Senior Data Scientist

Job Description

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Please Note: This is a 16 month contract role

Role Summary

Within Sun Life, the Data and Analytics COE comprised of savvy and intellectually curious professionals who are on a mission to transform how we apply data and analytics to support Sun Life becoming client centric. An integral part of the Data and Analytics COE organization, the Data Science COE supports Canadian business units in their journey to leverage data and analytics as a foundational pillar in delivering business value.

Reporting to the Director, Data Science, as a Senior Data Scientist you will focus on supporting Canadian business units in accelerating the growth and application of advanced analytics in driving value. The senior data scientist will leverage practical experience in applying varied data science techniques & offering advice/inputs to help with the design, development and implementation of analytics use cases.

Sun Life views success in this role in demonstration of these key attributes:

Fierce curiosity. You are drawn to discovering and leveraging new data and taking on challenging business puzzles. An inquisitive mind. Driven to ask questions to help lead projects to commercial value and not being afraid that the innovation attempts can and will lead to failing. A passion for solving problems. The most successful data scientists’ solution for what the right data to use, they solve using the most suitable (not most advanced) algorithms for the problem at hand and figure out how to execute and deliver with highest efficiency. Technical skills in both data and computer science. There are 3 core technical skills we look for: in-depth coding knowledge of an analytical tool(s) (i.e., Python); data science techniques and concepts; working with structured data and unstructured data. Thirst for learning. You are a data scientist who is constantly updating their knowledge of data science state-of-the-art.

What you will do:

Data Science and Machine Learning

• Translate business goals into analytical problems; Identify optimal algorithms, statistical techniques and/or GenAI architecture suitable for the business problem at hand
• Work in cross-functional teams to develop ML/data science products, including GenAI applications
• Apply best-in-breed data science techniques including descriptive, predictive, and machine learning methods from design to implementation
• Focus on feature engineering, model training, model evaluation, and prompt engineering for LLMs

GenAI & Agentic AI Development

• Design, develop, and deploy GenAI solutions including AI agents, chatbots, and autonomous systems that solve complex business problems
• Research and pilot the latest GenAI technologies, RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) techniques, and agentic frameworks (LangChain, LangGraph, CrewAI etc.)
• Implement AI bots/agents with advanced reasoning capabilities and tool use patterns
• Work with vector databases and embedding models to build intelligent information retrieval systems

Technical Leadership & Collaboration

• Break down broader data science development milestones into actionable goals, activities, and work plans
• Create and maintain technical design artifacts describing application functionality, data models, interfaces, and integrations
• Engage and negotiate with stakeholders, make business recommendations with effective presentations of findings at multiple levels of stakeholders
• Champion continuous improvement and foster innovation within the analytics community

What you need to succeed:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Statistics, Mathematics, or related field, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years experience in developing and implementing data science techniques
• Proficient in Python for data science and GenAI application development
• Experience with writing complex SQL and PySpark queries to extract and integrate data from multiple database sources
• Proficiency in machine learning including supervised and unsupervised models
• Demonstrated experience in data transformation, data manipulation, and working with structured vs. unstructured data
• Strong understanding of APIs, microservices architecture, and cloud-native development
• Hands-on expertise with GenAI frameworks and LLM APIs with experience developing AI bots/agents with reasoning and tool-use capabilities
• Strong understanding of RAG techniques, prompt engineering, and fine-tuning methodologies and familiarity with vector databases and embedding models
• Experience with chatbot development concepts and conversational AI design
• Exceptional communication skills to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Effective and concise oral and written storytelling and insights communication skills
• Ability to work on multiple projects in parallel while managing constantly changing deadlines and priorities
• Proven ability to mentor and guide junior data scientists and data engineers
• Strong problem-solving abilities and analytical skills with keen attention to detail

What would be nice to have?

• Experience with AWS services including SageMaker, Lambda, Bedrock, and other AI/ML services
• Experience with data warehousing, pipelines, and big data technologies such as AWS Glue for ETL, Glue Catalog, Glue Data Quality, and AWS Step Functions.

Unique Requirements:

• This role requires Reliability Status Clearance. In addition to a law enforcement inquiry and a credit check, as part of your application, the Government of Canada will ask if you lived or travelled outside of Canada for 6-consecutive months during the last 5 years, and you must account for all activities during this time. Important: Obtaining Reliability Status Clearance within a reasonable amount of time is a condition required to start employment for this role at Sun Life.
• Must be able to satisfactorily complete applicable background checks prior to the start date and during employment, in accordance with Sun Life’s policies and practices.

What’s in it for you:

• We’re honoured to be recognized as a 2026 Best Workplaces in Canada by Great Place to Work® Canada.
• Wellness programs that support the three pillars of your health – mental, physical, and financial
• The opportunity to move along a variety of career paths with amazing networking potential.
• As a hybrid organization, you and your leader use business and Client needs to choose where you work, at home or in the office