Senior Data Scientist

AKQA Inc; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 400,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology solutions provider in Johannesburg is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead analytical solutions and turn data into strategic advantages. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience in data science, proficiency in Python and SQL, and excellent stakeholder management skills. This position involves collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to shape data-driven strategies within a hybrid work environment. Competitive benefits are offered.

Qualifications

• Experience applying data science to business contexts such as marketing performance or customer experience.
• Fluency with data visualization tools like Tableau or Power BI.
• Excellent communication and ability to translate data outputs into commercial impact.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end development of data science projects.
• Translate complex datasets into actionable insights.
• Partner with internal and client teams for optimization strategies.
• Deliver presentations and documentation for non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Data science

Python

SQL

Machine learning

Data visualization

Stakeholder management

Education

Hands-on experience in data science or analytics

Tools

Tableau

Google Looker Studio

GCP

AWS

Azure

Job description

Overview

Senior Data Scientist

At AKQA, we imaginatively apply art and science to create transformative experiences, accelerate growth, and future-proof organisations. AKQA designs every touchpoint along the customer journey with unmatched native ability to define, find, connect, and inspire audiences across all brand interactions.

We believe in the power of data to drive decisions, creativity, and business transformation. As a Data Scientist, you’ll play a key role in turning data into strategic advantage—working with some of the world’s most ambitious brands and surrounded by a multi-disciplinary team that values rigour, curiosity, and innovation.

AKQA is seeking a business-oriented and technically adept Senior Data Scientist to lead and deliver advanced analytical solutions that uncover insights, predict performance, and inform strategy. This role bridges analytical depth with commercial impact, working closely with internal stakeholders and client teams to shape decision-making and deliver measurable results.

You will design and implement data science solutions across various projects, spanning customer segmentation, predictive modelling, performance optimization, and experimentation frameworks. You will also collaborate with data engineers, strategists, creatives, and technologists to shape data-informed marketing, product, and business strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end development of data science projects—from framing business problems to deploying solutions and interpreting results.
• Translate complex datasets into actionable insights through statistical analysis, machine learning, and visual storytelling.
• Build models and frameworks for forecasting, customer lifetime value, churn prediction, audience segmentation, recommendation engines, and conversion uplift.
• Partner with internal and client teams to shape learning agendas, A / B and multivariate testing frameworks, and optimization strategies.
• Deliver presentations and written documentation that communicate technical outcomes to non-technical stakeholders.
• Design KPI frameworks and create self-serve dashboards and reporting tools using platforms like Tableau or Google Looker Studio.
• Support automation and scaling of analytics workflows in collaboration with data engineers and developers.
• Advise on data collection strategies and infrastructure, ensuring robust pipelines and trustworthy analytics.
• Contribute to AKQA’s thought leadership and internal capability-building in analytics and data science.

Qualifications and Characteristics

• Hands-on experience in data science, analytics, or a related quantitative field.
• Proficiency in Python or R for data analysis and modelling.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with querying relational databases.
• Solid understanding of machine learning techniques, model development, and statistical inference.
• Experience applying data science to business contexts such as marketing performance, e-commerce, media mix modelling, CRM, or customer experience.
• Fluency with data visualization tools (e.g. Tableau, Power BI, Google Data Studio).
• Experience working with cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, or Azure) is a plus.
• Comfort working with structured and unstructured data from varied sources (e.g. CRM systems, media platforms, web analytics tools, transactional databases).
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate data outputs into commercial impact.
• Experience with A / B testing platforms and methodologies (e.g. Optimizely, Google Optimize, custom frameworks).
• Familiarity with data engineering concepts (ETL, Airflow, BigQuery, Snowflake) is advantageous.
• Prior experience in a consultancy or agency environment is desirable.

Benefits

Explore our extensive range of benefits

We believe great work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach including required in-office days. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

AKQA is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.