engineering leadership role.
• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong production-level experience across machine learning, statistical modelling and AI system design.
• Advanced Python proficiency with strong experience in pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn and Jupyter.
• Experience with Delta Lake or comparable lakehouse environments and PySpark.
• Strong data warehousing and SQL expertise.
• Experience with Power BI and data visualisation.
• Demonstrated technical leadership, mentoring and stakeholder management capabilities.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.
• Willingness to travel to Johannesburg or Cape Town a few times per year for in-person meetings; proximity to either city is preferred.