This is a remote position for a Lead Data Scientist at a company that builds a privacy-focused data collaboration platform. The platform lets businesses share consumer insights without sharing or trading real customer data. You will work as the second-in-command to the Head of Data Science, balancing leadership with hands-on work.

What you will do:
- Act as deputy to the Head of Data Science, guiding and supporting the team while managing delivery.
- Mentor team members and potentially lead an Agile team.
- Own and set priorities for the analytical roadmap, creating reusable tools and a clear customer analytics process.
- Turn unclear business needs into clear insights and present findings to senior leaders with solid evidence.
- Write clean, well-tested Python code following modern engineering practices.
- Work with data lakehouse architecture, focusing on data quality, tracking, and traceability in Delta Lake and Synapse environments.
- Use AI tools like Claude Code to improve workflows for prototyping, coding, testing, and documentation.
- Develop accurate insights from combined or imperfect datasets using methods like weighted binning, dependency checks, and strict validation.

What you need:
- At least 7 years of experience in data science, analytics, or data warehousing, with at least 2 years in a technical leadership role.
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field (or equivalent experience).
- Advanced skills in machine learning and AI, including designing, deploying, monitoring, and retraining production models.
- Strong knowledge of Python, Jupyter, pandas, NumPy, and scikit-learn.
- Experience with data engineering and lakehouse tools (Delta Lake, PySpark, feature stores, data versioning, Azure Synapse, and SQL).
- Skills in analytics and visualization tools like Power BI.
- Excellent written and verbal English, and strong stakeholder management skills.

Bonus points for experience with PySpark, FastAPI, Kubernetes, automated testing, data governance frameworks, and C#.NET/Angular.

What you will get:
- Competitive salary ranging from R1,080,000 to R1,200,000 per year, with potential for higher pay based on experience and skills.
- Full-time, permanent role with a focus on innovation and leadership in data science.
- Opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology in a remote setting.