Data Scientist

About Affinity

Affinity is an innovative global AdTech company pushing the limits of advertising technology. We enable publishers to monetize effectively and help advertisers reach target audiences through novel channels. Operating in over 10 markets across Asia, the US, and Europe, our team of 650+ professionals is dedicated to building privacy-centric advertising infrastructure that expands beyond conventional platforms.

Role Overview

Located in Mumbai (Malad), we are looking for a skilled Data Scientist to join our team. This role involves creating and implementing AI and machine learning algorithms tailored for ad decisioning, bid auctioning, ad creative optimization, forecasting, and data classification within digital advertising. You'll manage data pipelines, develop models, and present insights to diverse stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement AI/ML algorithms related to digital ad operations such as decisioning, auctions, creative optimization, forecasting, and classification.
• Identify valuable data sources, automate ETL pipelines, and handle data engineering tasks using ad serving event data.
• Prepare and process both structured and unstructured data for analysis and modeling.
• Perform feature engineering and examine large datasets from ad logs to detect patterns, trends, and anomalies in bidding and ad decisions.
• Maintain strict data privacy and security standards throughout analysis and modeling activities.
• Run controlled experiments to validate hypotheses and test novel algorithms.
• Develop MVPs through proof-of-concept approaches prioritizing scalability, efficiency, and accuracy.
• Create and sustain models, dashboards, and automated reports to monitor system performance and support decision-making.
• Work closely with product, engineering, and sales teams ensuring algorithm integration with broader systems.
• Keep abreast of the latest advances in prediction and classification within the industry.
• Implement diverse ML/AI strategies following best practices to build impactful training models.
• Communicate findings effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences, leveraging data visualization techniques.

Required Skills & Experience

• At least 5 years of practical experience as a Data Scientist.
• Demonstrable application of data science methods in Digital Advertising domain.
• Strong expertise in machine learning, neural networks, statistics, data modeling, engineering, and mining.
• Familiarity with machine learning and operations research concepts; proficient with ML frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, and XGBoost, alongside real-time data processing tools.
• Up-to-date knowledge of recent advancements shared by research communities and academic papers.
• Proficient programming skills in languages like Python, R, Julia, SQL, or Apache Spark.
• Analytical thinking, critical problem solving, mathematical proficiency (statistics, algebra), and excellent communication and presentation capabilities.
• Experience with Business Intelligence tools and distributed cloud data architectures.
• A strong mindset of intellectual curiosity and continuous self-improvement.
• Educational qualifications include Bachelor's or Master's degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, Statistics, Operations Research, or related disciplines.