Data Scientist (12-Month Contract) Unlock the power of AI with impactful, real-world applications Johannesburg | R600 per hour About Our Client Our client is a specialist AI consultancy dedicated to helping enterprises realise the full potential of artificial intelligence. They partner with leading organisations, including major banks, to design and implement transformative AI solutions. With a strong focus on innovation and impact, they offer an environment where your expertise directly shapes business outcomes. The Role: Data Scientist This 12-month contract role places you at the heart of a banking environment, where youll apply advanced analytics and machine learning techniques to deliver scalable, data-driven solutions. Working closely with business and technical stakeholders, you will help frame problems, design models, and deploy AI tools that drive measurable value. Key Responsibilities 3- 5 years experience in data science or a related role Explore, clean, and prepare complex datasets for analysis and modelling Build, validate, and optimise machine learning models for business applications Collaborate with stakeholders to translate requirements into actionable data solutions Partner with data engineers and ML engineers to scale models into production environments Communicate insights effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences Contribute to prototyping, experimentation, and continuous improvement of AI solutions About You 3 – 5 years of proven experience as a Data Scientist or similar role Proficiency in Python with strong knowledge of libraries such as Pandas, Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch Solid foundation in statistics, feature engineering, and data analysis Strong SQL skills and experience working with both structured and unstructured data Essential: Hands-on experience with AWS services (e.g., S3, SageMaker, Lambda, EC2, Glue, Redshift) Ability to frame business problems into data-driven approaches and deliver actionable insights Advantageous: experience in banking/financial services Bonus: familiarity with deploying ML models, MLOps practices, and CI/CD pipelines Contract Details Duration: 12 months, with potential extension Location: Johannesburg or Stellenbosch (hybrid work flexibility may apply)