Lead Data Scientist

Faculty AI; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited Annual Leave Policy

Private healthcare and dental

Enhanced parental leave

Family-Friendly Flexibility & Flexible

Hybrid Working

Job summary

Faculty AI in London is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to drive technical direction and ensure high-quality, scalable delivery on complex projects. You’ll mentor teams, shape roadmaps, and balance innovation with reliability in a client-focused environment.

You’ll lead cross-functional efforts across engineering, BD and infrastructure while expanding technical standards and long-term customer partnerships.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in at least one machine learning domain with breadth across DS.
• Strong track record leading teams, including managers, and tooling adoption.
• Proven project management skills with clear roadmaps and timelines.
• Ability to manage high-risk, ill-defined tasks under commercial pressure.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction for complex, business-critical projects balancing speed, innovation and reliability.
• Design and implement reliable, production-grade ML solutions with thorough documentation.
• Define project roadmaps and oversee end-to-end delivery across multi-disciplinary workstreams.
• Lead scoping and feasibility studies for high-value opportunities and engagements.
• Manage client relationships, aligning technical solutions with long-term goals.
• Promote best practices and robust processes across the Data Science craft.
• Mentor data scientists and contribute to technical excellence of the organisation.

Skills

ML domain expertise

Technical leadership

Project management

Client relationship management

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Why Faculty?

We established Faculty in 2014 because we thought that AI would be the most important technology of our time. Since then, we've worked with over 350 global customers to transform their performance through human-centric AI. You can read about our real-world impact here.

We don't chase hype cycles. We innovate, build and deploy responsible AI which moves the needle - and we know a thing or two about doing it well. We bring an unparalleled depth of technical, product and delivery expertise to our clients who span government, finance, retail, energy, life sciences and defence.

Our business, and reputation, is growing fast and we're always on the lookout for individuals who share our intellectual curiosity and desire to build a positive legacy through technology.

AI is an epoch-defining technology, join a company where you'll be empowered to envision its most powerful applications, and to make them happen.

About the team

In our Professional and Financial Services Business unit, we bring everything we have learned in more than a decade of Applied AI, and use it to help our clients navigate a rapidly changing landscape.

We develop and embed AI solutions which help financial institutions become more efficient, enhance customer experience, and find the commercial upside in uncertain markets. Within the constraints of a highly regulated industry, we see so much opportunity for impactful innovation and are proud to set the gold-standard for marrying technical excellence with safe deployment.

#LI-PRIO

About the role

As a Lead Data Scientist, you'll take on a pivotal, entrepreneurial role, functioning as the technical expert who thrives on complexity and commercial impact. You will be responsible for setting the technical direction and ensuring the high-quality, scalable delivery of our most challenging, high-impact projects.

This position combines deep expertise in machine learning with strategic oversight to define project roadmaps, manage technical risk, and architect reliable solutions. Your focus will be on driving innovation, mentoring cross-functional teams, and actively shaping both our technical standards and long-term customer relationships.

What you'll be doing:

• Setting the technical direction for complex, business-critical projects and expertly balancing trade-offs between speed, innovation, and reliability.
• Designing and implementing reliable, production-grade technical solutions, ensuring comprehensive documentation of architectures and specifications.
• Defining project problems, developing clear roadmaps, and overseeing end-to-end delivery across multi-disciplinary workstreams.
• Leading technical scoping and feasibility studies for high-value sales opportunities and strategic customer engagements.
• Managing relationships and communications with demanding clients, fostering trust and aligning technical solutions with shared long-term commercial goals.
• Driving the adoption of best practices, shared resources, and robust technical processes across the wider Data Science craft.
• Mentoring and developing other data scientists and team members, actively contributing to the growth and technical excellence of the organisation.

Who we're looking for:

• You bring depth of expertise in at least one machine learning domain and strong technical breadth across the entire data science landscape.
• You are a skilled technical leader, proficient in mentoring individuals, managing teams (including other managers), and rolling out impactful tools and workflows.
• You have proven project management expertise, capable of dividing complex, ill-defined problems into actionable, clearly defined workstreams with timelines you can defend.
• You are adept at managing ill-defined, high-risk tasks, consistently delivering innovative and practical outcomes under commercial pressure.You possess strong customer leadership skills, able to act as a trusted technical advisor and drive long-term strategic relationships with demanding clients.
• You excel at cross-functional collaboration, effectively aligning technical strategy with Engineering, Commercial (BD), and Infrastructure teams.
• You have experience extending technical oversight to business unit-level initiatives, using your vision to influence and contribute to organisational success.

The Interview Process

1. Talent Team Screen (30 minutes)
2. Introduction to the team (30 minutes)
3. Take Home Technical Assessment
4. Technical Interview (90 minutes)
5. Commercial Interview (60 minutes)

Our Recruitment Ethos

We aim to grow the best team - not the most similar one. We know that diversity of individuals fosters diversity of thought, and that strengthens our principle of seeking truth. And we know from experience that diverse teams deliver better work, relevant to the world in which we live. We're united by a deep intellectual curiosity and desire to use our abilities for measurable positive impact. We strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, religions and sexual orientations.

Some of our standout benefits:

• Unlimited Annual Leave Policy
• Private healthcare and dental
• Enhanced parental leave
• Family-Friendly Flexibility & Flexible working
• Sanctus Coaching
• Hybrid Working