Senior Data Scientist - Algo Trading (Hybrid)

Placements24; Stellenbosch; Hybrid; ZAR 1,100,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary + bonuses

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Tech resources access

Hybrid work model

Wellness programs

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Data Scientist for a leading quantitative trading firm based in Stellenbosch, Western Cape. You will design, test, and deploy sophisticated ML models and trading strategies, leveraging large-scale data and advanced statistical methods.

The role requires a PhD or Master’s in a quantitative field, 6+ years in data science focused on finance, and strong Python/Spark and cloud experience.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s in a quantitative field as listed in the requirements.
• Minimum 6 years of Data Scientist experience with a focus on algorithmic trading.
• Deep expertise in ML (DL, RL, time series, NLP) and statistical modeling.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL; experience with Spark and cloud platforms.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement ML models for algorithmic trading.
• Analyze large datasets including market data and alternative sources.
• Back-test and evaluate trading algorithms thoroughly.
• Collaborate with researchers, traders, and engineers to productionize models.
• Optimize trading strategies for performance, risk, and execution.
• Explore new data sources and methodologies to enhance trading.
• Monitor live strategies and adjust as needed.
• Communicate findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Contribute to proprietary research and IP while ensuring compliance.

Skills

PhD or Master’s in quantitative field

6+ years data science experience

Algorithmic trading / quantitative fin

Machine learning & time series

Python (Pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn,TF

SQL

Spark / big data

Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Communication & collaboration

Education

PhD or Master’s in Computer Science, Stats, Maths, Physics, Financial Engineering, or related field

Tools

Spark

SQL

TensorFlow/PyTorch

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Data Scientist for a leading quantitative trading firm based in Stellenbosch, Western Cape. You will design, test, and deploy sophisticated ML models and trading strategies, leveraging large-scale data and advanced statistical methods.

The role requires a PhD or Master’s in a quantitative field, 6+ years in data science focused on finance, and strong Python/Spark and cloud experience.