Lead Data Analyst - Middle Mile & Sortation

Relay is fundamentally reshaping how goods move in an online era. Backed by Europe’s largest-ever logistics Series A ($35M), led by deep-tech investors Plural (whose portfolio spans fusion energy and space exploration), Relay is scaling faster than 99.98% of venture-backed startups. We're assembling the most talent-dense team the logistics industry has ever seen

Relay’s Mission is to free commerce from friction
. Today, high delivery costs act as a hidden tax on e-commerce, quietly shaping what can be sold online and limiting who can participate. We envision a world where more goods move more freely between more people
, making the online shopping experience seamless and accessible to everyone.

• ~90 people
  , more than half in engineering, product and data
• 45+ advanced degrees across computer science, mathematics and operations research
• Thousands of data points captured, calculated, analysed and predicted for every single parcel we handle
• An intellectually vibrant culture of first‑principles thinking
  , tight feedback loops and relentless experimentation

Relay’s network moves parcels through a chain of operations:
First Mile, Sortation, Middle Mile transport, Pitstops, and Last Mile delivery. The efficiency of that chain determines our cost per parcel - and Middle Mile and Sortation are where some of the biggest operational levers sit.

As Lead Data Analyst for Middle Mile & Sortation, you will own the analytics that drive efficiency across four of Relay’s most operationally complex domains, from First Mile through to Pitstops. Middle Mile connects our Hybrid Sort Centres to Pitstops. Sortation is what happens inside the warehouses - a mix of operatives and robots working together to process thousands of parcels daily.

Both domains are rich with data, full of trade‑offs, and directly tied to unit economics.

This is a player‑coach role. You will lead a small team - the Middle Mile & Pistops Analyst and the Sortation & First Mile Analyst - setting direction, providing coaching, and creating the conditions for them to do excellent work. But you’ll also be hands‑on yourself, building models, digging into data, and solving hard problems directly. When something complex needs figuring out, you’re in the work, not just reviewing it.

Relay operates a centralised data team, with analysts embedded into squads across the business. You will work with the Middle Mile & Pitstops, and Sortation & First Mile squads, but report into the centralised data team. You’ll be the analytical voice at the leadership table, influencing priorities, making trade‑offs explicit, and shaping where the squad focuses its efforts.

This role reports to the Data Analytics Lead.

• Identify and quantify the biggest cost‑per‑parcel reduction opportunities across our operations
• Build models that make operational trade‑offs explicit: cost vs. reliability, speed vs. utilisation, capacity vs. flexibility
• Shape Middle Mile network design: where vehicles go, when they arrive, and how efficiently they’re used
• Drive Sortation efficiency: workforce scheduling, throughput optimisation, and the balance between human and robotic capacity
• Line‑manage two Analysts: set goals, provide coaching and feedback, and support their development
• Act as a trusted advisor to the squads, shaping where analytical efforts are focused and what gets prioritised
• Represent the analytical perspective in leadership discussions, influencing decisions and driving focus

• You take full ownership of your domain and don’t wait for someone to tell you what’s important
• You’re comfortable leading a small team while still doing significant hands‑on analysis yourself
• You build models that quantify trade‑offs and make complex operational decisions clearer
• You translate analytical results into recommendations that operations and leadership can act on
• You’re fluent in SQL and experienced with BI tools, with strong problem‑solving instincts
• You have at least 5 years of experience, ideally with some exposure to logistics
• You care about developing the people you lead, not just the work they produce
• You thrive in operational environments where the…