Are you looking for a challenging job in a dynamic setting? The University of Amsterdam (UvA) is looking for a Data Scientist in “Analytics for a Better World”. The position is a part of the 2021 UvA Data Science Centre Accelerate Programme.

The Data Scientist will be part of the current Operations Management group at the Amsterdam Business School (ABS), Faculty of Economics and Business. This group is in transition towards Business Analytics, and most probably this will be the new name of the group. The focus of the group is on predictive (machine learning), descriptive (statistics) and prescriptive (optimization) analytics as well as the predictive process monitoring. Applications of interest for the group include supply chain analytics, urban analytics, healthcare analytics, regulatory and legal data analytics, and humanitarian analytics. This group is also heavily involved in the Minor Amsterdam Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (successfully running since September 2017), new bachelor program Business Analytics (starting on 1 September 2021) and the new master program Business Analytics (expected to start on 1 September 2022). The group has combined the research under “Analytics for a Better World (ABW)”, a new international initiative of the University of Amsterdam and the Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT) (Cambridge, USA). See also analyticsbw.org for more information.

In addition, the Data Scientist will spend one day a week working at the University of Amsterdam Data Science Centre (DSC), a newly launched initiative with the mission to enhance the university’s research by developing, sharing and applying data science methods and technologies.

What are you going to do?

The members of our group are involved in many different ABW projects. To increase impact of these projects, both societal and scientifically, we are looking for a Data Scientist.

Your tasks will be:

• conducting research independently and in collaboration with the colleagues from the team, as well as the corporate, government and non-profit partners;
• contributing scientifically to the grant acquisition;
• contributing to the valorisation initiatives based on the output of different research projects;
• developing prototype software for innovative both predictive and prescriptive analytics;
• applying new methodology to different use cases;
• helping consolidate datasets, software tools and libraries resulting from different projects;
• data gathering and handling.

What do we require of you?

Your experience and profile:

• a PhD in a relevant discipline, such as Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, Statistics, Econometrics or Electrical Engineering;
• experience with (or a strong affinity towards) business and business analytics applications in, for example, marketing, accounting or people analytics;
• a solid publication record (in the field of PhD study), including top-tier international conferences and/or journals published by internationally recognized press;
• excellent programming skills in, for example, Python, R, C++ or Java;
• solid “data science toolkit” including the knowledge of, for example, applied machine learning, statistics, simulation and optimisation, information visualization, databases, knowledge engineering and high-performance computing;
• demonstrated ability to promote outstanding and innovative research and foster research collaborations (with faculty, postdoctoral researchers and PhD candidates);
• demonstrated ability to obtain research funding in a competitive environment is a plus;
• at least two years of postdoctoral, data scientist, scientific programmer or equivalent experience is a plus;
• proficiency in English and a willingness to acquire passive knowledge of Dutch within two years.

Our offer

We offer a temporary contract for one year with an extension of one year. Upon finance and a positive evaluation, you will be offered a permanent contract after two years.

The gross monthly salary based on full-time employment (38 hours per week) ranges from €3,746 up to a maximum of €5,127 (salary scale 11). This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of-year bonus. The starting salary will be based on qualifications, expertise and relevant experience. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

What else do we offer

• a function in which your own initiative and input is strongly valued;
• an enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues;
• an inspiring academic and international work environment at the center of Amsterdam.

University of Amsterdam

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Economics and Business - Amsterdam Business School

The University of Amsterdam Data Science Centre (DSC) mission is to enhance the university’s research and education by developing, sharing and applying data science methods and technologies. As a coordinating hub within the UvA Library, the centre is uniquely positioned to facilitate knowledge exchange as well as the training of skills related to digital and data-driven research and thus contributes to the innovation, diffusion and cross pollination of data science across the university.

As a member of the DSC you will engage with data scientists, engineers, and researchers from across the university in a unique network.