Lead Principal Data Scientist - AI Strategy & Delivery

Xcede; England; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Xcede, a fast-scaling AI consultancy, seeks a leadership figure to set technical direction for multi-disciplinary data science and AI projects across commercial clients. You will own end-to-end solution pipelines and guide hands-on development within a deeply technical team.

In this role you will shape proposals with senior stakeholders, mentor a small team of data scientists, and promote robust, clear practices.

Qualifications

• Led the delivery of applied machine learning projects, ideally across commercial or regulated sectors.
• Strong Python skills and comfort using core libraries (NumPy, Pandas), plus familiarity with deep learning tooling like PyTorch.
• Expertise in a wide range of ML methods, including supervised and unsupervised learning, time series, or NLP and GenAI based projects.
• Ability to scope and structure solutions around ambiguous business problems, turning them into tractable pipelines.
• Confident in managing small technical teams, reviewing work, and setting standards for robustness and clarity.
• Experience with stakeholder engagement and translating outputs for non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction on multi-disciplinary data science & AI projects, from approach selection to architecture design.
• Take ownership of full solution pipelines, leading hands-on development and supporting others to do the same.
• Work closely with senior client stakeholders to shape project scope, track value delivery, and communicate findings.
• Oversee a small team of data scientists on each project, supporting mentorship, quality control, and technical review.
• Collaborate with commercial and delivery teams to shape proposals and ensure feasibility of engagements.
• Contribute to internal capability-building by sharing knowledge, tools, and best practices within the wider team.

Skills

Python

NumPy & Pandas

PyTorch

Time series

NLP/GenAI

Job description

Xcede, a fast-scaling AI consultancy, seeks a leadership figure to set technical direction for multi-disciplinary data science and AI projects across commercial clients. You will own end-to-end solution pipelines and guide hands-on development within a deeply technical team.

In this role you will shape proposals with senior stakeholders, mentor a small team of data scientists, and promote robust, clear practices.