Senior Data Scientist (Safety)

AI Chopping Block; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited Annual Leave

Private healthcare

Enhanced parental leave

Flexible working

Sanctus Coaching

Hybrid Working

Job summary

Faculty in London is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to lead high-impact AI safety projects and shape upstream evaluation standards. This role demands hands-on scientific thinking, strong coding in Python, and leadership across delivery teams.

You'll design evaluation frameworks, build robust software architectures, mentor teammates, and partner with Frontier Labs to advance practical, safe AI. Eligibility for security clearance may be required, and on-site work will be necessary at times.

Qualifications

• Senior experience in data science, upstream safety research, or a quantitative academic field with strong experiment design.
• Strong programming skills in Python with NumPy/Pandas; experience with evaluation tooling.
• Ability to design novel evaluation standards for specialized domains and lead projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead upstream AI safety projects and set technical direction for evaluation standards.
• Invent core scientific experiment designs and build software architectures for new engagements.
• Mentor technical team members and guide project execution with scientific rigor.
• Collaborate with Frontier Labs to translate complex problems into rigorous frameworks.
• Contribute to thought leadership through publications or open-source research.
• Ensure rigorous scientific methodology across project lifecycles.

Skills

Python

NumPy

Pandas

Evaluation frameworks

Inspect AI

Agentic harnesses

Education

Master's or PhD in data science or related field

Tools

Inspect AI

Job description

Why Faculty?

We established Faculty in 2014 because we thought that AI would be the most important technology of our time. Since then, we’ve worked with over 350 global customers to transform their performance through human-centric AI. You can read about our real-world impact here.

We don’t chase hype cycles. We innovate, build and deploy responsible AI which moves the needle - and we know a thing or two about doing it well. We bring an unparalleled depth of technical, product and delivery expertise to our clients who span government, finance, retail, energy, life sciences and defence.

Our business, and reputation, is growing fast and we’re always on the lookout for individuals who share our intellectual curiosity and desire to build a positive legacy through technology.

AI is an epoch-defining technology, join a company where you’ll be empowered to envision its most powerful applications, and to make them happen.

About the team

Our National Security and AI Safety business unit is dedicated to advancing the responsible development and deployment of AI in support of national security and global stability. From strengthening mission-critical capabilities across national security and intelligence, to working with frontier labs to provide robust AI safety red teaming and evaluation, we work at the frontier of high-stakes, high- impact missions.

We understand that powerful AI systems bring both transformative opportunities and complex risks and we are proud to partner with Government and the biggest tech organisations in the world to ensure AI is not just transformative but is also secure, trustworthy and safe for all.

Because of the nature of the work we do with our Government clients, you may need to be eligible for Security Clearance (SC) and willing to work on site with our clients from time to time.

About the role

As a Senior Data Scientist at Faculty, you will lead high-impact AI safety projects and shape the technical direction of upstream evaluation standards. This role requires hands-on scientific thinking and technical excellence combined with strong project leadership.

You will invent novel evaluation frameworks, design robust software architectures, mentor technical team members, and ensure delivery rigour across engagements—all while partnering with Frontier Labs to solidify our reputation as a leader in practical, high-stakes AI safety.

What you'll be doing:

• Leading project teams that deliver upstream AI safety solutions and evaluation standards to Frontier Labs.

• Conceiving core scientific experiment designs and building the associated software architecture for new engagements.

• Mentoring technical team members on projects and supporting their professional growth through scientific guidance.

• Partnering with commercial teams to shape project scope, assess technical feasibility, and translate complex problems into rigorous frameworks.

• Contributing to Faculty’s thought leadership by advancing the science of AI evaluations, public speaking, or publishing open-source research.

• Ensuring rigorous scientific methodology and technical best practices are followed across the project lifecycle.

Who we're looking for:

• You possess senior experience in a professional data science role, upstream safety research, or a quantitative academic field with strong experiment design methodology.

• You demonstrate strong programming skills in Python using core scientific libraries (NumPy, Pandas) and , ideally, evaluation frameworks and tooling (e.g. Inspect AI) and agentic harnesses.

• You bring deep curiosity and expertise across the data science toolkit, with a drive to develop novel evaluation standards for specialized domains.

• You exhibit high technical rigor and a collaborative mindset focused on nurturing team capabilities and sharing technical knowledge.

• You demonstrate commercial awareness, with the ability to bridge complex scientific work with client requirements in Frontier Labs.

• You excel at scientific problem-solving, scoping technical work, and guiding project execution to meet high standards on structured timelines.

Our Interview Process

1. Talent Team Screen (30 minutes)

2. Take Home Technical Assessment

3. Technical Interview (90 minutes)

4. Commercial Interview (60 minutes)

Our Recruitment Ethos

We aim to grow the best team - not the most similar one. We know that diversity of individuals foster diversity of thought, and that strengthens our principle of seeking truth. And we know from experience that diverse teams deliver better work, relevant to the world in which we live. We’re united by a deep intellectual curiosity and desire to use our abilities for measurable positive impact. We strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, religions and sexual orientations.

Some of our standout benefits:

• Unlimited Annual Leave Policy

• Private healthcare and dental

• Enhanced parental leave

• Family-Friendly Flexibility & Flexible working

• Sanctus Coaching

• Hybrid Working

We are open to conversations about part-time hours.

A note on AI: we're happy for you to use it for research and interview prep, but please don't use it to generate answers during live interviews. We also use an AI note-taker (Metaview) in interviews so interviewers can stay present (which you can opt out of just let us know,) and every application is reviewed by a human, never decided by AI.