Remote Agricultural Data Scientist: Yield & Insights

Placements24; Stellenbosch; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Home office stipend

Health and wellness benefits

Training and conferences

Stock options

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a highly experienced Remote Agricultural Data Scientist to drive innovation through predictive analytics in agriculture. You will forecast yields, optimize resources, and identify disease outbreaks from diverse datasets, working with a global team of agronomists, engineers, and product managers.

This fully remote position requires a PhD/Master's in a quantitative field and 5+ years of ML experience focusing on agricultural data.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Agricultural Science with a strong quantitative focus, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in data science with significant focus on ML and predictive modeling.
• Proven experience with agricultural datasets and understanding of farming principles.
• Proficiency in Python or R and libraries like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch.
• Experience with big data technologies (Spark, Hadoop) and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Strong SQL skills and database management experience.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Publications or open-source contributions in data science or agriculture are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop, validate, and deploy ML models for agricultural applications like yield prediction, crop health, and disease forecasting.
• Analyze large datasets including satellite imagery, weather data, sensor readings, soil data, and farm records.
• Design and implement statistical methods for time-series, spatial data, and risk assessment.
• Build data pipelines and ensure data quality for model training and deployment.
• Collaborate with product teams to integrate predictive models into user-facing platforms.
• Communicate complex findings clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Stay current with advances in data science and agricultural tech.
• Contribute to R&D for new data-driven ag solutions.
• Mentor junior data scientists and support team growth.

Skills

Python

R

scikit-learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

SQL

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Spark

Hadoop

Big data

Education

Ph.D./Master's in Data Science/CS/Stats/Agricultural Science

Tools

Spark

Hadoop

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a highly experienced Remote Agricultural Data Scientist to drive innovation through predictive analytics in agriculture. You will forecast yields, optimize resources, and identify disease outbreaks from diverse datasets, working with a global team of agronomists, engineers, and product managers.

This fully remote position requires a PhD/Master's in a quantitative field and 5+ years of ML experience focusing on agricultural data.