Contract Python Data Science Jobs in New York (NOW HIRING)

Your role
Are you an analytical thinker who enjoys leveraging data and advanced analytics to generate actionable insights that enhance client experience and drive business growth?
We're looking for a data scientist to:
• lead and mentor a team of 10-15 highly capable data scientists focused on building impactful AI applications
• identify and prioritize opportunities to apply AI for workflow optimization and revenue generation through strong stakeholder engagement
• drive end-to-end development and deployment of AI/ML models, applying best practices in software engineering and reproducible research
• design, build, and maintain LLM evaluation frameworks to monitor model performance, reliability, and consistency throughout the development lifecycle
• partner closely with product, business, and technology teams to deliver robust, production-grade AI solutions
• communicate complex technical concepts clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Join us
At UBS, we know that it's our people, with their diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds, who drive our ongoing success. We're dedicated to our craft and passionate about putting our people first, with new challenges, a supportive team, opportunities to grow and flexible working options when possible. Our inclusive culture brings out the best in our employees, wherever they are on their career journey. And we use artificial intelligence (AI) to work smarter and more efficiently. We also recognize that great work is never done alone. That's why collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. Because together, we're more than ourselves.
We're committed to disability inclusion and if you need reasonable accommodation/adjustments throughout our recruitment process, you can always contact us.
Disclaimer / Policy statements
UBS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We respect and seek to empower each individual and support the diverse cultures, perspectives, skills and experiences within our workforce.
Your team
You will be part of Data Analytics & Foundational Platforms (DAFP) within Wealth Management Americas (WMA), focusing on developing statistical and machine learning models that enable better decision-making across the business.
Our global Data Science team operates across the US, Poland, and China, and plays a central role in supporting data science initiatives across multiple business areas.
We believe diversity strengthens our organization and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment that drives better outcomes for our people and our clients.
Your expertise
• master's or PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, or a related technical field
• ideally 7-10 years of experience leading teams and delivering advanced analytics or AI-driven products
• strong knowledge of statistical tools (e.g., R, SAS), programming languages (Python), data visualization tools, and advanced analytical methods including machine learning and AI
• excellent active listening and communication skills, with the ability to build partnerships across all levels of the organization
• proven leadership experience in building, mentoring, and scaling high-performing data science teams
• strong problem-solving mindset with the ability to translate business challenges into scalable analytical solutions
• ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment
• proficiency in Python and key frameworks/libraries such as PyTorch, transformers, LangChain, OpenAI, and spaCy
• experience working with LLM APIs (e.g., Azure OpenAI, Anthropic)
• strong understanding of version control and software engineering best practices
• familiarity with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP, Databricks)
• experience working with SQL databases
• excellent written and verbal communication skills
• experience building scalable information retrieval and enterprise search solutions using both classical (keyword-based) and modern (semantic / embedding-based) techniques; exposure to RAG and agent-based systems is highly desirable
• experience designing automated evaluation frameworks for LLM applications
• strong familiarity with the Hugging Face ecosystem (transformers, datasets, PEFT, accelerate, tokenizers, evaluate)
• hands-on experience with LLM training and fine-tuning techniques such as PEFT, LoRA, quantization, RLHF, and DPO
• experience optimizing workflows that rely on rate-limited APIs
• nice to have: Publications in NLP or related fields
• nice to have: Experience in the financial services industry
• nice to have: Contributions to open-source projects (e.g., GitHub)
About us
UBS is a leading and truly global wealth manager and the leading universal bank in Switzerland. We also provide diversified asset management solutions and focused investment banking capabilities. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, UBS is present in more than 50 markets around the globe.
We know that great work is never done alone. That's why we place collaboration at the heart of everything we do. Because together, we're more than ourselves. Want to find out more? Visit ubs.com/careers.
Salary information
The indicative gross base salary range as a full-time equivalent role:
• United States - New York - New York min USD 140000 - max USD 180000 /annum
The expected salary for this role will be determined by relevant factors which may include but are not limited to, role-required experience, qualifications, education, location and skill level. UBS offers a range of competitive benefits and for further information, please visit ubs.com/employee-benefits. We may, at our sole discretion, provide additional variable compensation or awards.