Data Scientist - Consultant

Job Description Our client is seeking a Data Scientist to design and implement data science and applied machine learning solutions supporting new product development, intelligent search and discovery, content enrichment, and metadata generation. Working as part of a cross-functional team, you will evaluate commercial and open-source AI models, perform data analysis, and deliver production-ready solutions with measurable business impact. This role partners closely with engineering, product, and business stakeholders to develop end-to-end AI and machine learning solutions, improve data quality, and enhance search, retrieval, and content intelligence capabilities. Responsibilities • Evaluate, fine-tune, and maintain statistical and machine learning models deployed in production environments, measuring and communicating performance improvements. • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and optimize AI/ML solutions that support new product capabilities and improve internal workflows. • Research, evaluate, and recommend machine learning models and methodologies, presenting findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. • Analyze model quality and performance, identifying opportunities for improvement and translating findings into actionable recommendations. • Design and enhance data and machine learning pipelines, including multimodal embedding generation and knowledge extraction, with a focus on scalability, efficiency, and accuracy. • Develop user-focused search algorithms and retrieval solutions that maximize relevance and performance. • Stay current with advancements in NLP, machine learning, and generative AI, recommending new technologies and approaches where appropriate. • Support the complete machine learning lifecycle, including problem definition, experimentation, deployment, monitoring, and ongoing optimization. • Communicate analytical findings and technical concepts effectively to a wide range of audiences. Required Qualifications • 3+ years of professional experience in Data Science or Applied Machine Learning. • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical field. • Strong Python programming skills, including experience with NumPy, Pandas, and large-scale semi-structured (JSON) datasets. • Hands-on experience with core machine learning techniques including classification, clustering, regression, and ranking. • Experience applying NLP techniques such as: • Named Entity Recognition (NER) • Entity disambiguation • Semantic similarity • Embedding-based retrieval • Experience working with transformer-based models for extraction, classification, summarization, and text generation. • Experience building or improving hybrid search solutions, retrieval pipelines, query expansion, intent detection, and relevance tuning using Elasticsearch or OpenSearch. • Experience working with both language models and multimodal AI models. • Experience processing large-scale text and image datasets. • Familiarity with ML Engineering and MLOps practices, including deploying and maintaining production machine learning solutions. • Knowledge of experimentation methodologies including A/B testing, cohort analysis, session segmentation, and model evaluation metrics. • Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills. • Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced environment. • Experience working across the full machine learning development lifecycle. Preferred Qualifications • Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related discipline. • Experience with graph databases, knowledge graphs, or entity relationship modeling. • Experience designing scalable AI solutions for search, recommendation, or content intelligence platforms. • Experience working with large, evolving datasets in production environments. • Curiosity and interest in emerging AI technologies and practical applications of generative AI. Additional Information • Hybrid work arrangement (multiple days onsite each week). • Must have Opensearch or Elasticsearch • Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship. • $60/hr. W2 or $75/hr. IC (no C2C)