Senior Data Scientist - AI/ML for Financial Innovation

Placements24; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical aid

Top-tier retirement fund

Performance-based bonuses

Job summary

Placements24 in Sandton seeks a Senior Data Scientist to drive AI/ML initiatives and deliver strategic insights. You will build predictive models, analyze large datasets, and deploy solutions that improve customer experience and optimize processes.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration and leadership of data science projects. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in data science, advanced degree, and strong Python/R skills, with experience in financial services preferred.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related quantitative field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Data Scientist with focus on AI/ML.
• Proven expertise in ML algorithms: regression, classification, clustering, deep learning.
• Proficiency in Python and/or R with relevant libraries; strong SQL skills.
• Experience with big data technologies (Spark, Hadoop) is a plus.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving and communication skills.
• Experience in financial services is highly desirable.
• Ability to collaborate in a Sandton-based team.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement advanced ML models and AI solutions for business problems.
• Analyze and interpret complex datasets to identify trends and opportunities.
• Clean, transform, and preprocess large structured and unstructured data for training.
• Evaluate model performance, test rigorously, and iterate to improve accuracy.
• Deploy ML models into production environments with scalability and reliability.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate needs into data science projects.
• Present findings clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Stay updated on AI/ML advances and apply to business challenges.
• Mentor junior data scientists and contribute to team growth.
• Ensure all data activities comply with privacy regulations and ethics.

Skills

AI/ML expertise

Data analysis

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

Master's degree or PhD in CS/Statistics/Math or related field

Tools

Python (scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch)

SQL

Spark/Hadoop

Job description

Placements24 in Sandton seeks a Senior Data Scientist to drive AI/ML initiatives and deliver strategic insights. You will build predictive models, analyze large datasets, and deploy solutions that improve customer experience and optimize processes.

The role emphasizes cross-functional collaboration and leadership of data science projects. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in data science, advanced degree, and strong Python/R skills, with experience in financial services preferred.