Head of Data Science

The Trainline; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading travel technology company in the UK is looking for a Head of Data Science to lead a team of Data Science Managers. This position involves shaping product strategy, ensuring data-driven decision-making, and fostering a culture of experimentation. Applicants should have proven experience managing data-driven teams in tech, strong stakeholder management skills, and expertise in SQL and Python. The role offers a range of benefits including private healthcare, a generous work-from-abroad policy, and career growth opportunities.

Benefits

Private healthcare & dental insurance

Generous work-from-abroad policy

Career growth and learning budgets

Extra festive time off

Qualifications

• Experience leading data-driven teams in the product space within tech organisations.
• Proven experience managing Data Science Managers or Data Scientists & Analysts.
• Ability to navigate ambiguous datasets and translate them into insights.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Data Science Managers and their respective teams.
• Build a culture focused on experimentation and learning.
• Influence prioritisation and roadmap decisions based on data.

Skills

Leading data-driven teams

Managing Data Science Managers

Stakeholder management

Data visualization skills

Cross-functional leadership

Tools

SQL

Python

Tableau

AWS Athena

Job description

As the Head of Data Science, you will lead a team of high-performing Data Science Managers and play a pivotal role in shaping a large cross‑functional organisation spanning Product, Engineering, Marketing and Data. You will be a key decision‑maker, helping define and deliver a product experience that provides the right inventory, enables a seamless purchase journey, and drives forward our future ticketing opportunities. Doing this well requires deeply understanding our users, identifying their Jobs‑to‑Be‑Done, evaluating whether we are successfully meeting their needs, and accelerating the pace of product discovery and iteration. Your team will influence strategic product thinking, strengthen experimentation and measurement practices, and shape how AI and data power our product experience. In this role, your leadership spans two complementary dimensions: 1. Functional leadership, setting the bar for excellence in Data Science & Analytics. 2. Strategic business partnership, working closely with Product, Engineering, Commercial and Marketing to define long‑term direction and deliver impactful outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead an org of ~3 Data Science Managers and their respective teams.
• Build a culture focused on experimentation, learning, and measurable business impact.
• Ensure Data Science & Analytics talent is embedded effectively into cross‑functional squads and operating at a high bar.
• Act as a co‑leader of a large cross‑functional strategic area of ~150 people, defining long‑term vision and strategy.
• Provide data‑driven frameworks to structure product thinking – user classifications, Jobs‑to‑Be‑Done, north star metrics, success criteria, and evaluation methods.
• Influence prioritisation and roadmap decisions by grounding strategic choices in evidence and insight.
• Champion and mature experimentation practices across teams.
• Develop clear goaling methodologies enabling rapid iteration and learning.
• Ensure robust evaluation of product changes, including holdouts and causal inference methods.
• Work with our ML Engineering counterparts to help shape our wider AI/ML strategy.
• Influence Data Engineering, BI and Platform priorities to improve data maturity, quality and tooling.
• Ensure foundational datasets and metrics are trusted, consistent and scalable.
• Hold the organisation to a high bar for analytical rigour and business impact.
• Communicate insights, strategy, and progress to senior leadership.
• Drive alignment and influence decision‑making across the company.

Qualifications

• Experience leading data‑driven teams in the product space within tech organisations.
• Proven experience managing Data Science Managers or Data Scientists & Analysts.
• Demonstrated driving growth and influencing strategy in online products.
• Experience setting strategic direction, thinking big, and executing effectively.
• Ability to distil complex analysis into clear, actionable communication for all levels.
• Strong experience guiding experimentation and test‑and‑learn cultures.
• Ability to navigate ambiguous datasets and translate them into insights.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross‑functional leadership experience.
• Strong data visualisation and communication skills.
• Knowledge of statistical and causal inference methods.
• Tech stack: SQL, Python, dbt, Tableau, Trino, AWS Athena + more.

Benefits

Private healthcare & dental insurance, a generous work‑from‑abroad policy, 2‑for‑1 share purchase plans, an EV Scheme to reduce carbon emissions, extra festive time off, and excellent family‑friendly benefits. We prioritise career growth with clear career paths, transparent pay bands, personal learning budgets, and regular learning days.

Company Overview

We are champions of rail, inspired to build a greener, more sustainable future of travel. Trainline enables millions of travellers to find and book the best value tickets across carriers, fares, and journey options through our highly rated mobile app, website, and B2B partner channels. Great journeys start with Trainline – Europe’s number 1 downloaded rail app, with over 125 million monthly visits and £5.9 billion in annual ticket sales. We collaborate with 270+ rail and coach companies in over 40 countries and aim to create a world where travel is simple, seamless, eco‑friendly and affordable. The company is a FTSE 250 with over 1,000 employees from 50+ nationalities, based across London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Edinburgh and Madrid.

Values

• Think Big – Building the future of rail.
• Own It – Focusing on every customer, partner and journey.
• Travel Together – One team.
• Do Good – Making a positive impact.

Diversity & Inclusion

We know that having a diverse team makes us better and helps us succeed. We are committed to creating inclusive places to work, where everyone belongs and differences are valued and celebrated.