Senior Data Scientist

Senior Data Scientist (NLP / RAG / Applied AI)Location: Remote (trial period) then on-site in Abidjan, Côte d'IvoireCompany: Box Africa Group – Fast-growing IT services company (+100 employees) pivoting 100% to AIContract: Full-time – PermanentAbout UsBox Africa is a rapidly growing IT services company operating across West Africa. We are launching a dedicatedAI divisionto deliver high-impact, applied AI solutions in fintech, telecom, banking, health, agriculture, and the public sector.Our ambition is to build theleading AI practice in West Africa, combining cutting-edge research, applied machine learning, and local talent development.Main ResponsibilitiesAs aSenior Data Scientist, you will play a key role in advancing Box Africa's AI practice. You will design, prototype, and deploystate-of-the-art AI modelswith a focus onNatural Language Processing (NLP),Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), andApplied AI use casesrelevant to Africa.1. Research & DevelopmentLead the research and prototyping of models in NLP, LLM fine-tuning, multilingual and multimodal AI .Develop and optimize RAG pipelines for African languages and domain-specific contexts (banking, telco, fintech, health).Drive applied research in Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) , automating information extraction and classification.Explore AI for risk scoring, credit scoring, and credit exposure loss prediction (IFRS9 ECL models) .Investigate and apply agentic architectures and agents-as-a-service to real-world enterprise problems.Stay ahead of emerging trends (explainable AI, bias mitigation, reinforcement learning, multimodal AI).2. Model Development & ProductionDesign and build end-to-end AI models , from proof-of-concept (POC) to production deployment.Collaborate with AI engineers to ensure robust MLOps integration (training, versioning, deployment, monitoring).Apply XAI techniques to ensure explainability, fairness, and regulatory compliance.Deliver scalable, production-ready solutions addressing financial services (fraud detection, risk scoring), telecom, and public services.3. Collaboration & MentorshipWork closely with the Head of AI & Strategy and the AI Engineering Manager to shape Box Africa's AI practice.Mentor junior data scientists and foster a culture of applied research and innovation .Collaborate with client teams to translate business challenges into AI-driven solutions .4. Impact & Ecosystem BuildingContribute to the design of AI services tailored to West Africa (IDP for banks, credit scoring models, multilingual assistants).Publish findings, represent Box Africa at conferences, and grow our presence in the African AI ecosystem .Position Box Africa as a pioneer in applied AI & agentic systems across UEMOA and West Africa.Candidate ProfileTechnical SkillsDeep expertise in NLP & LLMs (transformers, HuggingFace, embeddings, multilingual models).Hands-on experience with RAG architectures (vector databases: FAISS, Weaviate, Milvus; LangChain, Haystack).Strong knowledge of risk & credit scoring models, exposure loss forecasting, and IDP techniques .Proficiency in machine learning & deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn).Experience with XAI, bias detection, and compliance-driven AI .Familiarity with MLOps practices (MLflow, CI/CD, containerization).Experience & Leadership5+ years of professional experience in Data Science or AI research.Proven track record of delivering NLP/AI solutions from research to production .Exposure to financial services, telecom, or regulated industries is a plus.International or multicultural project exposure (Africa, Europe, or Asia).Experience mentoring junior data scientists is an advantage.Soft SkillsAnalytical and research-driven, with a pragmatic mindset for applied AI .Excellent communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences.Fluency in English required; French language proficiency would be a strong plus.Passion for developing AI with real impact in Africa .Why Join Box Africa?Join a fast-growing company employees, >50% annual growth).Work on real applied AI projects : IDP, credit scoring, fraud detection, multilingual NLP, agentic AI.Shape the future of AI in West Africa alongside international experts.Contribute to the next generation of African AI talent .Career-defining opportunity: become a pioneer in Applied AI in Africa .BenefitsRelocation & settling-in support (housing assistance, logistics).Annual round-trip flight ticket to home country.Relocation allowance (moving expenses covered).Comprehensive health insurance .Training & certification budget (AI, NLP, Cloud, leadership).Annual performance bonus tied to company growth.International career growth opportunities as Box Africa expands across UEMOA and West Africa.Recruitment ProcessInitial call (30 min) – Introductory discussion.Technical interview (1h) – Case study (NLP / RAG / IDP / risk scoring).Leadership interview (45 min) – Research, mentorship, impact.Executive meeting (45 min) – Strategy & cultural fit.Final offer.