About the Forward Deployed Data Scientist Expert Role at SAP

SAP is seeking a Forward Deployed Data Scientist Expert to join its team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time position involves designing, developing, and applying advanced data science, statistical, and machine learning methods to address complex, business-critical problems within customer environments.

Role Context and Impact

The Data Scientist Expert will be embedded directly within customer environments and fast-moving delivery teams. The primary objective is to translate strategic and operational challenges into rigorous analytical solutions efficiently. This role requires close collaboration with customers to deliver scalable, enterprise-grade outcomes that generate measurable business value. Accountability for the quality, impact, and delivery of complex analytical initiatives is central, requiring the ability to act as a subject-matter expert, manage ambiguity, and ensure data-driven solutions are robust, reliable, and aligned with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Transform complex business challenges into data-driven intelligence by identifying high-value problems, framing them analytically, and engineering robust features and insights.
• Design, develop, train, and implement mathematical models, algorithms, and machine learning solutions for complex business problems.
• Apply advanced techniques across exploratory analysis, statistical modeling, experimentation, forecasting, segmentation, anomaly detection, causal analysis, and machine learning.
• Integrate analytical and machine learning solutions into products, prototypes, or business processes, ensuring enterprise-grade scalability and robustness.
• Define success metrics, quantify business impact, and translate analytical results into clear, actionable recommendations for decision-makers.
• Lead or manage complex analytical workstreams or projects, including deliverables, milestones, risks, and escalations.
• Communicate insights, trade-offs, and recommendations effectively to cross-functional teams and customer stakeholders, influencing decisions through evidence and expertise.
• Work in an embedded, customer-facing setup, collaborating closely with customer teams to understand their data, applications, and business context for co-developing impactful data and AI-driven solutions.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Expert-level proficiency in data science and machine learning, with the ability to design, validate, and optimize end-to-end analytical and ML solutions.
• Deep applied knowledge of statistics and experimentation, including hypothesis testing, experimental design, causal inference, and uncertainty interpretation.
• Proven experience applying a wide range of ML techniques, balancing accuracy, robustness, interpretability, and usability at scale.
• Strong capability to translate ambiguous business questions into measurable analytical problems and connect model outputs to commercial, operational, or strategic decisions.
• Experience delivering production-ready analytics and ML systems on modern data platforms, with a focus on data quality, governance, and reusability.
• Ability to operate effectively in an Agentic AI context, contributing to the design, application, and responsible use of AI agents within complex business processes.
• Advanced communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders through clear data narratives and executive-ready insights.
• Proactive use of AI in everyday workflows, ensuring high-quality outputs through thoughtful context design and system integration.

Team and Work Environment

This role is part of a growing AI and industry expert team dedicated to serving customers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The team combines deep AI expertise, strong industry knowledge, and regional understanding to support customers in innovation and market leadership. The role involves working closely with decision-makers, challenging assumptions with data, and influencing strategy through data science contributions.

About SAP

At SAP, we believe in fostering the best in our people. As builders impacting over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, SAP seeks individuals to help shape future developments. The work is challenging yet meaningful, offering an environment for personal growth, wellbeing, and belonging, supported by continuous learning and a dedicated team.