Senior Data Scientist and Tech Lead

 

Discovery Health

Senior Data Scientist and Technical Lead

 

About Discovery

Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. We seek out and invest in exceptional individuals who understand and support our core purpose, and whose own values align with those of Discovery. Our fast-paced and dynamic environment enables smart, self-driven people to be their best. As global thought leaders, Discovery is passionate about innovating in order to not only achieve financial success, but to ignite positive and meaningful change within our society.

 

About (Data Science Lab)

The Group Data Science Lab (DS Lab) is expanding, and we’re looking for talented individuals to join our growing team. Our global team collaborates with partners such as Discovery Health Digital, Quantium, Risk Intelligence, and renowned institutions like the London School of Economics (LSE). Working across diverse areas—including digital, clinical, wellness, and behavioral themes—we harness terabytes of structured and unstructured data using a modern big data architecture. The DS Lab also embraces a forward-thinking approach, identifying new data sources and opportunities and leveraging the Vit.AI platform, we create scalable, fit-for-purpose solutions that serve the business well into the future.  

 

 

Key purpose

Lead the technical development, testing and implementation of advanced Large Language Model (LLM) based projects and related technologies to deliver end-to-end data science and AI products using within the organisation. You will work closely with cross-functional teams and business partners to design, build, and deploy scalable solutions that will directly impact staff and customers.

 

Key Outputs

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of LLM- and generative AI-based solutions that address large-scale and complex problems and materially drive the company’s global product offerings and strategy forward.
• Collaborate with product owners, project managers, and executive stakeholders to identify and prioritise business problems that can be solved with LLMs.
• Conduct desktop research into the state-of-the-art in LLMs and Generative AI and apply findings to real-world applications (either requested by business or suggested by yourself).
• Conduct experimental research on the use of LLMs in real-world company applications to ensure that design and development decisions are made scientifically, and optimise for and balance all business requirements. These include accuracy, scalability, efficiency, reliability, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
• Help to manage and grow a team of data scientists, developers, and engineers, likely having 1-3 direct reports. Mentor, motivate, and guide your team (direct reports and the team as a whole) in best practices and the strategic direction of projects. Understand your team’s career goals and work to advance their careers in line with these.
• Translate strategic direction into technical product definitions and roadmaps.
• Participate actively in internal and external communities discussing and designing policies for the ethical use of AI, and ensure your team’s work meets ethical AI standards.
• Contribute substantially to a culture of innovation, leading the prototyping and development of novel methodologies and approaches. Provide strong thought leadership in this regard.
• Communicate complex technical concepts to executives and non-technical stakeholders effectively.
• Demonstrate strong emotional intelligence by understanding and uplifting team members, and skilfully managing challenging situations with composure.
• Advise other teams in the business on best practice based on your experience.

 

Personal Attributes and Skills  

• A creative and enthusiastic attitude to unearthing valuable insights and generating value for Discovery clients 
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and to step back and see how analytics work fits into the wider business context 
• Results driven, curious and able to work autonomously or within teams
• Good time and task management skills
• Ability to communicate results of analyses in a clear and effective manner
• Aligned to Discovery values and core purpose 

 

Experience, qualifications, and mandatory requirements

• A post-graduate STEM degree (e.g. Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Applied Maths) or relevant experience.
• 5+ years of experience in data science, with a recent focus on generative AI.
• Proven track record of Data Science or AI project delivery.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Deep understanding of LLMs and experience with models like the GPTs, LLaMA, Gemini etc.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills.
• Experience in a leadership role within a data science, research & development, or consulting team.
• Self-motivated and proactive, with a strong ability to identify and tackle challenges independently, demonstrating a keen entrepreneurial spirit.
• (advantageous) Experience with cloud platforms such as GCP, Azure, or AWS.
• (advantageous) Familiarity with MLOps practices and tools.
• (advantageous) Experience providing strategic oversight and helping manage a data science division.

 

 

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY   
                             
The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.