Lead Data Scientist - Scalable AI/ML for Business Impact

Howden Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Employee ownership

Career development

Job summary

Howden Group is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to join the Group Data Science team in London. This senior individual contributor role combines hands-on ML delivery with strategic influence across stakeholders and business units.

You will lead end-to-end AI projects, ensure production‑ready solutions, mentor data practitioners, and help shape scalable data platforms that drive measurable outcomes for Howden’s global operations.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of delivering production‑grade ML/AI projects.
• Experience collaborating with data engineering, platform, and product teams.
• Strong Python and ML library proficiency (XGBoost, PyTorch, TensorFlow).
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure) and Databricks for scalable ML.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts to executives and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end ML/AI solutions from discovery to production.
• Partner with stakeholders to define use cases and prioritise value.
• Design, develop, and deploy scalable AI applications.
• Drive best practices across ML/Ops, data science, and software engineering.
• Collaborate with Data Engineering, Platform, and Product teams to deliver production‑grade solutions.
• Help evolve Howden's AI capabilities and standards.
• Support agile delivery teams with technical leadership.
• Stay current with data science and cloud tech advancements.

Skills

Python

XGBoost

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Hugging Face

Azure

Databricks

MLOps

Stakeholder engagement

Agile teams

Job description

Howden Group is seeking a Lead Data Scientist to join the Group Data Science team in London. This senior individual contributor role combines hands-on ML delivery with strategic influence across stakeholders and business units.

You will lead end-to-end AI projects, ensure production‑ready solutions, mentor data practitioners, and help shape scalable data platforms that drive measurable outcomes for Howden’s global operations.