Data Strategist

Thinking Machines is a technology consultancy building AI & data platforms to solve high impact problems for our client. Our vision is for the Philippines to become a global hub for data science. To do that, we create data cultures, one organization at a time.

We’re a company made up of intellectually curious, civic-minded, forever-learning individuals. We believe that great data science products are built with care for people, and that the best way to drive inclusive innovation is to start with a diverse team.

Our field of work is incredibly dynamic, so we want to work with people who are committed to growing with us. We want to hire people who can demonstrate an ability to learn, then provide them with personalized coaching, growth opportunities, and a great working environment to get them to world-class.

We are a data science consultancy seeking a full-time employee to join our Data Strategy team. We are a small, but high-performance team of data scientists, designers, and engineers. You'll have a huge pool of talent to learn from, all within arm’s reach!

As part of the Data Strategy team, you will be instrumental in the analysis of client requirements as well as in the implementation of Thinking Machines’ solutions. The role of Data Strategists is to translate client needs into tailor-fit data strategies to ensure our data science solutions translate into real impact at scale in an organization. We help clients navigate the complex landscape of big data and machine learning techniques to determine the best strategies to achieve their business objectives. You’ll be in constant contact with potential clients, current clients, government agencies, and fellow data firms in the tech sector.

Your main challenge is to understand the client’s business processes, identify critical data, and customize our data science offerings to their context. Some of your initial projects will involve gathering client information and requirements, analyzing data, developing proposals, and communicating recommendations. On a typical day, you might be scoping out new projects with a potential or current client or managing a complex AI platform project for large enterprise customers.

In addition to working directly with clients, you will collaborate with Thinking Machines colleagues to develop a broad range of business development resources such as presentation and document templates, evaluation frameworks, and processes to maximize each lead. We encourage you to learn more about the different functions of data science (e.g. engineering, machine learning, storytelling), but we don’t expect you to personally develop quantitative models or build data warehouses.

You'll also be expected to help out on any tasks that may come up in any department. Since this industry can get crazy, we are looking for someone who is up for any kind of challenge and has the initiative to seek out ways to be useful. We move fast, and we expect you to keep up!

We’re looking for someone who meets the following profile:

• Strong external communication skills - Your main job will be to communicate Thinking Machines’ suite of products and services to a business-minded audience. From sales calls to client pitches, you’ll need to know how to translate the technicalities of data science to the language of the boardroom and back into specifications and project timelines. 

• Business understanding - Business knowledge is a key skill. You need a strong understanding of different business models, processes and industries to effectively identify the value of AI and analytics in a client’s specific context.

• Strong problem solving and strategic thinking skills - Do you have a knack for finding structure in chaos? Do you stay calm when faced with all kinds of datasets, visualizations or straight up number mess? While we don’t expect you to build machine learning models, you’ll need a conceptual understanding of data science as you’ll be working with internal teams to figure out the best solutions and recommendations for our clients.

• Project management skills and strong entrepreneurial drive - A mastery of project management skills is a must. Data Strategists are expected to direct a data science project from scoping through production; a lot can change between the start and end of a project, so Data Strategists need to be agile enough to lead the team on the best path forward.

• Quick learning agility - If you are naturally curious and love to learn, this is an environment you will thrive in. You're not expected to know everything, but we expect you to fill in the gaps quickly, with guidance from our leadership team. You'll be part of a very talented team, make sure to learn something new everyday!

• Open communication skills - We’re a small team that relies on each other for ideas and double-checking. We appreciate tactfully opinionated people.

• Strong sense of initiative - There are many things to do from all sides! See something you can help with, but we haven't assigned you on? Do it.

• A minimum of 2 years experience in a strategy, management consulting, business analyst, or analytics role

• Experience in the sales and/or delivery process (e.g., business development, project management, account management)

• Experience working on technology projects with developers or analysts. Bonus points if you've had previous experience at a fast-growing tech startup.

• An undergraduate degree in management, decision science, or a quantitative field, or equivalent experience building technology products.

• Have some basic Python and SQL skills

• Have management consulting or business analyst experience

• Have demonstrated that they can go through online coursework (Coursera, Udacity etc) and learn new things quickly

• Have sold services consultatively using a value-based framework

• Have previous experience working with software engineers, statisticians

• Have domain experience in a non-data field (Are you an expert in agriculture? International law? Finance? We value having a wide range of career experiences.)

We offer the following compensation and benefits:

• Competitive salary — the compensation amount is positively correlated with the difficulty of the job, relevant experience, fit, and skill factors.

• Fully remote — due to the global pandemic, we have shifted to a fully remote company for the foreseeable future while we monitor the situation.

• Individual professional development budget— an annual budget for conferences, training courses, books, and software is available to sharpen your skills and build new ones to help you grow in your role.

• Full health benefits — generous health insurance package