Senior Data Scientist I

Elsevier B.V.; Royal Borough of Greenwich; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Elsevier B.V. is seeking a Senior Data Scientist I to lead the design and development of intelligent, data-driven systems. You will own high-impact problems from concept to production, combining ML fundamentals with modern AI to integrate prediction, retrieval, and generation at scale.

You'll work with engineering and product teams to design experiments, measure impact, and iterate based on evidence, mentoring others and influencing technical direction across the group.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in designing and deploying data-driven AI systems.
• Strong Python programming with production-ready code practices.
• Background in ML fundamentals and applying them to real-world problems.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of ML/AI-powered systems for complex problems.
• Own end-to-end solutions from framing to production deployment.
• Drive technical direction, balancing modeling, system design, and scalability.
• Apply classical ML and LLM approaches based on context.
• Design retrieval, ranking, and generation to enable intelligent workflows.
• Define evaluation strategies for reliable outputs.
• Collaborate with engineering teams on architecture and scalability.
• Mentor data scientists and raise the team's technical bar.
• Translate technical insights into actionable recommendations.
• Collaborate with product teams to design experiments and measure impact.

Skills

Python

Machine Learning

Retrieval-based ML

LLMs

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Scikit-learn

HuggingFace

Elasticsearch/OpenSearch

Job description

Interested in building and shaping AI systems that combine machine learning, retrieval, and modern language models to solve real-world problems About the team: You'll work closely with engineering, product, and cross-functional partners to deliver robust, scalable solutions, while helping raise the technical bar across the team., About the role: We're looking for a Senior Data Scientist I to lead the design and development of intelligent, data-driven systems that help users explore, understand, and act on complex information. In this role, you'll take ownership of high-impact problem areas-driving solutions from concept to production while navigating ambiguity and making key technical decisions. You'll combine strong machine learning foundations with modern AI approaches to build systems that integrate prediction, retrieval, and generation at scale.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design and development of machine learning and AI-powered systems for complex, real-world problems
• Own end-to-end solutions - from problem framing and experimentation to production deployment and iteration
• Drive technical direction for key problem areas, making informed trade-offs between modeling approaches, system design, and scalability
• Apply a range of techniques - from classical ML to large language model (LLM) approaches-based on the problem context
• Design systems that combine retrieval, ranking, and generation to enable intelligent workflows
• Define and drive evaluation strategies, ensuring high-quality, reliable, and trustworthy outputs
• Contribute to system architecture and scalability, working closely with engineering teams
• Mentor and guide other data scientists, helping raise the overall technical bar of the team
• Influence product direction by translating technical insights into actionable recommendations
• Collaborate with product teams to design experiments, measure impact, and iterate based on evidence
  Significant experience in data science, machine learning, or a related field
• Strong Python skills with a track record of building production-quality, maintainable systems
• Deep understanding of machine learning fundamentals and experience applying them in real-world settings
• Proven experience owning and delivering end-to-end data science or AI projects
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to navigate ambiguity
• Ability to write clean, tested, well-documented code suitable for collaborative development
• Experience working with cross-functional teams to deliver user-facing data or AI products

AI & Modern Techniques

• Hands-on experience working with large language models (LLMs) in applied or production settings
• Experience with retrieval-based approaches (e.g., embeddings, semantic search, ranking)
• Experience building or contributing to LLM-powered systems involving multi-step reasoning, tool use, or workflow orchestration (e.g., agent-based approaches or frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, or similar)
• Strong understanding of when to apply classical machine learning vs. LLM-based approaches

Data & Engineering

• Experience working with large, complex, and unstructured datasets (especially text)
• Familiarity with ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, HuggingFace)
• Experience with cloud platforms and modern development workflows (Git, CI/CD)
• Ability to contribute to scalable system design and collaborate effectively with engineering teams
• Experience with vector databases or search infrastructure such as Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Qdrant or similar.

Collaboration & Leadership

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to explain model behavior, trade-offs, and limitations clearly to non-technical audiences
• Experience mentoring or supporting other team members
• Ability to drive projects forward independently while aligning with broader team goals

Nice to Have

• Experience with search, information retrieval, or knowledge systems at scale
• Experience designing evaluation frameworks for AI-generated or retrieval-based outputs
• Exposure to MLOps tools and practices (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow, SageMaker)
• Experience optimizing systems for performance, scalability, or cost
• Familiarity with frameworks or tools for orchestrating LLM-based workflows and agent-like systems
• Experience working in structured and reproducible development environments (e.g., clear specification of tasks, experiment tracking, and collaborative workflows)
• Interest in emerging paradigms such as spec-driven or AI-assisted development

Why Join Us

• Lead work on impactful problems involving complex, real-world data
• Build and shape systems that combine machine learning fundamentals with modern AI approaches
• Collaborate with a team focused on quality, scalability, and meaningful outcomes
• Opportunity to influence both technical direction and product evolution