Lead Data Scientist at Absa South Africa

Job Summary

• Work collaboratively across the business area to assess the key business challenges that can be solved by data and translate these requirements into data driven solutions for the area. Work on high value and high complexity data science problems & leverage deep data science expertise in advanced statistics, data wrangling, data mining, data analysis, feature engineering and predictive modeling, storytelling, distributed computing & data visualisation, machine learning tools & data intuition to operationalize & continuously improve data solutions that deliver relevant, quality assured, accurate & commercially impactful data to the business.

Job Description

• Design, develop, and implement artificial intelligence systems to solve complex real-world problems and enhance business processes. These systems include machine learning models, natural language processing (NLP) algorithms, computer vision solutions, recommendation engines, and predictive analytics tools. Data Scientists leverage cutting-edge technologies to build systems capable of decision-making, automation, and advanced data analysis.
• Key responsibilities include; building/running AI Systems, developing and training machine learning models, building AI pipelines, integrating AI capabilities into applications, optimizing algorithms for efficiency and scalability, and ensuring the ethical deployment of AI solutions.
• Proficiency in programming languages like Python, knowledge of AI frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch, and expertise in data preprocessing, neural networks, and cloud platforms are essential. Data Scientists also need skills in managing big data systems, deploying AI models into production, and working with tools for monitoring and maintaining AI systems post-deployment.
• Strong problem-solving skills, a deep understanding of emerging AI technologies, and the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams are vital traits for success in this role.

We’re looking for experience in the below technologies or similar, proficiency in all is not necessary

• 8+ years Information Technology experience
• Relevant B-Degree in Computer Science preferred but not essential if minimum requirements of experience & practical application is evident
• 5+ years relevant Data Science, development and data experience

AI Frameworks/Systems/Technologies

• LangChain
• LlamaIndex
• CrewAI
• Ollama
• RAG
• Agents
• React/Angular
• TensorFlow/PyTorch
• Natural Language Processing (NLP) frameworks
• Computer Vision libraries (e.g., OpenCV, YOLO)
• Recommendation engines
• MS Presidio

Data Science

• Python (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn)
• R
• Jupyter Notebooks
• Tableau/Power BI
• SQL
• Apache Spark (for analysis)
• Matplotlib/Seaborn for visualization
• Statistical modeling tools

Data Engineering

• Apache Kafka
• Apache Airflow
• Hadoop
• Snowflake
• Google BigQuery
• AWS Glue
• ETL Tools (Talend, Informatica)
• Spark
• NoSQL Databases (MongoDB, Cassandra)
• Databricks

MLOps/Platforms

• Docker
• Kubernetes
• MLflow
• Git/GitHub for version control
• AWS Sagemaker, Bedrock, Lambda, etc.
• Databricks
• Kubeflow
• CI/CD pipelines (Azure ADO/Jenkins/CircleCI
• Prometheus/Grafana for monitoring
• Terraform/Ansible for infrastructure as code (IaC)
• Hybrid ways of work, place of work either Cape Town or Johannesburg

Education

• Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology