Lead Data Scientist

Lloyds Banking Group; Wellington; Hybrid; GBP 93,000 - 109,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 15%

Annual bonus

Share schemes

Discounted shopping

30 days holiday

Wellbeing support

Job summary

Lloyds Banking Group is seeking a Lead Data Scientist in the CSO to drive security analytics and ML pipelines. You will own delivery of anomaly detection and threat mitigation, guiding a team of data scientists and collaborating with data engineers on scalable GCP-based solutions.

You'll shape model governance, ensure explainability and regulatory alignment, and contribute to the Data Science Community of Practice. Hybrid work with two office days per week is supported.

Qualifications

• Experience leading data science projects in cyber security or related fields.
• Strong Python and ML framework knowledge.
• Experience with GCP and scalable data pipelines.
• Commitment to ethical AI and model governance.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery of security outcomes and anomaly detection approaches.
• Lead a team of Data Scientists.
• Drive innovation in AI automation and prompt engineering.
• Collaborate with Data Engineers to build production ML pipelines on GCP.

Skills

Python

LLMs & Generative AI

AI Ethics & Governance

Team Leadership

Cloud Data Pipelines

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

GCP

Job description

End Date

Wednesday 16 September 2026

Salary Range

£92,701 - £109,060

Flexible Working Options

Hybrid Working, Job Share

Job Description

JOB TITLE:

Lead Data Scientist

SALARY:

£92,701 - £109,060

LOCATION:

Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester & Bristol

HOURS:

Full time (35 hours)

WORKING PATTERN:

Our work style is hybrid, which involves spending at least two days per week, or 40% of our time, at one of our office sites. Colleagues with disabilities can be supported with workplace adjustments including hybrid working expectations in line with our Flexibility Works policy.

About This Opportunity…

At Lloyds Banking Group, we’re moving to the next stages of our digital transformation, and it’s our job within the Chief Security Office (CSO) to ensure that we keep our customers, colleagues and assets safe from threat. The CSO’s Security Data and AI lab have a phenomenal opportunity for an experienced and dynamic Lead Data Scientist to work with our Analytics and Data Engineering feature teams.

In this role, you’ll be owning the way in transforming how we detect, mitigate, and prevent cyber threats using advanced AI and machine learning. This is a rare opportunity to build the future of cybersecurity in one of the UK’s most data-rich environments.

About Us…

Like the modern Britain we serve, we’re evolving. Investing billions in our people, data and tech to transform the way we meet the ever-changing needs of our 26 million customers. We’re growing with purpose. Join us on our journey and you will too…

What You’ll Do...

• Own the delivery of security outcomes, including defining and evolving approaches to anomaly detection that balance performance, explainability, and operational risk.
• Lead a team of Data Scientists
• Drive innovation in LLM-based security automation, including prompt engineering, RAG pipelines, and fine-tuning of models.
• Collaborate with Data Engineers to build scalable, secure, and production-ready ML pipelines on GCP.
• Partner with cyber defence, risk, and compliance teams to ensure models are explainable, ethical, and aligned with regulatory standards (e.g. SOC2, SWIFT, SOX).
• Contribute to the Data Science Community of Practice, helping shape best practices across the organisation.
• Translate sophisticated data insights into actionable intelligence for collaborators across the Group COO and CSO functions

What You’ll Need...

• Confirmed experience in leading data science projects in cybersecurity, fraud, or behavioural analytics.
• Data Engineering - Deep expertise in Python, ML frameworks (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch), and cloud platforms (preferably GCP).
• Deep Learning Theory & Applications - Strong grasp of anomaly detection, time-series modelling, and deep learning architectures.
• Experience with LLMs and generative AI in production environments is highly desirable.
• Artificial Intelligence Ethics - A passion for ethical AI, model governance, and secure ML operations.
• Excellent communication and customer engagement skills
• Innovators Mentality - An innovator and change agent who keeps up to date with the latest trends and developments in data engineering and cyber security to ensure our strategies remain at the forefront of the industry.

It would be great if you also had…

• Understanding of the emerging threats within Cyber Security

About Working For Us

Our focus is to ensure we're inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture. We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative. And it’s why we especially welcome applications from under-represented groups. We’re disability confident. So, if you’d like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know.

We Also Offer a Wide-ranging Benefits Package, Which Includes…

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
• An annual bonus award, subject to Group performance
• Share schemes including free shares
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• 30 days’ holiday, with bank holidays on top
• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies

At Lloyds Banking Group, we’re driven by a clear purpose; to help Britain prosper. Across the Group, our colleagues are focused on making a difference to customers, businesses and communities. With us you'll have a key role to play in shaping the financial services of the future, whilst the scale and reach of our Group means you'll have many opportunities to learn, grow and develop.

We keep your data safe. So, we'll only ever ask you to provide confidential or sensitive information once you have formally been invited along to an interview or accepted a verbal offer to join us which is when we run our background checks. We'll always explain what we need and why, with any request coming from a trusted Lloyds Banking Group person.

We're focused on creating a values-led culture and are committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the customers and communities we serve. Together we’re building a truly inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference.