Lead - Data Scientist

Job Description:

We are looking for an experienced Lead Data Scientist / Technical Lead to lead a pod of Data Scientists and drive the end-to-end development and deployment of accelerator-led Data Science and AI solutions for enterprise clients.

This is a deeply technical role involving hands-on Data Science, technical leadership, people mentoring, project delivery and client management.

The candidate will own solutions from problem definition through solution deployment and ensure high-quality, scalable and business-oriented outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead a team/pod of Data Scientists and provide strong technical direction and guidance.

- Own end-to-end solution development from problem definition, data preparation and model development to validation, optimization and deployment.

- Translate complex business problems into effective Data Science and AI solutions.

- Work with structured and unstructured data, including text, images and other enterprise datasets.

- Design, develop and optimize Machine Learning and Deep Learning models for real-world business use cases.

- Apply expertise in LLMs and Generative AI to develop innovative enterprise solutions.

- Ensure algorithm and model quality through appropriate evaluation metrics, experimentation and continuous optimization.

- Demonstrate strong hands-on programming capabilities in Python and sound knowledge of Data Structures and Algorithms.

- Review technical solutions, code and modelling approaches and ensure adherence to best practices.

- Mentor and guide junior Data Scientists, support their technical development and encourage knowledge sharing.

- Work directly with clients to understand requirements, define solutions and communicate technical approaches and outcomes.

- Collaborate with project managers, engineering teams and other stakeholders to ensure successful and timely delivery.

- Identify technical risks and drive appropriate solutions throughout the project lifecycle.

Required Skills:

- Strong hands-on expertise in Python.

- Strong understanding of Data Structures & Algorithms.

- Strong knowledge of Machine Learning and Deep Learning.

- Practical understanding of LLMs / Generative AI.

- Experience handling structured and unstructured data, including Text and Image data.

- Strong experience in data loading, validation, cleaning and preprocessing.

- Ability to develop, evaluate and optimize Data Science algorithms.

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

- Excellent communication and client-facing skills.

- Proven experience mentoring and guiding Data Scientists.

Preferred Skills:

- At least 1 year of people management experience.

- Experience in Data Science consulting or client-facing project delivery.

- Experience in productionizing and deploying Data Science/AI solutions.

- Exposure to cloud, MLOps or modern AI engineering practices is an advantage.

Education & Experience:

- BE/B.Tech/MS/PhD in Computer Science or a related quantitative field.

- Around 8 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor's degree, with equivalent relevant experience for Master's/PhD candidates.

- Strong experience in Data Science, Predictive Analytics, Machine Learning and AI.

- At least 1 year of direct client delivery experience.

Ideal Candidate:

A hands-on Lead Data Scientist / Technical Lead who can combine strong technical expertise with team mentoring and client management, and independently drive AI/Data Science solutions from problem definition to deployment.