Junior Data Scientist (Remote, Latin America)
Remote - US
|Contract
Our client is a fast-growing healthcare company operating multidisciplinary clinics across the United States. They rely on a proprietary platform to manage thousands of sessions, staff schedules, and operational constraints each day. As part of their continued growth, they are seeking a Junior Data Scientist/Algorithm Engineer to take ownership of the proprietary Scheduling Algorithm's core Python codebase.
It's a long‑term opportunity without an end date. The engagement is fully remote. The candidate can be located anywhere in Latin America. You'll need strong English communication skills (C1 or higher) for this role.
Role Summary
We are looking for a candidate with 1-2 years of experience, or a recent graduate with strong fundamentals. You will work closely with the Product Manager to understand complex clinical scheduling constraints and translate them into elegant algorithmic solutions.
This role is ideal for someone who genuinely loves the challenge of optimization problems—figuring out how to get the right people in the right place at the right time when hundreds of constraints come together. You'll own the algorithmic "heart" of the system while a separate web developer handles the cloud infrastructure "shell" that wraps it.
You will be mentored by a Product Manager with deep domain expertise who can guide you on the clinical context and help you develop your skills in optimization and algorithm design.
What You'll Do
Algorithm Development & Optimization
- Own the Python codebase: Learn, maintain, and extend the core scheduling algorithm that powers clinical operations
- Implement new constraints: Translate requirements into mathematical models and code—things like therapist availability, client preferences, travel time, certification requirements, and session continuity
- Debug and optimize: Diagnose infeasibility issues, improve solver performance, and refine scoring logic
- Work with linear programming tools: Use PuLP, HiGHS, or similar optimization libraries to model and solve scheduling problems
- Partner with the Product Manager: Participate in regular syncs to understand clinical needs, clarify requirements, and propose solutions
- Communicate clearly: Explain technical trade-offs, ask clarifying questions, and document your work so others can follow your reasoning
- Coordinate with the web developer: Your Python code will be wrapped in cloud infrastructure by a teammate—you'll need to define clear interfaces and handoffs
- Write unit tests and regression tests to ensure new features don't degrade scheduling quality
- Validate outputs against clinical requirements and real-world constraints
Required Skills:
- Python proficiency: fundamentals in Python, including experience with Pandas/NumPy for data manipulation
- Quantitative mindset: Comfortable with mathematical thinking—you don't need to be an expert, but you should enjoy working through logical problems systematically
- Strong communication skills: Ability to articulate your thinking clearly, ask good questions, and explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. This is critical for this role.
- Genuine enthusiasm for optimization: You light up when faced with complex constraint problems and love the satisfaction of finding elegant solutions
- Coachability: Willingness to learn, receive feedback, and grow into the role with mentorship
- Operations Research background: Degree or coursework in Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, or a similar field focused on translating processes into linear models
- Linear Programming experience: Familiarity with optimization libraries like PuLP, HiGHS, OR-Tools, or similar
- Data Science education: Degree in Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, or Computer Science with a quantitative focus
- Experience with workforce scheduling, capacity planning, or resource allocation problems
- Familiarity with healthcare operations or HIPAA compliance
- Experience working with AI coding assistants and modern development workflows
- Company laptop is provided.
- Completed background checks will be required before the start date if you are selected as a winning candidate.
- HIPAA compliance training is required before the start date.
- As a winning candidate, you will be required to disclose your engagement with DevEngine as a primary client on your professional LinkedIn profile.
While we strive to respond to all applicants, please understand that due to the high volume of applications we receive, providing individual feedback or responses to every candidate may not be feasible. Rest assured that your application will be carefully reviewed and considered. We appreciate your understanding and interest in joining our team.