Principal, Data Scientist

About us:

Quickplay fosters a transparent, fair, and collaborative environment. We enthusiastically tackle complex challenges in OTT video, focusing on massive scale and resilience. If you seek a high-performing, learning-oriented, and supportive culture, Quickplay is the right place. Our data team is searching for a data science leader to spearhead data strategy and implement data science initiatives across our products. The ideal candidate will possess a blend of analytical, technical, and business acumen to transform data into actionable insights that drive organizational value.

About the Role:

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Data Science Team: Provide thought leadership and technical guidance on data science strategies and their application across products.
• Build Data Products: Partner with Product Management and Engineering teams to develop and launch innovative data products, such as recommendation systems and AI agents.
• Spearhead Data Science POCs: Lead proof of concept initiatives to demonstrate AI-driven customer use cases.
• Gen AI/ML Leadership: Lead the adoption of Gen AI and ML-based approaches across the product portfolio.
• Data Extraction & Analysis: Apply various techniques, including statistical analysis and complex data mining, to interpret results and deliver meaningful insights.
• Client Communication: Communicate data-driven insights and suggestions to clients and potential clients with diverse technical backgrounds.
• Research & Development: Collaborate with academic institutions on research in strategic business areas and contribute to the Data Science technical roadmap.

Work Model

• Hybrid: Work from home and office based on team needs

Key Qualifications:

Cultural Fit: Demonstrates mindset and behaviors such as:

• Focusing on Impact: Entrepreneurial, results-oriented, and proactive in addressing client challenges. You prioritize solving customer needs and driving business impact through effective solutions and positioning.
• Being Curious: Actively seeks to understand client priorities, industry trends, and how Quickplays solutions create value.
• Being Supportive: Fosters collaboration across teams, builds strong client relationships, and ensures internal followership.
• Speaking Up: Offers constructive feedback when improvements are needed, driving continuous progress and accountability.

Proven Leadership Excellence:

• Track record of leading data science teams and influencing strategic technical decisions.
• Strong experience analyzing complex data to identify business trends, problems, and opportunities.
• Ability to translate technical data insights into actionable business recommendations.

Technical Expertise and Background:

• Ten-plus years of professional experience, including five or more years in an applied data science-related role.
• Advanced degree (Masters or Postgraduate) in a quantitative field: Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, or Machine Learning.
• Applied experience with machine learning on large datasets.
• Strong programming skills (Python, R, or similar).
• Experience with cloud computing (GCP and AWS).
• Proficiency with data manipulation and analysis tools (SQL, Pandas, NumPy).
• Experience with machine learning frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn).
• Experience in feature extraction, model selection, AI/ML training, and deployment.
• Expertise in multiple areas, including data products, behavioural analytics, advanced metrics, data architecture, and machine learning.

Communication & Collaboration:

• Exceptional oral and written communication skills to articulate complex topics to both technical and business partners.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and lead discussions in ambiguous environments, aligning teams toward common objectives.

Leadership & Self-Direction:

• Demonstrated leadership ability with the motivation to teach and learn.
• A self-starter with the ability to work autonomously while driving collaboration.

Success in this Role Requires:

• Technical Leadership: Successfully deliver on advanced technical projects or business challenges, applying cutting-edge industry knowledge.
• Strategic Vision: Develop functional strategies, clear objectives for the data science function, and policies and procedures to support these goals.
• Team Inspiration: Lead and motivate your team to deliver strategic data science solutions that guide Quickplays product decisions and drive business outcomes.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Establish strong partnerships with Engineering and Product teams to align data strategies with broader company goals.
• Growth and Development: Expand your team with diverse skills spanning machine learning, data engineering, tooling, analytics, and data products, ensuring forward-thinking expertise.