Data Scientist – Evaluate Next-Generation Forecasting & Causal AI Platform

We are building ** Fount**, an AI-native forecasting and causal intelligence platform designed to help organizations predict, explain, and optimize business outcomes. We are looking for experienced Data Scientists to independently evaluate the platform, benchmark it against methods they currently use, and provide candid expert feedback. This is not a development role. We are specifically seeking practitioners who actively build forecasting, prediction, causal inference, machine learning, or time-series models in their day-to-day work. What You'll Do You will: Review Fount documentation and onboarding materials Access and use the Fount platform Run forecasting and predictive modeling workflows Evaluate model outputs, explainability, usability, and documentation quality Compare Fount results with tools and approaches you currently use Assess model performance, accuracy, practicality, and business value Identify strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and opportunities for improvement Participate in a feedback session or provide written feedback Deliverables At the end of the engagement, we expect: 1. Evaluation Report A short written assessment covering: Ease of onboarding Documentation quality User experience Model quality Forecast accuracy Explainability Comparison with existing approaches Suggestions for improvement 2. Benchmark Comparison Compare Fount against methods you typically use, such as: XGBoost LightGBM CatBoost Prophet ARIMA/SARIMA Deep Learning models Time-series foundation models Commercial forecasting platforms Any other methods you regularly use 3. Testimonial (Mandatory) Selected freelancers must be comfortable providing: A written testimonial Permission for us to use their name, title, company (optional), and testimonial on our website and marketing materials Please apply only if you are willing to provide a testimonial after completing the evaluation. Ideal Candidate We're looking for professionals with: 5+ years of Data Science experience Strong forecasting or predictive modeling background Experience with time-series forecasting Experience evaluating machine learning models Familiarity with causal inference or econometrics is a plus Experience in retail, CPG, finance, healthcare, supply chain, marketing analytics, or demand forecasting is a plus Nice-to-Have Experience Forecasting at scale Foundation models Probabilistic forecasting Bayesian methods Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) Causal AI Revenue Growth Management Demand Planning Supply Chain Forecasting To Apply Please answer: Years of Data Science experience Industries you have worked in Forecasting tools/models you regularly use Have you evaluated commercial AI/ML platforms before? Links to your Upwork profile, GitHub, LinkedIn, publications, or portfolio (if available) Are you willing to provide a testimonial if selected? Compensation Hourly engagement Potential follow-on opportunities for deeper evaluations, benchmarking studies, and advisory work