Data Scientist

Coltech; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Part time

Job summary

Coltech is seeking an experienced Senior Data Scientist / ML Engineer to join our Data & AI team in Manchester. You will develop and evaluate ML, NLP and Generative AI solutions across the full data science lifecycle and work with stakeholders to deliver practical business outcomes.

You will mentor junior teammates, produce governance documentation and collaborate with ML Engineers and Data Engineers to transition analytics into production within a hybrid environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in Data Science, ML Engineering or related field.
• Proven Python and modern data science libraries experience.
• Experience with NLP, generative AI, embeddings and prompting.
• Hands-on ML model development, evaluation and governance.
• Strong communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Translate business challenges into data science problems and ML solutions.
• Develop, train, validate and optimise ML/NLP models using Python.
• Build end-to-end modelling pipelines: data prep, training, validation, evaluation, deployment handover.
• Use BigQuery and BigQuery ML for large-scale experimentation and development.
• Prototype Generative AI/LLM solutions and design robust evaluation frameworks.
• Create model cards, documentation and governance evidence; mentor juniors.

Skills

Python

NLP

Generative AI

LLMs

RAG

BigQuery

BigQuery ML

MLOps

Stakeholder communication

Mentoring

Tools

Vertex AI

Google Cloud

Job description

Working Pattern: Hybrid – 2 days onsite per week

Contract Type: Contract

Duration: Contract

Technology: GCP, BigQuery, BigQuery ML, Python, Machine Learning, NLP & Generative AI

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Data Scientist / ML Engineer to join a collaborative Data and AI team in Manchester.

The role will focus on developing and evaluating machine learning, NLP and Generative AI solutions that address complex business challenges. You will work across the full data science lifecycle, from problem definition and experimentation through to model evaluation, documentation and production handover.

The successful candidate will bring strong hands-on technical skills alongside the ability to work with stakeholders, communicate analytical findings clearly and mentor junior members of the team.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate complex and ambiguous business challenges into clearly defined data science and machine learning problems.
• Define objectives, assumptions, success criteria and measurable outcomes for analytical and AI initiatives.
• Develop, train, validate and optimise machine learning and NLP models using Python.
• Build end-to-end modelling pipelines covering:
• Data preparation
• Training
• Validation
• Evaluation
• Production handover
• Use Google BigQuery and BigQuery ML for large-scale data processing, experimentation and model development.
• Develop analytical workflows using GCP-based data and AI technologies.
• Prototype Generative AI and LLM solutions using prompting, embeddings and basic RAG approaches.
• Design robust experimentation and evaluation frameworks for both traditional ML and LLM-based solutions.
• Assess model performance using appropriate ML, statistical and business metrics.
• Evaluate model quality, fairness, explainability and business impact.
• Create model cards, technical documentation and governance evidence to support responsible AI reviews.
• Work closely with ML Engineers, Data Engineers, Product teams and business stakeholders.
• Support the transition of analytical and AI solutions into production environments.
• Review technical and analytical work produced by other team members.
• Mentor junior Data Scientists and contribute to reusable standards, methodologies and best practices.

Required Experience

• 10+ years' experience across Data Science, Machine Learning Engineering, Applied AI or a related discipline.
• Strong commercial experience with Python and modern data science / machine learning libraries.
• Proven experience developing and evaluating classical machine learning models.
• Strong experience with NLP and text-based machine learning solutions.
• Hands-on experience with Generative AI, LLMs, embeddings and prompting.
• Experience building or prototyping RAG solutions.
• Strong experience with Google BigQuery and BigQuery ML.
• Experience designing experiments and applying statistical evaluation techniques.
• Strong understanding of model evaluation, performance metrics and experimentation.
• Experience translating ambiguous business requirements into measurable analytical problems.
• Experience producing model cards, technical documentation and governance-ready evidence.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring or supporting junior Data Scientists / Analysts.
• Experience with Vertex AI or other Google Cloud AI services.
• Experience with LLM evaluation frameworks.
• Experience with vector search, embeddings and retrieval systems.
• Experience working within Responsible AI / AI governance frameworks.
• Experience in regulated or enterprise environments.
• Experience working within Agile Data / AI teams.
• Knowledge of MLOps and production model deployment processes.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a senior-level Data Science / AI professional who can combine strong hands-on modelling expertise with commercial problem-solving skills.

You should be comfortable moving between business problem definition, data exploration, model development, Generative AI experimentation and communicating results to stakeholders.

Experience with BigQuery ML, NLP, Generative AI and responsible AI governance will be particularly relevant to this position.

Role: Senior Data Scientist / ML Engineer

Location: Manchester, UK

Working Pattern: Hybrid – 2 days onsite per week

Contract: Contract

Core Technologies: Python | BigQuery | BigQuery ML | GCP | Machine Learning | NLP | Generative AI | LLMs | RAG

If you have extensive experience across Data Science, Machine Learning, NLP and Generative AI, together with strong BigQuery / GCP experience, we'd be keen to hear from you.