Data Scientist - Kaggle Grandmaster

Engagement Type: Independent Contractor

Work Mode: Fully Remote

Hours: 30-40 hours/week or Full-Time (Flexible)

About The Role

We are partnering with a leading AI research lab to hire a highly skilled Data Scientist with a Kaggle Grandmaster profile.

In this role, you will transform complex datasets into actionable insights, high-performing models, and scalable analytical workflows. You will collaborate closely with researchers and engineers to design rigorous experiments, build advanced statistical and machine learning models, and develop data-driven frameworks that support product and research decisions.

Key Responsibilities

* Analyze large, complex datasets to uncover patterns and generate actionable insights

* Build predictive models and ML pipelines across:

* Tabular data

* Time-series data

* NLP

* Multimodal datasets

* Design and implement validation strategies, experimental frameworks, and analytical methodologies

* Develop automated data workflows, feature pipelines, and reproducible research environments

* Conduct exploratory data analysis (EDA), hypothesis testing, and model-driven investigations

* Translate analytical results into clear recommendations for engineering, product, and leadership teams

* Collaborate with ML engineers to productionize models and ensure reliable data workflows at scale

* Present findings via dashboards, structured reports, and documentation

Required Qualifications

* Kaggle Competitions Grandmaster or comparable achievement (top-tier rankings, multiple medals, or exceptional competition performance)

* 3-5+ years of experience in data science or applied analytics

* Strong proficiency in Python and data tools (Pandas, NumPy, Polars, scikit-learn, etc.)

* Experience building ML models end-to-end (feature engineering, training, evaluation, deployment)

* Strong understanding of statistical methods, experiment design, and causal/quasi-experimental analysis

* Familiarity with modern data stacks (SQL, distributed datasets, dashboards, experiment tracking tools)

* Excellent communication skills and ability to present analytical insights clearly

Nice to Have

* Contributions across multiple Kaggle tracks (Notebooks, Datasets, Discussions, Code)

* Experience in AI labs, fintech, product analytics, or ML-driven organizations

* Knowledge of LLMs, embeddings, and modern ML techniques for text, image, and multimodal data

* Experience with big data ecosystems (Spark, Ray, Snowflake, BigQuery, etc.)

* Familiarity with Bayesian methods or probabilistic programming frameworks

Why Join

* Work on cutting-edge AI research workflows

* Collaborate with world-class data scientists and ML engineers

* Solve high-impact, real-world data science challenges

* Experiment with advanced modeling strategies and competition-grade validation techniques

* Flexible engagement options ideal for Kaggle-level problem solvers