Remote Lead Data Scientist: AI Strategy & Mentorship

Placements24; Sandton; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary + bonus structure

Comprehensive health insurance

Stock options

Remote work setup allowance

Professional development budget

Generous PTO and career growth

Job summary

Placements24 seeks a Lead Data Scientist to spearhead advanced analytics initiatives in a fully remote setting. You will guide a team of data scientists, develop predictive models, and deploy data-driven solutions that drive business value across complex datasets.

The role requires 7+ years in data science with leadership experience, strong Python/R skills, SQL expertise, and proficiency with cloud platforms. You will shape the data science roadmap and foster data-driven decision making.

Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, or related quantitative field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in data science with at least 2 years in a leadership or mentoring role.
• Proven expertise in Python or R and libraries such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, pandas, NumPy.
• Strong experience with SQL and large-scale databases.
• In-depth knowledge of statistical modeling, ML algorithms (regression, classification, clustering, deep learning), and experimental design.
• Experience with big data technologies (Spark, Hadoop) and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Excellent data visualization skills (Matplotlib, Seaborn, Tableau).
• Strong communication skills to explain complex concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects and mentor in a remote setting.
• Experience with MLOps is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and deployment of advanced ML models and algorithms.
• Mentor and manage a team of data scientists, providing technical guidance.
• Collaborate with product, engineers, and stakeholders to define data science projects.
• Identify opportunities to use data to improve business outcomes and operations.
• Develop and maintain data pipelines and infrastructure for model training and deployment.
• Perform exploratory data analysis to identify trends and anomalies.
• Evaluate and benchmark model performance for scalability and reliability.
• Stay updated on data science/machine learning trends and apply them.
• Communicate findings with compelling visuals and presentations.
• Contribute to data governance and best practices.

Skills

Python

R

scikit-learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

pandas

NumPy

SQL

Data visualization

Education

Master's or Ph.D. in CS/Statistics/Math/Data Science

Tools

Spark

Hadoop

AWS/Azure/GCP

Job description

Placements24 seeks a Lead Data Scientist to spearhead advanced analytics initiatives in a fully remote setting. You will guide a team of data scientists, develop predictive models, and deploy data-driven solutions that drive business value across complex datasets.

The role requires 7+ years in data science with leadership experience, strong Python/R skills, SQL expertise, and proficiency with cloud platforms. You will shape the data science roadmap and foster data-driven decision making.