Recruitment Room Team

Junior Data Scientist

Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
2 weeks ago
Application ends: October 4, 2025
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Deadline date:
October 4, 2025

Job Description


We are seeking a motivated Junior Data Scientist to join our team at Hungry Lion, a fast-growing Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain. In this role, you will primarily focus on demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and sales prediction to help drive data-driven decision-making across our operations. You will work closely with operations, supply chain, and marketing teams to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.Key Responsibilities:

  • Develop and maintain time-series forecasting models to predict daily/weekly sales, customer demand, and product trends.
  • Analyze historical sales data, seasonality, promotions, and external factors (e.g., weather, holidays) to improve forecast accuracy.
  • Assist in inventory and supply chain optimization by predicting ingredient demand and reducing waste.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement data-driven strategies.
  • Continuously monitor model performance and refine algorithms for better predictions.
  • Support ad-hoc data analysis requests to identify business opportunities.

Qualifications & Skills:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Data Science, Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field or relevant experience.
  • 1-2 years of experience in data science, analytics, or forecasting (internships/projects count!).
  • Proficiency in Python (Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn, Statsmodels) or other modeling tools.
  • Experience with time-series forecasting (ARIMA, Prophet, LSTM, statistical etc.) and machine learning.
  • Familiarity with SQL for data extraction and manipulation.
  • Knowledge of data visualization tools is a plus (Looker Studio, Tableau, or Matplotlib/Seaborn).
  • Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail.
  • Ability to translate business problems into data solutions.

Nice to Have:

  • Experience in retail, QSR, or supply chain analytics.
  • Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP) and big data tools.
  • Understanding of statistical hypothesis testing and A/B testing.

Why Join Us?

  • Opportunity to work on real-world forecasting challenges in a fast-paced industry.
  • Collaborative environment with mentorship from data solution architects.
  • Impactful role—your work will directly influence business decisions.
  • Flexible work culture with growth opportunities.

If you love data, food, and solving business problems with analytics, we’d love to hear from you! Apply now with your resume and a brief explanation of a forecasting project you’ve worked on.

Closing Date: 28 August 2025