Mid/Senior - Data Scientist

Yassir; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Yassir is seeking a skilled Data Scientist to join its AI team in Cape Town, South Africa. The role focuses on optimizing pricing capabilities and contributing to key ML projects, including Dynamic Pricing and Trip Dispatching.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in data analysis, predictive modeling, and software development, playing a crucial role in enhancing Yassir's machine learning systems.

Qualifications

• Solid mathematical, statistical, and machine-learning skills.
• Proficient in production-quality Python and SQL.
• Knowledge of key software engineering concepts.
• Experience with cloud solutions and data/ML services.

Responsibilities

• Become an expert contact and thought leader in your scope.
• Focus on optimizing pricing capabilities and fraud detection.
• Support requirements definition for ML projects.
• Conduct exploratory data analysis and feature selection.

Skills

Mathematical skills

Statistical skills

Machine-learning skills

Production-quality Python

SQL

Analytical thinking

Problem-solving skills

Visualization skills

Cloud solutions knowledge

Education

Master’s degree or higher in a quantitative field

Tools

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Job description

About Yassir

Yassir is the Super App designed to make your life easier. Yassir’s Mission is to serve Africans in the continent and its diaspora while creating economic opportunities for service providers and infusing social values. We aspire towards providing our users with the most essential services to their door by leveraging technology and a large ecosystem of partners. We at Yassir stand for: Ambition, Transparency & Trust, Quality, Performance. And we are growing fast – super fast. By choosing a career at Yassir, you choose to be part of one of the most impactful, fastest‑growing tech companies in Africa.

About The Role

Yassir is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Data Scientist, of any level, to join our Artificial Intelligence (AI) team and contribute to key projects such as Dynamic Pricing and Trip Dispatching. As a Data Scientist, you will play a crucial role in analyzing and modelling data to optimize our Machine Learning (ML) systems. Your expertise in both predictive modelling and software development will be essential in driving our solutions and providing value to Yassir. This is a very exciting opportunity, tackling some of Yassir’s most critical problems.

About The Team

The AI team is part of Yassir’s central Data & AI domain, responsible for all data‑related activities in the organization – from Data Engineering and Data Platform management to Data Analytics and AI solutions. We are a global team of Data and AI/ML experts, encompassing diverse backgrounds and skills. Our goal is to build state‑of‑the‑art data and ML infrastructure and solutions, fostering a data‑driven culture supported by responsible and democratized data access and automation. We push the envelope of what’s feasible, challenge each other, support one another, and take great pride in our work. If you have an inherent curiosity about Data and AI, a relevant background, and the drive to contribute, we invite you to join us.

Key Responsibilities

• Become an expert point of contact and thought leader in your scope, mastering relevant details and principles.
• Focus on optimizing pricing capabilities, such as Dynamic/Surge Pricing, Discounts/Commissioning Optimization, and Personalized Pricing; dispatching capabilities; fraud detection/revenue leakage prevention; recommendations/personalization; and other key areas.
• Identify and propose ML opportunities related to your scope and beyond.
• Support requirements definition and prioritization of ML projects.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional Engineering and Product teams.
• Champion data quality as a critical input to all ML solutions and analytics.
• Conduct exploratory data analysis and feature selection/engineering.
• Utilize statistical and ML techniques for model training.
• Validate and tune ML models.
• Visualize analysis and modelling results, focusing on actionable metrics and insights.
• Deploy and test ML applications using our MLOps infrastructure.
• Monitor ML models on technical performance, business impact, and underlying data or concept drift.
• Explain technical solutions in a business‑friendly manner, supporting Product teams in communications and reporting.
• Maintain and improve technical documentation of delivered solutions.
• Support the Data & AI domain in developing its technical capabilities, improving ways of working, and collaborating with dependent teams.
• Champion a data culture, proactively share knowledge across teams, and participate in team‑building activities.

Key Requirements – Essential

• Solid mathematical, statistical, and machine‑learning skills, supported by a Master’s degree or higher in a quantitative field such as Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Machine Learning, Operations Research, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or Physics.
• Proficient in production‑quality Python and SQL, with at least two years of industry experience (more years may be required for senior roles).
• Knowledge of key software engineering concepts, such as code/memory profiling, code optimisation, scalability, QA testing, and cost optimisation.
• Familiarity with statistical concepts, including testing and causal analysis.
• Analytical thinking and problem‑solving skills.
• Engineering mindset focused on delivering robust applied data‑science solutions.
• Visualization skills using Python ecosystem libraries and/or BI tools.
• Experience with cloud solutions and their data/ML services; strong preference for experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Mastery of the end‑to‑end ML model development lifecycle.
• Excellent communication skills in professional English, including presentation and written documentation.
• Positive attitude and resilience.
• Strong interpersonal skills for peer support, empathy, active listening, team building, and stakeholder relationships.
• Self‑motivation and the ability to work independently, managing own projects effectively.

Nice to Have

• Experience with on‑demand, mobility, or financial services companies.
• Experience working on ML features for digital products (apps, websites).
• Experience with pricing/economics projects, fraud detection projects, dispatching projects, or personalization projects.

Join the Ride!

We may use artificial intelligence tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analysing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgement. Final hiring decisions are made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.