Senior Data Scientist – Lead Machine Learning & Data Strategy

Our client, a prominent organization in the public sector, is looking for a senior expert to drive strategic data initiatives and technical leadership. This role focuses on bringing structure to data mining activities, mentoring technical teams, and transforming ad-hoc requests into scalable data products.

• Lead complex data projects involving advanced analytics, network analytics, and architectural decision-making.
• Co-create and mentor data scientists and analysts through technical reviews and best practice sharing.
• Establish and maintain quality standards for reproducibility, documentation, and engineering excellence.
• Streamline the intake and prioritization of data requests to develop reusable and structure data solutions.
• Apply FAIR principles to ensure high-quality data product development and long-term reusability.
• Manage project delivery by tracking milestones, identifying risks, and ensuring stakeholder alignment.

• 8+ years of experience in data analysis and modeling using Python, pandas, and scikit-learn.
• 5+ years of experience building and deploying machine learning models within a production context.
• Strong background in software engineering including Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker, and FastAPI.
• Solid proficiency in SQL for data extraction and manipulation.
• Experience in coaching technical professionals and working within Scrum or Agile methodologies.
• You possess a Master’s degree in IT.
• You bring a proven ability to translate complex business needs into concrete technical roadmaps.
• You're an expert in stakeholder management, expectation setting, and reporting.
• You include a technical explanation comparing Random Forest, XGBoost, and AdaBoost with your application.
• You are fluent in Dutch, French, and English.

Nice to Haves

• Experience with Databricks and cloud infrastructure tools like Terraform, AWS, or GCP.
• Knowledge of data product thinking, governance, and FAIR principles.
• Experience in graph analytics, network analytics, or fraud detection.
• Professional experience within a social security or public administration environment.

• Start date: ASAP
• Work regime: Full-time
• Location: Brussels
• Working model: Hybrid
• Contract: open to both permanent employees and freelancers