Data Science Lead

Acxiom; Camden Town; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading customer intelligence company in the UK is seeking a Data Science leader to guide a team of senior data scientists. You will define the roadmap for agentic AI and drive innovations across workflows. The ideal candidate has over 8 years of experience in ML/AI systems and a strong command of Python, along with expertise in orchestration frameworks and cloud technologies. This role combines strategic leadership and hands-on technical skills, fostering collaboration and best practices within the team.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in applied ML or AI systems.
• 3+ years leading data science teams.
• Strong foundation in classical machine learning.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a distributed team of data scientists.
• Define the long-term Data Science roadmap.
• Drive design and deployment of multi-agent workflows.

Skills

Applied ML or AI systems

Python

Agile methodologies

Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

Tools

NumPy

Pandas

LangGraph

LangChain

Job description

We are seeking a skilled individual to lead our Data Science function within Planning Agent, our AI-powered advertising planning platform used daily by IPG agency teams. This role will shape the future of agentic AI in marketing technology, driving innovation in how planners interact with intelligent systems across optimization, allocation, and planning workflows. This combination allows planners to make decisions that are both reliable and informed by real-world context. As the leader of our Data Science organization, you will oversee a team of 10+ senior data scientists distributed across Europe, guiding them in the design, implementation, and productizing of multi-agent workflows. While grounded in technical leadership, this role blends strategy and hands‑on expertise: setting the data science roadmap, ensuring delivery at scale to build reliable, production‑ready agents. This is a leadership role with strong technical depth. You'll serve as both a coach and an architect of the team, shaping best practices for data science in agentic systems, while partnering closely with Engineering and Product.

Tasks & Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a distributed team of data scientists embedded in cross-functional squads across the Planning organization.
• Define and communicate the long‑term Data Science roadmap for agentic AI within Planning.
• Drive the design and deployment of multi‑agent workflows using orchestration frameworks such as LangGraph, ensuring scalability, reliability, and measurable business impact.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and stakeholders to align agentic AI capabilities with planner workflows and business objectives.
• Establish best practices for experimentation, evaluation, and monitoring of agent-based systems (including causal tracing, benchmarking, and safety checks).
• Mentor and grow the Data Science team, fostering technical excellence, collaboration, and an iterative, prototype-driven culture.

Qualifications & Experience

• 8+ years of experience designing and deploying applied ML or AI systems into production, with at least 3+ years leading data science teams.
• Fluent in Python and a strong interest in general software engineering principles.
• Experienced with common Python frameworks (NumPy, Pandas, etc.).
• Demonstrated expertise with agentic AI systems, including orchestration frameworks (LangGraph preferred, LangChain or similar also considered).
• Strong foundation in classical machine learning and applied modeling techniques, including regression, classification, clustering, and practical experience with models used in econometrics or marketing measurement.
• Experience with agile development methodologies, such as Scrum or Kanban, and experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools for continuous integration and deployment.
• Solid understanding of system design principles, scalability, and performance optimization.

About Acxiom

Acxiom is a customer intelligence company that provides data‑driven solutions to enable the world's best marketers to better understand their customers to create better experiences and business growth. A leader in customer data management, identity, and the ethical use of data for more than 50 years, Acxiom now helps thousands of clients and partners around the globe work together to create millions of better customer experiences, every day. Acxiom is a registered trademark of Acxiom LLC and is part of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG). For more information, visit Acxiom.com.