Senior Data Scientist, Data Science COE

Overview

You are as unique as your background, experience and point of view. Here, you’ll be encouraged, empowered and challenged to be your best self. You\'ll work with dynamic colleagues - experts in their fields - who are eager to share their knowledge with you. Your leaders will inspire and help you reach your potential and soar to new heights. Every day, you\'ll have new and exciting opportunities to make life brighter for our Clients - who are at the heart of everything we do. Discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world.

Job Description :

Please note this is a one year contract opportunity

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

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

As a condition of the role, the successful candidate must obtain a Government of Canada Reliability Status security clearance through Sun Life in advance of the start date. 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 2024 Best Workplaces in Ontario by Great Place to Work® Canada.

We are thrilled to be recognized by Excellence Canada with their top-level certification, the Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work®, for prioritizing employee well-being, fostering a positive work culture, and achieving excellence in mental health.

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.

The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance. Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results.

Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of our values at Sun Life. A diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas benefits our Clients, the communities where we operate and all of us as colleagues. We welcome applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds.

Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process, or those needing job postings in an alternative format, may e-mail a request to thebrightside@sunlife.com.

We are proud to be a hybrid organization that offers our employees the choice and flexibility to work from both the office and virtually based on the needs of the business, our Clients and you! Several work options are available and can be discussed throughout the selection process depending on the role requirements and individual needs.

We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Salary Range :

90,000 / 90 000 - 140,000 / 140 000

Job Category : Advanced Analytics

Posting End Date : 12 / 02 / 2026

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