Data Scientist

Summary

Join Wave, a leading financial institution in Africa, and contribute to our mission of making Africa cashless. As a Data Scientist, you will work on high-impact projects with millions of users, focusing on optimizing rewards programs and developing new initiatives. You will utilize advanced analytics, machine learning, and geospatial analysis to solve complex problems. This role demands a product-minded approach, requiring you to connect data with user behavior and real-world impact. You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, own projects end-to-end, and prioritize work to maximize positive impact. The position offers remote work flexibility within a specific time zone and includes travel opportunities, competitive salary, and a generous equity package.

Requirements

• Minimum Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field such as Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline
• 4+ years experience in applied data science or similar experience
• Demonstrated experience with data analysis, machine learning and product A/B tests
• Proficiency in applying machine learning methods to solve business problems
• Very strong Python skills with expertise in data manipulation, analysis and machine learning. Must be comfortable writing code that runs in production
• Competent in SQL
• Solid foundation in probability and statistics

Responsibilities

• Be part of a multidisciplinary team, working with engineers, data analysts, economists and a product manager
• Focus on advanced analytics and machine learning problems, delivering them end-to-end independently
• Prioritise work and shape your own approach in a way that maximises the positive impact on both users and the business
• Engage not just with business metrics, but also collaborate closely with Operations teams to understand the real-world outcomes and impact of your work

Preferred Qualifications

• A Master's or PhD is a plus
• Experience in using advanced analytics for optimising targeting, rewards or incentive programs is a big plus
• Thrive on spotting key problems and finding the fastest, most effective solutions
• Enjoy and excel at working on machine learning and statistics problems
• Quickly build and validate proof-of-concept solutions, refining based on real-world feedback
• Prefer pragmatic approaches but apply complex methods when the impact is worth it
• Work iteratively, knowing when a project is “good enough” to avoid over-polishing
• Communicate insights clearly to all audiences and make confident, data-driven recommendations

Benefits

• Subsidized health insurance for you and your dependents and retirement contributions (both vary from country to country)
• 6 months of fully paid parental leave and subsidized fertility assistance
• Flexible vacation, with most folks taking between 21-30 days exclusive of statutory holidays
• $10,000 annual charitable donation matching