204 Senior Scientist jobs in South Africa

CAPRISA seeks to appoint a
Scientist
to join a study team investigating the role of law in shaping public health responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scientist will contribute to publications and policy outputs and have the opportunity to develop collaborations with researchers at other institutions. The successful incumbent will be based at the CAPRISA, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute Offices in Durban.

Responsibilities

• Conduct legal mapping of laws, regulations, and public health interventions.
• Undertake qualitative interviews with policymakers, legal actors, and public health experts.
• Conducting community-based surveys.
• Drafting and submitting of high-quality manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals (both public health and legal scholarship).
• Contribute to the synthesis of findings into policy reports with legal reform recommendations.
• Present findings at academic conferences, workshops, and stakeholder engagement forums.

Qualifications

• PhD in Law
• 5 years of research experience in public health law, legal epidemiology, or related fields.
• A track record of publishing in peer-reviewed scientific and legal journals.
• Experience with legal mapping methodologies and comparative legal analysis.
• Familiarity with community participation and engaged research methods.
• Expertise in qualitative research methods (e.g., key informant interviews, thematic analysis).
• Experience of policy-relevant research.

Personal qualities and competencies:

• Ability to work across disciplines and translate legal findings for public health and policy audiences.
• Organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Analytical ability with high attention to detail.
• Able to work under pressure in a changing environment.
• Managing time and work/deadline driven.
• Excellent written, verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills.

Closing Date: 05 September 2025

Reference: CAP

CAPRISA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to Employment Equity

Job Purpose

To provide specialised scientific services to Nampak Research & Development, Nampak Group, and its customers.

Operations

• Participate in planning, scheduling, and conducting of projects in the laboratory.
• Interacting with R&D laboratories and Divisions and reporting on work submitted to the Technical Unit.
• Conduct the workflow and assist with the day-to-day running of the laboratory.
• Analyse, Investigate, and report final results to the R&D laboratories, Nampak Divisions and customers.
• Prepare of samples and conduct tests for a wide variety of procedures.
• Conduct problem solving of material, packaging, processing and finished products for food, beverage, and consumers, using various analytical and scientific techniques.
• Conduct Spoilage / failure investigation and make recommendations for resolution or mitigation of the problem.
• Maintain and calibrate laboratory equipment to ensure acceptable levels of service, turn-around-times and quality of work are achieved.
• Assist with the development, modification, validation, and troubleshooting of the standard operating procedures and methods within the laboratory.

Customer and Manufacturing Service

• Consult with Nampak operations, customers, regulatory & industry bodies within the various expertise relating to finished products, materials & manufacturing processes to improve the quality of products and customer satisfaction levels.
• Conduct, monitor and report the results of field trials carried out at Nampak manufacturing sites and at customers' operations.

Training

• Assist with providing training and facilitate the knowledge and skills transfer to new or less experienced staff members within Research & Development and Nampak divisions.
• Assist with developing and presenting external training courses, e.g. (Getting the Best Out of Cans) to Nampak Divisions and customers.
• Assist with facilitating cross-pollination and collaboration between laboratories and cross-functional teams within Nampak to share learning and improve quality of work and skill level of employees.

Requirements

• Postgraduate or 4-year degree in either Chemistry, Microbiology or Food Technology relevant to the laboratory requirements and processes.
• 2 years minimum work experience in Chemistry or Microbiology or Food Technology relevant to the laboratory requirements and processes.
• Factory experience in the food, chemical & FMCG industries will be an advantage.
• Chemical/Food Technology or Microbiology knowledge, relevant to the laboratory processes and requirements.
• Knowledge of the JD Edwards applications and platform.
• Understanding of the laboratory procedures, experimental design and data analysis.

CAPRISA is an award-winning global research organisation located on the campus of the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban, South Africa and undertakes research in HIV and TB at four clinical research sites in KwaZulu-Natal.

CAPRISA's goal is to undertake globally relevant and locally responsive research that contributes to understanding HIV Vaccines and Pathogenesis, Prevention and Epidemiology, the links between Tuberculosis and AIDS treatment. CAPRISA is a UNAIDS Collaborating Centre for HIV Research and Policy and is recognised as a DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in HIV Prevention and hosts the SAMRC HIV-TB Pathogenesis and Treatment Research Unit.

CAPRISA seeks to appoint a Scientist to join a study team investigating the role of law in shaping public health responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scientist will contribute to publications and policy outputs and have the opportunity to develop collaborations with researchers at other institutions. The successful incumbent will be based at the CAPRISA, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute Offices in Durban.

• PhD in Law

• 5 years of research experience in public health law, legal epidemiology, or related fields.

• A track record of publishing in peer-reviewed scientific and legal journals.

• Experience with legal mapping methodologies and comparative legal analysis.

• Familiarity with community participation and engaged research methods.

• Expertise in qualitative research methods (e.g., key informant interviews, thematic analysis).

• Experience of policy-relevant research.

• Ability to work across disciplines and translate legal findings for public health and policy audiences.

• Organizational and problem-solving skills.

• Analytical ability with high attention to detail.

• Able to work under pressure in a changing environment.

• Managing time and work/deadline driven.

• Excellent written, verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills.

• Data Exploration & Management:
  • Collect, clean, and prepare structured and unstructured financial data (e.g., client transactions, market prices, and investment flows).
  • Assist with preparing, cleansing, and transforming data for the BI environment, ensuring data quality and consistency.
• Model Development:
  • Support the development of machine learning models.
  • Help evaluate model performance, document outputs, and improve feature engineering.
  • Implement anomaly detection models across business units.
• Reporting & Visualization:
  • Create reports (Power BI) to communicate findings to stakeholders.
• Collaboration:
  • Work closely with different teams to understand their data needs and provide data-driven insights.
  • Partner with Data Engineers, Analysts, and business stakeholders to ensure that analytical outputs are relevant and actionable.
  • Contribute to internal automation, reconciliation, and alerting tools to streamline operations.

• Bachelors Degree in Data Science, Statistics, Finance, Economics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Minimum of 0-2 years of experience in data analysis within the finance industry.
• Proficient in Python, including libraries such as pandas, matplotlib, and scikit-learn.
• Experience with Power BI, Excel, and other reporting tools.
• Experience in writing basic SQL queries.
• Knowledge of financial databases and platforms.
• Understanding of data pipelines, version control using Git, and cloud-based environments is advantageous.

• Gather, clean, and transform data from multiple sources for analysis.
• Ensure data quality, resolving inconsistencies and anomalies.
• Work with SQL, Python, and BigQuery, keeping up with emerging tools and trends.

• Analyze large datasets to uncover patterns, trends, and actionable insights.
• Create clear visualizations and support reporting, scorecards, and credit policy analysis.

• Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver analytical solutions that guide decisions.
• Support initiatives such as market analysis, customer segmentation, and performance tracking.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes and optimize revenue.

• Stay updated on best practices, technologies, and trends in data science.
• Expand skills in statistical analysis, modeling, and visualization tools.
• Engage in ongoing professional development and knowledge sharing.

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Data Analytics/Science, or a related field.
• 3+ years of proven experience as a Data Scientist or in a similar role, ideally within credit or financial services.
• Proficiency in GCP (Google Cloud Platform), BigQuery, SQL, Python, R, and data visualization tools such as Google Looker.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work with large datasets.
• Experience in statistical analysis and data modeling.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Solid working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and other data manipulation tools.
• Familiarity with data governance and awareness of data privacy regulations is advantageous.

• Design, build, test and optimise predictive models that deliver automated business intelligence
• Develop sophisticated algorithms to solve complex business challenges
• Deploy and monitor ML models in production environments with proper versioning and tracking

• Track model performance, detect drift and manage model retraining workflows
• Containerise ML applications and manage model versioning across environments
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to identify, scope and solve critical business problems
• Create automated reporting systems and interactive dashboards that empower data-driven decision making
• Monitor platform performance and establish key performance metrics

• Analyse diverse data sources including custom analytics, paywall metrics, and web analytics to uncover actionable business insights
• Conduct deep-dive user behaviour analysis to enhance UX and drive engagement
• Data engineering & pipeline development
• Build and maintain robust data pipelines for ingesting, processing and transforming large datasets
• Ensure data quality and implement validation checks across data workflows
• Design efficient ETL/ELT processes to support analytics and ML initiatives

• 3+ years of hands-on Python development experience
• Proven experience with big data technologies and cloud platforms Technical expertise
• Development Tools: Git version control, Jupyter Notebooks, Docker
• ML Frameworks: scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, LightGBM, XGBoost, Pandas
• Data Engineering: SQL, DAG orchestration tools, data pipeline design, ETL/ELT processes
• Statistical Methods: Linear/logistic regression, statistical analysis techniques
• Recommendation Systems: Collaborative filtering, content-based and hybrid models
• Tree-Based Methods: Random Forests, decision trees, gradient boosting
• Advanced Techniques: Clustering algorithms, Natural Language Processing (bag-of-words, word embeddings, transformer models)
• Model Deployment: Production deployment, A/B testing, model monitoring and maintenance

• Strong SQL proficiency and database design principles
• Experience with data warehousing concepts and dimensional modelling
• Knowledge of data quality frameworks and validation processes
• Understanding of streaming vs. batch processing architectures

• Curiosity and eagerness to learn emerging technologies, platforms and methodologies
• Problem-solving approach with attention to detail and business impact
• Strong collaboration skills for working across engineering and business teams

A leading, award-winning global research organisation based at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban is seeking to appoint a Junior Scientist to join its high-impact biomedical research team.

With multiple clinical research sites across KwaZulu-Natal , the organisation conducts globally relevant and locally responsive studies in HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and COVID-19 , contributing to advancements in vaccine development, pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment.

Position Summary

This role is ideal for a scientist with strong expertise in flow cytometry and cell sorting . The successful candidate will contribute to innovative clinical trial-linked immunology research, gain exposure to advanced methodologies, and receive structured mentorship to support a career in independent research.

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s or PhD in Biomedical Sciences (completed within the last 2 years ).
• Demonstrated expertise in:
• Flow cytometry (e.g., multicolour/spectral panel design, sample staining, and data acquisition).
• Cell sorting (bulk and single-cell applications).
• Proficiency in using relevant instruments and software, suc as:
• BD FACSCanto , FACSAria , FlowJo .
• Experience in mucosal immunology or microbiome research .
• Proven record of at least one peer-reviewed scientific publication .
• Advantageous:
• Experience with microscopy (confocal, epifluorescence, live imaging).
• Skills in image analysis

Key Competencies

• Exceptional attention to detail and analytical skills.
• Ability to manage and prioritise multiple projects effectively.
• Adaptable and calm under pressure in a fast-paced research environment.
• Capable of both independent work and team collaboration across institutions.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and implement cytometry-based projects , from sample preparation to data acquisition and high-purity cell sorting.
• Integrate cytometry workflows with downstream applications , such as:
  • Transcriptomics
  • Single-cell RNA sequencing
  • Functional assays
• Contribute to microscopy-based imaging projects , as needed.
• Develop and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) , ensuring quality assurance and control in laboratory workflows.
• Analyse and interpret experimental data; prepare and submit manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals .
• Support grant proposals , scientific reporting, and strategic research initiatives.

• Collect, extract, and compile data from multiple sources, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
• Clean and transform raw data into structured, usable datasets.
• Conduct exploratory and statistical analysis to identify trends and patterns.
• Build and maintain scorecards, models, and reports to support decision-making.
• Use data visualization techniques to present insights clearly to stakeholders.
• Provide analytical support for projects, including market analysis, customer segmentation, and performance tracking.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, increase efficiency, and optimize revenue.
• Stay up to date with emerging technologies, tools, and best practices in data science and analytics.

• Bachelors or Masters Degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, Data Analytics/Science, or a related field.
• 5 years of proven experience as a Data Scientist or in a similar role, preferably within credit or financial services.
• Proficiency in Google Cloud Platform (GCP), BigQuery, SQL, Python, R, and data visualization tools such as Google Looker.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience handling large datasets.
• Solid knowledge of statistical analysis and data modelling.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and other data manipulation tools.
• Familiarity with data governance and awareness of data privacy regulations is a plus.

• A chance to work in a high-growth, innovative environment.
• Opportunities to make a tangible impact through data-driven decision-making.
• Continuous professional development and learning opportunities.

• Partner with actuarial teams to deliver data-driven insights on pricing, reserving, and risk.
• Analyse large, complex insurance datasets to identify patterns, trends, and opportunities.
• Support IFRS 17 reporting by ensuring accurate, compliant data pipelines and reporting.
• Build, maintain, and optimise predictive models and reporting solutions.
• Translate technical findings into clear, business-ready insights for decision-makers.

• Education: Bachelors Degree in Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field.
• Experience: Proven experience in the insurance industry (essential).
• Skills: Strong technical proficiency in SQL, Python, R, or similar .
• Knowledge: Familiarity with IFRS 17 and insurance reporting requirements.
• Attributes: Analytical mindset with a problem-solving flair and excellent communication skills to bridge the gap between data and business.