Data Scientist

The Bbc; Salford; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

BBC is seeking a Data Scientist to develop statistical and machine learning models that clarify audience behaviour and support decision-making across the organisation.

You will work with diverse data sources, collaborate with data engineers and researchers, and contribute to production-ready analytical solutions while staying current with ML advances and AI techniques.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, econometrics or related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Strong programming and data manipulation skills in Python or R with SQL proficiency.
• Experience applying data science techniques to business problems and communicating results.

Responsibilities

• Apply statistical and machine learning techniques to answer business questions and understand audience behaviour.
• Develop reproducible analytical workflows using SQL, Python or R on the BBC data platform.
• Communicate findings and recommendations to non-technical stakeholders.

Skills

Python

R

SQL

Statistics

Education

Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Science/Econometrics degree or equivalent

Tools

Git

Job description

As a Data Scientist, you will develop statistical and machine learning models that help understand audience behaviour, improve audience measurement, and support strategic decision‑making across the BBC. Working with a range of data sources, from digital behavioural data to audience panels and surveys, you'll deliver robust analysis that influences how the BBC measures success and plans for the future. WHY JOIN THE TEAM You'll join a team of around 12 Data Scientists working on a diverse range of modelling challenges. Our work spans audience measurement, forecasting, consumer behaviour, experimentation and applied machine learning. We work closely with data engineers, researchers, analysts and stakeholders across the BBC, giving you the opportunity to contribute to high‑impact projects with visible organisational value. You'll also be part of a wider data science community and have dedicated time to develop your technical skills, explore new approaches and contribute to best practice across the organisation. YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Apply statistical and machine learning techniques to answer business questions and improve understanding of audience behaviour, combining data from multiple sources including digital activity data, audience panels and surveys.
• Contribute to the design, development and evaluation of analytical models and solutions, working with senior data scientists and engineering partners to support project delivery and production deployment where appropriate.
• Develop reproducible analytical workflows using SQL, Python or R on our data and machine learning platform, including exploratory analysis and proof‑of‑concepts.
• Develop an understanding of the BBC and wider media landscape to contextualise models and analysis, and communicate findings, assumptions and recommendations appropriately to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Keep up to date with developments in machine learning and generative AI, applying relevant techniques appropriately and contributing ideas for improving team practices. Further degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, econometrics or related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with experience applying data science and statistical techniques to solve business problems by translating ambiguous business questions into practical analytical solutions and selecting appropriate methods, models or algorithms.
• Understanding of statistical inference, experimental design and causal reasoning, with the ability to analyse audience behaviours and preferences, distinguish meaningful patterns from statistical noise, and draw robust, evidence‑based conclusions.
• Proven ability to communicate analytical findings clearly and confidently to stakeholders, adapting detail and recommendations to different audiences.
• Good programming skills in Python or R with version control (Git or others), alongside strong SQL skills for working with large datasets, including data preparation and validation.
• DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:
• Experience in a commercial, research or consulting analytical role.
• Experience applying data science techniques to audience, consumer, marketing or media measurement problems.
• Experience working with audience behaviour data, digital activity data or related panel datasets, in a research, marketing, strategy or product environment.
• Experience building machine learning models to scale and deploying them into production.
• Experience writing clean, well‑structured and maintainable code, with an understanding of software engineering best practices such as unit testing, test‑driven development, version control and collaborative development using GitHub.
• Familiarity with applying modern AI techniques, including large language models, to analytical or operational problems.

If you can bring some of these skills and experience, along with transferable strengths, we'd love to hear from you and encourage you to apply. Freelancers are eligible to apply if they have been on a Worker Contract (more info here) continuously for 6 months. If less than 6 months (or they have had a break of 3 weeks or more between engagements), they must seek Divisional HR approval to apply. Fancy working on one of the largest media datasets in the world, helping the BBC model how audiences discover, consume and engage with content? The BBC is a major stakeholder in industry‑leading audience measurement systems. Alongside this, our digital products‑including iPlayer, Sounds, News and Sport‑reach millions of people every week and generate billions of audience interactions.