Senior Data Scientist (m/f/x)

About the Role

Makersite, a forward-thinking organisation dedicated to advancing sustainable product development and digital collaboration, is seeking a seasoned Senior Data Scientist to join their remote team. This is a pivotal role for an individual who is passionate about leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to drive real-world impact. You'll be instrumental in developing and deploying sophisticated AI solutions that empower businesses to make more informed, environmentally conscious decisions throughout their supply chains. If you thrive in a dynamic, innovative environment and are eager to contribute to the future of manufacturing and product innovation, this opportunity offers a compelling platform for growth and influence.

As a Senior Data Scientist at Makersite, you will take ownership of the complete AI solution lifecycle, from initial concept and prototyping right through to full production deployment. Your responsibilities will encompass building, deploying, and meticulously maintaining scalable APIs that serve AI and machine learning models efficiently in production settings. A significant part of your work will involve the design and implementation of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, making adept use of vector databases to enhance information retrieval capabilities.

You will be tasked with evaluating and selecting the most suitable large language models (LLMs) for various specific use cases, ensuring optimal performance. Continuous optimisation of model inference will be a key objective, focusing on reducing latency, improving cost-effectiveness, and maximising throughput at scale. Furthermore, you will establish and maintain robust monitoring, logging, and alerting mechanisms for all deployed models and associated services, ensuring their reliability and stability.

Building and nurturing CI/CD pipelines will be essential for facilitating seamless testing, deployment, and iterative improvement of AI systems. Collaboration will be central to this role, as you will work closely with product and engineering teams to seamlessly integrate advanced AI functionalities into Makersite’s core product offerings. The ideal candidate will skilfully balance the need for rapid execution with the crucial requirement for systems that are maintainable, well-documented, and designed for scalability, bringing structure to a fast-paced and evolving landscape.

What They're Looking For

The ideal candidate will possess at least five years of professional experience with Python, complemented by approximately ten years of overall experience in software engineering or data-centric roles. A proven track record of successfully building and deploying production-grade APIs is a fundamental requirement. You should have hands-on experience with large language models (LLMs) and a solid understanding of LLMOps principles and practices.

Strong experience in fine-tuning open-source models will be highly valued, demonstrating a practical ability to adapt and improve existing AI components. Practical experience designing and working with vector databases is also essential, showcasing your ability to manage and query large-scale data for AI applications. Furthermore, experience in building AI agents, potentially using frameworks like LangGraph or similar, will be a distinct advantage.

Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and contemporary deployment methodologies is expected. A history of working effectively with large-scale text datasets will be crucial for developing and refining the AI models. You should be adept at navigating complex technical challenges, capable of driving structure and clarity within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment.

For a Data Scientist with this level of experience and specialised skill set in South Africa, remuneration can vary considerably but often falls within a competitive range, reflecting the in-demand nature of AI expertise. Typical employers include technology companies, financial institutions, e-commerce platforms, and research organisations. The career trajectory for a Senior Data Scientist often involves moving into lead roles, management positions, or specialising further in niche areas of AI and machine learning.

• 5+ years of experience in Python, with ~10 years of overall software engineering or data experience.
• Proven experience building and deploying production-grade APIs.
• Hands-on experience with large language models (LLMs) and LLMOps.
• Strong experience fine-tuning open-source models.
• Practical experience designing and working with vector databases.
• Experience building AI agents using frameworks such as LangGraph or similar.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment practices.
• Strong experience working with large-scale text datasets.