Senior Data Scientist
Senior Data Scientist
·
Organization: IDinsight
·
Location: Dakar,
Senegal; Nairobi, Kenya; Lusaka, Zambia; Rabat, Morocco; Manila, Philippines;
or Delhi, India.
Job Description
(Senior Data Scientist):
IDinsight
is hiring full-time senior data scientists (4 to 10 years of experience) to
grow our machine learning and broader data science capabilities. In this role
the data scientist will work with project teams and clients to use advanced
analytics to drive social impact. You may build models that help locate out of
school children, optimize routing of community health workers, identify infants
with high mortality risk, or make credit scoring possible for the unbanked for
the first time.
We
are a social-impact oriented organization, so can guarantee incredibly
meaningful work tackling some of the world’s most complex international
development challenges around the world.
Grow as a data scientist while doing meaningful work
We
are working to build IDinsight into a global leader in the use of machine
learning to solve some of the world’s most urgent problems.
You’ll
be joining a growing data science team and working on highly impactful and
innovative projects with our partners. You’ll be joining an entrepreneurial
team where you have a strong voice in how the team functions and grows. You’ll
get to work on the full spectrum of the data science solution – from design to
deployment. To be effective, data science products need to be contextually
relevant and build on subject-matter expertise. You will get to work closely
with our partners, our team of economists, social-sector experts, and public
health specialists to build and test solutions.
Learning is a key part of being a data
scientist. 10% of your time would be dedicated to learning new skills and side
projects of your choice. You’ll have strong mentorship to guide your data
science career and you’ll make interesting and valuable connections.
About
IDinsight
IDinsight
helps leaders combat poverty worldwide by designing, deploying and promoting
evidence-generating tools. We tailor the best methodologies to partner needs
and constraints to fuse evidence with action. We serve governments, NGOs,
foundations and social businesses across Africa and Asia in all major program
areas including health, education, agriculture, livelihoods, finance, energy
and governance. As a non-profit, we are laser-focused on enabling maximum
social impact to improve millions of lives. Our approach rests on four
pillars:
·
Rigorous: We
develop and use a wide-range of cutting-edge data and evidence tools, including
experimental evaluations, monitoring systems, data analytics and visualization,
process evaluations, machine learning and more.
·
Cost-effective: Every
dollar spent is justified by expected impact. If funds could be better used in
another way, we say so.
·
Timely: Actionable
information is delivered in time for client decision-making deadlines.
·
Demand-driven: We
deploy solutions tailored to partner contexts and needs with no competing
agendas.
Our
diverse, growing team of outstanding colleagues operate in nearly two dozen
countries around the world. Learn more about our mission and values
at www.IDinsight.org.
About
the role
We
are seeking candidates with a strong data science skills and a passion for
building solutions to difficult social problems. Most importantly, successful
candidates should possess the ability to work independently to solve complex
challenges related, both human and technological.
As a senior data scientist, you’ll also be
across multiple projects and bring technical expertise to the team. In addition
to the tasks above, you’ll be:
·
Working with clients to understand their
needs: Understanding their current processes and pain points and identifying
which of these can be framed as a tractable data science problem.
·
Providing technical oversight on multiple
project.
·
·
Designing, testing, improving various
algorithms: From OOTB scikit-learn algorithms to bespoke ones.
·
Writing articles and blog posts to share our
work for technical and non-technical audiences.
·
Synthesising, visualizing, and communicating
results: Dashboards, plots, interactive viz, presentations and reports
·
Writing test cases, setting up CI/CD, and
deploying solutions using cloud resources.
·
Ensuring business problems are framed
correctly: Not everything is a data science problem and a senior data scientist
would have the expertise to make this judgement.
·
Ensuring appropriate methods are being used
to tackle the problem: Having a broad knowledge of methods would allow a senior
data scientist to pick the one best suited for the task.
·
Establishing standards and best practices:
The senior data scientist will bring experience writing quality code and project
management best practices.
·
Doing code reviews: Every piece of code we
write should be reviewed. Senior data scientists would often be a reviewer and
also establish best practices for reviews.
·
Provide mentorship to junior data scientists.
·
Provide expertise in one or more of the
following:
o Deep-learning:
image classification/segmentation, sequence models
o Optimization
under constraints: linear programming, evolutionary algorithms
o NLP:
sentiment analysis, text summarization
o Other:
performance tracking, on-line learning, contextual bandits, survival analysis
Required
Technical Qualifications
·
Intermediate to advanced Python skills.
Please do not apply if you are not an expert in standard data science packages
in Python (numpy, pandas, scikit learn, etc.).
·
Hands-on experience building and deploying
supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms in production.Degree in
Applied Math, Data Science, Computer Science, Physics, or Similar Technical
Field.
·
Strong foundations in statistics and
probability.
·
Minimum 4 years experience working as a data
scientist in Python or R.
·
Experience with version control and code
management in git.
·
Knowledge of good software engineering
principles.
Other
required qualifications:
·
Proven ability to work alone and with teams
in a dynamic, multicultural environment.
·
Passion for improving lives through
technology.
·
Strong oral and written communication skills
in English. Fluency in languages spoken in countries where IDinsight works is a
plus.
·
Strong values aligned with IDinsight’s
stated values.
·
Ability and interest in sharing knowledge,
mentoring others, presenting work and reviewing the work of others.
·
Deeply passionate about global development
and improving lives in disadvantaged populations
·
Open-minded self-starter who will thrive
while tackling new, unusual and unpredictable challenges
Preferred
Qualifications
The
most competitive applicants will also have experience in one or more of the
following:
·
Advanced degree (Masters or Phd) in a
technical field.
·
Experience living and working in developing
country settings.
·
Experience working on optimization and
unsupervised learning problems.
·
Experience working on natural language
processing problems.
·
Experience working with SQL, custom APIs and
AWS products like RDS, EC2, and Lambda.
·
Experience with other programming languages
especially R or Java.
·
Experience working with GIS software such as
QGIS.
·
Experience working with satellite imagery /
remote sensing data.
·
Experience with Docker.
Nuts
and Bolts
Location
This
position is located in one of IDinsight’s existing offices, with possibility of
extensive travel dependent on project needs. The most likely offices for this
position are New Delhi, India; Dakar, Senegal; Nairobi, Kenya; or Lusaka,
Zambia. Preference will be given to those with pre-existing work authorization
in these countries; however, IDinsight will seek work permits where possible
for exceptional candidates.
Due to the COVID-19
crisis, we are currently “working from home” globally. As such, successful
candidates would be expected to work from home until it is possible to safely
and responsibly work from an IDinsight office.
Compensation
Compensation
and benefits are commensurate with relevant experience and background, and
competitive within the social sector. Please note, as a non-profit, we are
unable to provide compensation similar to leading private sector organizations.
Start
Date
The
start date of this position is rolling, with preference for candidates that can
start immediately. We expect a 2-year minimum commitment, with regular
professional development conversations and potential for a longer-term career
at IDinsight.
How
to Apply
Please
click the “Apply for this job online” button at the top right. The application
asks various questions in order for us to get to know you, and requires a CV
and cover letter. Applications are rolling and considered as they are
submitted. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
Please
ensure that your CV includes relevant professional and personal experience as
well as details on academic qualifications. CVs can range from one to two
pages. Please note, headshot photographs, parental details, birth dates,
marital status and other personal information not relevant to the application
do not need to be included in your CV. Additionally, we strongly encourage you
to use your cover letter to highlight why you want to work for IDinsight
specifically, and what has prepared you to succeed in the role you’re applying
for. A customized cover letter is an important part of IDinsight’s recruiting
process as it allows us to understand your motivations for the position,
relevant skills, and clarity of writing.
More information, including details on IDinsight’s
hiring process and frequently
asked questions,
can be found online at IDinsight Careers. Any questions should be directed
to careers@IDinsight.org.
IDinsight’s
commitment to reducing power asymmetries
IDinsight
is committed to reducing power
asymmetries in the social sector. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and
inclusion reflects our understanding of the need for the sector to abandon
unhealthy practices of the past. We wish to be part of a new generation of
international NGOs who are honest about this history and transparent about our
role in the present. Our commitment is also aligned with the impact of our
work.
We
seek a workforce that is inclusive of a variety of perspectives that will help
us refine and improve our methods and relationships, and strengthen the services
we provide our clients and their communities or constituencies. The following
commitments represent our vision for the IDinsight team:
1.
IDinsight will have greater representation
from the populations with whom we work and clients
we serve.
2.
IDinsight will have greater representation
from the countries in which we work.
3.
Across all countries in which we recruit, we
will seek greater representation from historically excluded
communities.
4.
IDinsight will foster an inclusive
work culture that empowers a diverse team to do their best
work.
IDinsight
is an equal opportunity employer and strives to create a diverse and supportive
workplace.
