Principal Data Scientist

Vets for Pets; England; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading pet care powerhouse as a Principal Data Scientist and drive impactful changes across the Pets at Home Group. This role offers creative freedom to influence strategic decisions through data, all while collaborating with various teams to elevate pet care through innovation. Bring your extensive experience in data science, particularly in predictive modelling and personalisation, to shape the future of pet care.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience delivering commercial value through data science.
• Deep expertise in predictive modelling, optimisation and personalisation.
• A passion for storytelling with data and influencing strategic decisions.

Responsibilities

• Turning data into actionable insights that shape big decisions.
• Working closely with teams across tech and the business.
• Mentoring others and driving innovation through new tools.

Skills

Predictive Modelling

Optimisation

Personalisation

Data Storytelling

Collaboration

Tools

Python

R

SQL

ML Ops

Docker

DBT

Job description

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Be the Data-Driven Heart of Our Transformation

At Pets at Home, we’re more than a retailer — we’re a pet care powerhouse, spanning retail, veterinary, grooming and subscription services. As we transform our business through data, we’re looking for a Principal Data Scientist to lead the charge.

This is your opportunity to work across every area of our business, applying cutting-edge data science to real-world challenges — from personalising pet care to optimising operations and shaping strategic decisions.

The role offers hybrid working from our Support Office in Handforth, Cheshire.

What you’ll be doing:

• Turning data into clear, actionable insights that help shape big decisions across the business
• Telling compelling stories with data that inspire action
• Working closely with teams across tech and the business to bring data science solutions to life
• Spotting opportunities to improve how we use data, especially in our loyalty programme
• Sharing your knowledge and mentoring others in the team
• Driving innovation through new tools, techniques and academic partnerships
• Making sure our models run smoothly and efficiently with help from our Data Engineering team

Why You’ll Love This Role:

• Impact at Scale: Your models will power decisions across the entire Pets at Home Group — with visible, tangible results
• Creative Freedom: We want your ideas. You’ll have the space to experiment, innovate, and shape the future of pet care
• Lead & Inspire: Be a technical authority and mentor, guiding a growing team of talented data scientists
• Collaborate Broadly: Work with Engineering, Product, Marketing and Operations to embed intelligence into everything we do

What You’ll Bring:

• Extensive experience delivering commercial value through data science
• Deep expertise in predictive modelling, optimisation and personalisation
• Mastery of Python/R, SQL and modern ML tools (ML Ops, Docker, DBT)
• A passion for storytelling with data and influencing strategic decisions
• A collaborative mindset and a drive to lead innovation

We take our inspiration from pets in embracing people from all walks of life, and we value, respect and celebrate difference. We encourage our people to be their best selves so that we can create a better world for Pets, our Planet and People. Our ambition is to reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in, and we are intentional in addressing and removing barriers to create opportunities for the exceptional talent and potential in our communities. Even if your skills and experience don’t perfectly align, if you think you can make a unique contribution through your values and behaviours, we want to hear from you!