Data Scientist (until Jan 2026)

Company Description

Te Tākinatanga | Our Story

At Contact, we believe home is the most important place in the world. It's all part of our vision to leave Aotearoa better than we found it. We’re a power, mobile, and broadband company, but we’re so much more than that. We are transforming the ways we mahi, and how Aotearoa is powered, leading the charge on renewable energy and digitising customer journeys in ways not yet seen here. A team of 1000+ from all walks of life who love what we do, look out for each other, and learn from one another every day, we’re stoked to be guided by our tikanga: we touch lives to make life better.

Job Description

Kōrero mō te tūranga | About the role

Are you ready to make a real impact in a role that sits at the heart of business-critical decision-making?

Here’s your chance to join Contact Energy’s fast-paced Data & AI team as a Data Scientist, where your work will directly support trading decisions that influence revenue, risk, and reputation. This is an ASAP start fixed-term contract through to Friday 23 January 2026, covering parental leave – and it’s an exciting opportunity to step into a space where your skills will be valued and your contributions will matter.

You’ll be working closely with the Trading team to develop and maintain trading algorithms that help drive smart, informed decisions. You’ll be hands-on with mission-critical tools and workstreams like Manawa integration, helping to ensure continuity and resilience in a space where disruption can be costly.

Expect quick turnarounds, meaningful work, and a collaborative environment where your technical expertise will shine. You’ll be part of a tight-knit, friendly team that thrives on getting things done without the stress – and you’ll have the flexibility to work remotely or in a hybrid setup, just like the team does.

Qualifications

Ko wai koe | About you

To hit the ground running, you’ll need:

• Intermediate R data wrangling abilities (dplyr, tidyr)
• Comfort working with Excel in a fast-paced environment
• A solid understanding of NZ energy markets
• A collaborative mindset – this is not a solo gig
• Some exposure to visual basic and excel macros
• SQL a must
• Experience with quantitative regression ML models (Arima) and statistical regression (Linear and multi linear regression)
• Git versioning experience a plus
• Exposure to Agile (specifically FaST agile or Scrumm) a bonus

Additional Information

🤝 What to expect

• A supportive team culture with weekly huddles and genuine camaraderie
• A leadership style focused on mentorship and helping you explore what you love
• Agile ways of working and cross-functional collaboration

📍 Location

Anywhere in New Zealand – we’re flexible.

🌱 Why this role matters

Contact Energy is on a mission to lead New Zealand’s decarbonisation journey. As part of our newly formed Technology rōpū, you’ll help shape a data-driven future that supports our strategic ambitions. This role is critical to sustaining the decisioning tools and insights our Trading domain depends on – and with one developer currently maintaining over 60 products, your support couldn’t be more timely.

If this sounds like your kind of challenge, we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and be part of something meaningful.

Please note, only candidates with the right to live and work in New Zealand will be considered for this role.

Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet 60% of the criteria, women and those in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they tick every box. We're not about box ticking, so if you think you have what it takes but don't meet everything stated above, please still get in touch. We'd love to kōrero.

Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) does not accept any CVs received from recruitment agencies where a formal engagement has not been confirmed and agreed to with our Talent team. In the event that unsolicited CVs are submitted by recruitment agencies, Te Mata Hiko (Contact Energy) reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and consider them for current/future vacancies without any financial obligation to the recruitment agency in question. This will also apply to any CVs sent directly to line managers.