Senior Data Scientist

Boots; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Boots Retirement Savings Plan

Generous employee discounts

Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption

Job summary

Boots in Nottingham is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead data science products across commercial marketing, supply chain, and healthcare modelling. Based in Nottingham, you will drive end-to-end development and deployment of models in a fast-paced retail environment.

You will shape opportunities, collaborate with engineering and MLOps, and communicate complex results to non-technical stakeholders. The role includes mentoring colleagues and ensuring robust data protection and security

Qualifications

• A numerate degree in maths, statistics, data science or related field.
• At least three years of experience as a Data Scientist.
• Strong Python and SQL skills.
• Practical experience training ML models.
• Experience with Git and collaborative development.
• Ability to translate business requirements into analytical solutions.
• Strong stakeholder-management and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Shape business opportunities into data science requirements.
• Develop and deploy ML models from scratch or fine-tune existing ones.
• Train and evaluate classification, forecasting, and regression models.
• Define accuracy metrics, baselines, and experiments.
• Build scalable pipelines using Python, SQL, Databricks, and PySpark.
• Collaborate with engineering and MLOps to deploy models to production.
• Monitor live data products and drive continuous improvement.
• Explain data science concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Provide mentoring to colleagues.

Skills

Python

SQL

Machine learning

Git

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Numerate degree

Tools

Databricks

PySpark

Azure DevOps

Job description

Job Description

Role: Senior Data Scientist

Shift Pattern: Full Time

Contract: 12M FTC

Location: Nottingham

Join Our Team as a Senior Data Scientist at Boots in Nottingham!

Are you ready to make a real impact in one of the UK's largest retailers? At Boots, we're on the lookout for a Senior Data Scientist to join our dynamic Digital team in Nottingham, Beeston. This is your chance to lead the development of innovative data science products that will shape the future of our business across various domains, including commercial marketing, supply chain, and healthcare modelling.

Why Boots?

At Boots, we believe in building a brilliant workplace for our people. Our Employer Value Proposition is simple: we work every day to empower our colleagues to make a difference for our customers and each other. Here's what you can expect:

• We're more together: Join a team that values collaboration and collective impact.
• We believe in you: Your work will have meaning and impact, and you'll be trusted to drive progress.
• We make progress: Embrace a learning mindset and be supported in your growth.
• We're with you: Your contributions matter, and you'll have the tools and mentorship to thrive.
• We belong here: Help create an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued.

What You'll Do

As a Senior Data Scientist, you will:

• Shape business opportunities into clear data science requirements.
• Develop and deploy both from scratch and fine-tuned ML models.
• Train and evaluate different model types (classification, forecasting, regression GBMs, MLPs).
• Define suitable accuracy metrics, baselines and experiments.
• Build scalable solutions using Python, SQL, Databricks and PySpark.
• Create automated Databricks workflows and deploy through Asset Bundles.
• Structure codebases using Git, testing and peer review.
• Work with engineering and MLOps teams to move models into production.
• Monitor and continuously improve live data products.
• Explain data science clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
• Maintain appropriate documentation, security and data-protection standards.
• Provide technical guidance and support the development of less experienced colleagues.

Essential skills

• A numerate degree, such as mathematics, statistics, data science, computer science, engineering, physics, or economics.
• At least three years of experience as a Data Scientist.
• Strong Python and SQL skills.
• Practical experience training machine learning models.
• Experience with Git and collaborative development practices.
• Experience translating business requirements into analytical solutions.
• Strong stakeholder-management and communication skills.

Desirable skills

• A postgraduate qualification in a numerate subject.
• Databricks notebooks, workflows and Declarative Automation Bundles (AKA Asset Bundles).
• Spark or PySpark.
• Training machine learning models in Databricks.
• Time-series forecasting and classification models.
• Applied large language model experience.
• Azure DevOps Repos, Boards and Pipelines.
• Experience deploying models at scale and promoting them through environments.
• Retail, e-commerce, CRM or Loyalty data science experience.

Additional experience

Experience with Databricks model training and inference, Databricks Apps, Lakebase or LLM fine-tuning would be beneficial.

What's in It for You?

At Boots, we offer a range of benefits to support your well-being and career development:

• Boots Retirement Savings Plan with up to 12% company contribution.
• Generous employee discounts for you and a family member.
• Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave pay.

What's next?

Our team will be in touch to discuss your application and the next steps. We're committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment, so if you need any adjustments during the application process, just let us know.

Be brilliant with Boots!#DataScience #BootsCareers #JoinUs #DataDriven #CareerGrowth