Senior Data Scientist and Technical Lead

SUMMARY:
Psybergate is an IT company that builds bespoke software solutions and provides highly skilled resources to its clients.
We are looking for a Senior Data Scientist and Technical Lead  to join our financial services client based in Sandton. 
Lead the technical development, testing and implementation of advanced Large Language Model (LLM) based projects and related technologies to deliver end-to-end data science and AI products using within the organisation.

POSITION INFO:
What you will be doing:

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of LLM- and generative AI-based solutions that address large-scale and complex problems and materially drive the company’s global product offerings and strategy forward.
• Collaborate with product owners, project managers, and executive stakeholders to identify and prioritise business problems that can be solved with LLMs.
• Conduct desktop research into the state-of-the-art in LLMs and Generative AI and apply findings to real-world applications (either requested by business or suggested by yourself).
• Conduct experimental research on the use of LLMs in real-world company applications to ensure that design and development decisions are made scientifically, and optimise for and balance all business requirements. These include accuracy, scalability, efficiency, reliability, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
• Help to manage and grow a team of data scientists, developers, and engineers, likely having 1-3 direct reports. Mentor, motivate, and guide your team (direct reports and the team as a whole) in best practices and the strategic direction of projects. Understand your team’s career goals and work to advance their careers in line with these.
• Translate strategic direction into technical product definitions and roadmaps.
• Participate actively in internal and external communities discussing and designing policies for the ethical use of AI, and ensure your team’s work meets ethical AI standards.
• Contribute substantially to a culture of innovation, leading the prototyping and development of novel methodologies and approaches. Provide strong thought leadership in this regard.
• Communicate complex technical concepts to executives and non-technical stakeholders effectively.
• Demonstrate strong emotional intelligence by understanding and uplifting team members, and skilfully managing challenging situations with composure.
• Advise other teams in the business on best practice based on your experience.

• Completed BSc / IT degree or other related fields
• 5+ years of experience in data science, with a recent focus on generative AI.
• Proven track record of Data Science or AI project delivery.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Deep understanding of LLMs and experience with models like the GPTs, LLaMA, Gemini etc.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills.
• Experience in a leadership role within a data science, research & development, or consulting team.
• Self-motivated and proactive, with a strong ability to identify and tackle challenges independently, demonstrating a keen entrepreneurial spirit.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as GCP, Azure, or AWS.
• Familiarity with MLOps practices and tools.
• Experience providing strategic oversight and helping manage a data science division.