Senior Data Scientist

Sabenza IT & Recruitment; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Sabenza IT & Recruitment in Johannesburg, South Africa is seeking a Data Scientist to design, develop and optimise ML and AI solutions that improve customer outcomes and operational efficiency across Personal and Private Banking channels.

You will focus on feature engineering, model development, experimentation and decision science using the Databricks platform to create scalable, reusable analytics assets.

Qualifications

• Degree in data science, CS, math, stats, engineering, actuarial science, econometrics or related field.
• Strong hands-on Databricks + Python + SQL + ML experience.
• Experience taking data science solutions from concept to production.
• Strong statistical modelling, feature engineering and model validation skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimise ML models using Databricks, MLflow, Python & SQL.
• Develop customer, propensity, retention, risk, fraud and decisioning models.
• Build reusable features using Databricks Feature Store.
• Apply Generative AI & LLMs to innovative business use cases.
• Turn complex data into actionable insights and measurable business value.
• Partner with business, product, risk and technology teams.
• Mentor and inspire junior Data Scientists.

Skills

Databricks

Python

SQL

Machine Learning

Feature engineering

Communication

Education

Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Actuarial Science, Econometrics or a related field

Tools

Databricks

MLflow

Python

SQL

Job description

Johannesburg, South Africa | Posted on 07/09/2026

To design, develop and optimise machine learning, AI and decisioning solutions that drive customer, risk and operational outcomes across Personal and Private Banking (PPB) and Digital channels.

Purpose

Apply advanced analytics, machine learning and AI techniques to solve business problems, improve customer experiences and support intelligent decisioning. The role focuses on feature engineering, model development, experimentation and decision science while leveraging the Databricks platform to deliver scalable and reusable analytical assets.

Requirements

What You’ll Do

• Build and optimise ML models using Databricks, MLflow, Python & SQL
  
• Develop customer, propensity, retention, risk, fraud and decisioning models
  
• Build reusable features using Databricks Feature Store
  
• Apply Generative AI & LLMs to innovative business use cases
  
• Turn complex data into actionable insights and measurable business value
  
• Partner with business, product, risk and technology teams
  
• Mentor and inspire junior Data Scientists
  

What You Bring

• Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Actuarial Science, Econometrics or a related field
• Strong hands-on Databricks + Python + SQL + Machine Learning experience
• Experience taking data science solutions from concept to production
• Strong statistical modelling, feature engineering and model validation skills
• Commercial mindset with excellent stakeholder and communication skills
• Master’s/PhD and relevant Databricks, Azure, AWS, GCP or SAS certifications are a plus.

You’ll ideally bring strong hands-on experience with:

• Databricks — Notebooks, Workflows, MLflow and distributed compute
• Python & SQL
• Predictive & Prescriptive Analytics
• Decision Science & Optimisation
• Generative AI, LLMs & Prompt Engineering