Data Science Chapter Lead

• Lead the Data Science practice that powers analytics and insights across the entire airline
• Flexible ways of working – hybrid model with 3 days onsite
• Full time 12-month opportunity, based at our Head Office in Collingwood

 If you’ve ever thought about a career in aviation — now is the perfect time to take off with Jetstar! We are undertaking one of the biggest recruitment campaigns in our 20-year-history. Join us during an exciting period as we welcome more state-of-the-art aircraft, launch new international routes and continue our mission to help more people take off through low fares. 

As a Data Science Chapter Lead, you will serve as both a technical leader and people development champion, building AI and machine learning capabilities that accelerate innovation across Jetstar's business units whilst maintaining the highest standards of quality, governance, and operational excellence. You will establish the foundational infrastructure, tools, processes, and frameworks that enable data scientists to deliver high-impact solutions efficiently and at scale.

A key focus will be on professional development, mentorship, and career progression for data science practitioners throughout the organisation through your dedicated chapter leadership. As a subject-matter expert in advanced analytical and statistical techniques, you will guide data scientists in applying these methods to solve critical business challenges at Jetstar. You will also manage critical relationships with key stakeholders within technology teams and data science practitioners across the organisation.

The core responsibilities of this role will be:

• Design, build, and maintain scalable data science solutions and infrastructure
• Develop and implement robust MLOps pipelines for feature engineering, model deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management
• Lead technical strategy for data science capabilities evolution and roadmap planning, ensuring alignment with business objectives and emerging AI/ML trends
• Drive adoption and standardisation of modern data science tools, frameworks, playbooks, and best practices guides
• Provide mentorship and coaching to data scientists, guiding career paths, professional development goals, and technical growth
• Conduct performance management activities for data scientists including evaluations, reviews, and constructive feedback
• Foster collaboration with product domain teams, technology units, and data platform teams
• Coordinate with Squad Leads and Delivery Managers to ensure optimal resource allocation and capability matching for project delivery
• Define chapter vision and data science strategy aligned with Jetstar's business objectives, supporting the broader data insights and analytics roadmap
• Establish and maintain data science governance frameworks ensuring model reliability, ethical AI practices, and regulatory compliance

To be considered, key skills will include:

• Tertiary degree or equivalent experience in a highly analytical discipline (e.g. computer science, data science, statistics, mathematics or related quantitative field)
• 8+ years of experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI roles
• 4+ years of experience in technical leadership, team management, or chapter leadership roles
• Proven track record of building and scaling ML solutions & infrastructure
• Experience with cloud-based data warehousing (Snowflake preferred) and modern data architecture patterns
• Experience with enterprise data science platforms (Databricks, SageMaker, Dataiku, DataRobot, or similar)
• Strong knowledge of advanced analytical and statistical techniques including modelling, ML, and AI applications
• Proficient in Python, R, SQL, Spark, and similar programming languages
• Excellent mentorship and coaching abilities for data science practitioners
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Strategic thinking capability to align technical roadmaps with business objectives
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in agile development methodologies and cross-functional team environments

Applications close on the 5th of November

Your life at Jetstar is unlike any other..

Live the travel dream: You and your nominated travel companions can take-off more with our famous Qantas Group Staff Travel discount. 

Make work feel like a holiday: Join a fun, driven team where work feels like a holiday. Our people take every opportunity to take-off together and find ways to help their teammates soar.

There’s a place for everyone at Jetstar:  For us, travel and meeting new people go hand in hand. We invite our people to get involved in various Employee Network Groups that play an important role in creating our inclusive and supportive culture that we are fiercely proud of.  We believe that teams with a diversity of ideas and experiences are more creative, innovative and solve problems quickly.  We welcome applications from anyone who wants to take-off with us.  If you have support or access requirements, just reach out and let us know what you need.

We’re Jetstar.  Let’s take-off together!