Data Scientist - AI & Big Data Team

We are looking for an experienced Data Scientist for our Technology Division, which combines technological innovation with real purpose, working to build a better and more advanced AI system for millions of members. The division encourages broad use of AI tools to boost productivity and streamline processes, so candidates with hands-on AI tool experience will be given priority.
An excellent opportunity to join the AI & Big Data team in one of the most fascinating and impactful domains. The role involves developing and implementing Data Science solutions in the domain, working with both tabular and textual data, combining classic ML models with advanced Generative AI technologies, and collaborating closely with a wide range of business and technical stakeholders across the organization.
This opportunity is with Naya, an EPAM company, a leading global provider of data platforms and development professional services. Based in Israel, Naya is one of the fastest-growing companies in the data and development technology space, and we’re growing our team.
Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end projects: defining the business problem, scoping, setting success metrics (KPIs), model development, and production deployment
Develop and implement Machine Learning and NLP models: processing text from diverse sources for tasks such as classification, information extraction, and retrieval
Build advanced Gen AI environments: designing and building intelligent agents/workflows, developing MCP servers, context management, and implementing RAG architectures
Analysis and evaluation (Evaluation & Observability): extracting business insights, performing in-depth error analysis, and monitoring model performance
Work with Big Data infrastructure: deep understanding and development in environments including Elastic, Kafka, Spark, Redis, and vLLM
Close collaboration with Data Engineers, analysts, and domain experts to create solutions with real business value

Requirements

At least 3 years of experience developing DS/ML models, with strong practical understanding of Classic ML — required
Significant NLP experience, including working with open-source models and understanding of Transformers, BERT, LoRA, and SFT — required
At least 1 year of significant, proven hands-on experience building Gen AI-based agents, tool-calling frameworks, and prompt optimization techniques — required
At least 3 years of high-level experience developing in Python and SQL — required
Experience deploying code to production, including CI/CD processes, Git, and dev/QA/production environments (e.g., Docker) — required
Experience with infrastructure such as Spark / Elasticsearch / Kafka / Redis / vLLM — advantage
Relevant Master's degree — advantage
Ability to learn independently
Strong interpersonal communication and presentation skills across various forums
Critical thinking
Analytical thinking and problem-solving ability