Lead Data Scientist

Faculty; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited Annual Leave Policy

Private healthcare and dental

Enhanced parental leave

Family-Friendly Flexibility & Flexible

Sanctus Coaching

Hybrid Working

Job summary

Faculty is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to drive technical direction and deliver high-impact, scalable AI solutions for public sector and other major clients. You will mentor teams, shape project roadmaps, and own risk management while collaborating with Engineering, Commercial, and Infrastructure teams.

This role requires deep ML expertise, strong leadership, and a track record of delivering concrete outcomes in complex environments.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in at least one ML domain and breadth across the data science landscape.
• Skilled leader who can mentor managers and engineers and roll out impactful tools/workflows.
• Proven ability to translate complex problems into defined workstreams with timelines.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction for complex, high-impact projects balancing speed, innovation and reliability.
• Design and implement production-grade solutions with thorough architecture documentation.
• Define project roadmaps, manage risk and oversee end-to-end delivery across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Lead scoping and feasibility studies for high-value sales opportunities with strategic customers.
• Manage client relationships, align technical outcomes with long-term commercial goals.
• Promote best practices, reusable resources, and robust data science processes across teams.
• Mentor data scientists and contribute to engineering excellence across the organisation.

Skills

ML domain expertise

Technical leadership

Team mentoring

Project management

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

Our Public Services Business Unit is committed to leveraging AI for the benefit of individual citizens and the public good.

From our work informing strategic government decisions, to optimising our NHS, through to reducing bureaucratic backlogs - we know that AI offers opportunities to drive improvements at every level of Government and we are proud to lead on some of the most impactful work happening in the sector.

Because of the nature of the work we do with our Government clients, you may need to be eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC) and willing to work on site with these clients from time to time.

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.

Our Interview Process

1. Talent Team Screen (30 minutes)

2. Introduction to the team (45 minutes)

3. Technical Interview (90 minutes)

4. Commercial Interview (60 minutes)

#LI-PRIO

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