Vice President Data Science

Vice President Data Science

Private Credit Investment Manager

J Harlan Group is currently conducting a search for a VP of Data Science at a prominent Private Credit Investment Manager in NYC.

The Data Science opportunity is a newly created function which has been established to provide digital Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Analytical and Statistical solutions and leading analytical expertise on new and novel approaches to drive operating efficiencies and identify new sources of investment value and partnership opportunities for the business, investment teams and portfolio companies.

Sitting at the intersection of quantitative and investment analysis, the professional will be a “hands-on” player/coach building a team of Data Scientists focused on the implementation of Data Science technologies, techniques and methodologies leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, advanced analytics, and statistical methods.

Working directly with Senior Management, investment professionals and top executives from portfolio companies, the Data Scientist will be responsible for the implementation and ongoing operational readiness of an array of data science technologies and practices to enable the firm's ability to analyze complex data sources, develop predictive and analytical models, and advise on smarter data utilization

Responsibilities:

• Data Science Subject Matter Expert (SME) across the business, investments, and portfolio companies
• Designing and building Data Science tools and infrastructure to enable the firm to use data science to make better business and investments decisions and accelerate growth
• Comfortable building data science applications utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), advanced analytics, and statistical methodologies
• Employing new paradigms such as AI, ML, cloud computing, lightweight microservices, and distributed and non-relational databases to deliver elastically scalable, distributed and highly resilient software services.
• Oversee data-focused initiatives already in place and being developed, and drive developments in advancing big-data and analytic services.
• Develop and improve methods for measuring the impact of business, investment and portfolio company content driven campaigns.
• Establish measurement approaches to assess relative performance of strategies
• Access the validity and rigor of new data sources and approaches, and the capabilities of potential solutions.
  

Our client is looking for a “Hands On” VP of Data Science to Lead their Data Science teams in Manhattan. They want an experienced and professional Data Scientist with a fresh perspective and who is passionate about solving complex business, investment and portfolio company data and technical challenges.

Working with smart, talented people across their business and investments to create groundbreaking, next-generation data science applications for n-tier cloud architectures. You'll be involved, hands-on, through the entire cycle. And you'll redefine the way their business and investment professionals serve their clients and portfolio companies.

They will expect you to be agile / to lead / to think outside the box. In return, they'll give you challenging work that has an impact / Opportunities to learn and grow / and a collaborative culture that encourages every member of the team to bring their point of view to the table.

The ideal candidate would have a background:

Core Attributes:

• Ideal candidate will have strong collaboration skills as well as possess the technological, statistical, mathematical, predictive modelling and business strategy skills to build the algorithms necessary to ask the right questions and find the right answers.
• The incumbent will be expected to develop attribution, segment, and predictive models to support business, investment, and portfolio company strategies
• Equally important to possessing strong technical skills, the ideal candidate will be a strong communicator able to communicate their findings, orally and visually. They need to understand how the products are developed and even more important, as big data touches the privacy of consumers, they need to have a set of ethical responsibilities.
• Focused on delivering value to the business with relentless efforts to improve process.
• Exceptional technology skills; recognized by your peers as an expert in your domain.
• A proponent of strong collaborative software engineering techniques and methods: agile development, continuous integration, code review or pairing, unit testing, refactoring, and related approaches.
• Seeks data from, gains opinions on industry trends, issues, and solutions. Formally or informally benchmarks technological processes, vendor experiences and priorities against other organizations in the industry. Takes appropriate actions as a result.

Required Technical Experience:

• A thorough understanding of applied statistics including sampling approaches, causal modeling, time series analysis and data mining techniques
• Experience in working with large structured and unstructured data sets
• Fluency in the languages of data manipulation (e.g., SQL) and statistical analysis (e.g., R or Python/NumPy), with ability to code (e.g., PHP) a plus, Java, Ruby, Clojure, Matlab, Pig or SQL
• Background in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Conceptual modelling, Statistical analysis & Predictive modeling, and Hypothesis testing
• Familiarity with data visualization, big data analytical techniques and cloud technologies
• Foundation in investment statistics and mathematics
• Comfortable working with, and combining, disparate and diverse structured and unstructured data sources
• A strong intuition for analytical methodologies and desire to solve novel technical challenges

Required Domain Experience and Soft Skills:

• 8+ years of relevant background as a Data Scientist, Quantitative Researcher or Financial Engineer within the Investment Community with extensive experience in a data-driven professional setting – Preferably from a private credit, private equity, investment management or investment banking organization.
• Excellence in balancing multiple projects and efficiently meeting goals in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to successfully partner and communicate with all levels of an organization
• Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with business management, investment professionals and portfolio companies and a demonstrated ability to influence and impact the business
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to forge relationships resulting in successful partnerships
• Strong negotiation skills, business acumen and customer focused
• Confident communicator; able to present and argue a point concisely and deal positively with conflicting views
• Enthusiasm for learning & results oriented
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Ability to work independently as well as on a team

Required Education:

• Strong academic record and a BA/BS or Master's degree with high mathematical and computing content (e.g., Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering or Physics)

About the Client:

The firm is a New York-based, private debt investment manager managing $6.4 billion of assets under management inclusive of Special Situations, Sponsored, and Growth direct lending opportunities. The firm was founded in 2017 with the objective of providing financing to primarily middle market business that operate in North America.

They seek candidates who are high-energy self-starters who want to join an investment management firm on the leading edge of financial markets. The management team needs individuals of the highest professional caliber who are leaders, problem solvers, analytic, detail-oriented, and entrepreneurial. Everyone at the firm works side-by-side with the firm's senior partners in a highly collaborative and charged investment environment.

Successful candidates are:

• Analytic and relentless in pursuit of the right answer
• Strong communicators who excel at rapid synthesis
• Able to demonstrate sound business judgment
• Able to digest complexity while maintaining an understanding of the “big picture” of business needs
• Team players who are energized by a collaborative enterprise
  

The firm's employees maintain the highest professional and ethical standards.

SALARY RANGE: - Expected base salary for this position is between $175,000 and $225,000. However, base pay if hired will be determined commensurate with experience and is only a part of the total compensation package which includes eligibility for a discretionary bonus and a robust benefits package.