Lead Data Scientist

My client is a fast-growing UK FinTech business serving thousands of customers. They are investing heavily in their data capability and are now looking to appoint a Lead Data Scientist to drive end-to-end machine learning delivery within a regulated financial environment.

This is a hands-on leadership role combining technical ownership, team development, and production-grade model deployment.

The Role

As Lead Data Scientist, you will:

Lead and develop a growing Data Science team, setting standards and delivery cadence
Own end-to-end ML solutions - from problem framing and feature engineering to deployment, monitoring, and governance
Translate business objectives into modelling strategies aligned to risk appetite and operational constraints
Build and deploy models using Python, SQL, and AWS (SageMaker or equivalent)
Partner closely with Engineering, Data, and Risk/Financial Crime teams to ensure robust, production-ready solutions
Establish monitoring frameworks for performance, drift, and retraining
Drive clear documentation, traceability, and governance appropriate for a regulated environment

This role requires someone who thinks beyond experimentation - focusing on operational impact, adoption, and long-term model performance.

Essential Experience

Proven commercial ML/Data Science delivery with measurable impact
Experience taking models into production and managing performance over time
Prior experience leading or mentoring Data Scientists
Strong Python (pandas, numpy, scikit-learn or similar)
Strong SQL (complex joins, aggregations, analytical functions)
Solid grounding in applied statistics, evaluation design, calibration, bias/fairness
Experience working closely with Engineering/Data teams in production-first environments
Comfortable operating within regulated industries

Desirable

AWS experience (S3, Athena/Glue, IAM, Lambda)
SageMaker or equivalent ML platform experience
Financial services domain knowledge (risk, fraud, affordability, payments)
Experience with model explainability and governance documentation

Package & Benefits

Hybrid working model
Competitive pension
Additional paid leave (birthday, charity, wellbeing, life events)
Employee assistance programme & Virtual GP
Modern collaborative office environment

Interested? Please Click Apply Now!