Data Scientist | SOR Location | $650 - $750 Per Day

The quick version

• Build predictive models that identify students at risk of dropping out and improve retention outcomes
• Work across complex education-sector datasets to uncover drivers of student churn
• Deliver production-ready machine learning models used by faculty and leadership

Why this role exists

A large Australian education organisation is investing in advanced analytics to better understand and reduce student attrition. This role will lead the development of predictive models and analytics that identify students at risk of disengaging or dropping out, enabling earlier interventions and better outcomes. 

What you’ll do

• Develop predictive models (classification, regression and forecasting) to identify students at risk of churn
• Explore, clean and engineer features across multiple institutional datasets
• Integrate data from student systems, learning platforms, finance, marketing and engagement sources
• Build and validate machine learning models using Python and modern ML libraries
• Deliver interpretable model outputs that stakeholders trust and can act on
• Create Power BI dashboards and analytics outputs to support early insights and monitoring
• Partner with stakeholders across academic, planning and technology teams to frame problems and identify valuable data sources
• Translate complex analysis into clear insights for non-technical decision makers
• Support responsible data use including privacy considerations, bias awareness and ethical model practices

What you’ll bring

• Experience delivering end-to-end data science solutions from problem framing through to deployment or stakeholder adoption
• Strong Python skills (pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch or similar)
• Strong SQL skills for extracting, transforming and analysing data
• Experience building and validating predictive machine learning models
• Experience working with complex, multi-source datasets
• Ability to communicate insights clearly to non-technical stakeholders

Nice to have

• Experience in churn modelling, behavioural modelling or customer analytics
• Consulting or project-driven data science experience
• Experience working with education, government or large enterprise datasets
• Data visualisation experience (Power BI or similar)

Team & ways of working

• You’ll work alongside analytics, BI and technology teams while partnering with stakeholders across academic and operational areas
• The environment is pragmatic and delivery-focused - start simple, iterate quickly and focus on measurable outcomes
• Hybrid working is supported

Compensation & details

• Rate: $650 - $750 per day (inclusive of super)
• Contract: Initial 6 months with extension
• Location: Perth, South of the River
• Working arrangement: Hybrid - 3 in office
• Work rights: AU Citizenship or PR required

Why it’s different

• Work on analytics that directly improve student outcomes
• Build production-grade predictive models used by real decision makers.
• Help shape an emerging data science capability within a large organisation

What to do next

Apply via DR Analytics Recruitment