Lead Data Scientist - Retail

About the team

Our Retail and Consumer experts are dedicated to helping clients in an industry which is being transformed by new technologies and evolving consumer expectations. Leveraging over a decade of experience in Applied AI, we combine exceptional technical and delivery expertise to empower businesses to adapt and thrive.

As a Lead Data Scientist, you'll take on a pivotal, entrepreneurial role, functioning as the technical expert who thrives on complexity and commercial impact. You will be responsible for setting the technical direction and ensuring the high-quality, scalable delivery of our most challenging, high-impact projects.

This position combines deep expertise in machine learning with strategic oversight to define project roadmaps, manage technical risk, and architect reliable solutions. Your focus will be on driving innovation, mentoring cross‑functional teams, and actively shaping both our technical standards and long‑term customer relationships.

• Setting the technical direction for complex, business-critical projects and expertly balancing trade‑offs between speed, innovation, and reliability.

• Designing and implementing reliable, production‑grade technical solutions, ensuring comprehensive documentation of architectures and specifications.

• Defining project problems, developing clear roadmaps, and overseeing end‑to‑end delivery across multi‑disciplinary work streams.

• Leading technical scoping and feasibility studies for high‑value sales opportunities and strategic customer engagements.

• Managing relationships and communications with demanding clients, fostering trust and aligning technical solutions with shared long‑term commercial goals.

• Driving the adoption of best practices, shared resources, and robust technical processes across the wider Data Science craft.

• Mentoring and developing other data scientists and team members, actively contributing to the growth and technical excellence of the organisation.

• You bring depth of expertise in at least one machine learning domain and strong technical breadth across the entire data science landscape.

• You are a skilled technical leader, proficient in mentoring individuals, managing teams (including other managers), and rolling out impactful tools and workflows.

• You have proven project management expertise, capable of dividing complex, ill‑defined problems into actionable, clearly defined work streams with timelines you can defend.

• You are adept at managing ill‑defined, high‑risk tasks, consistently delivering innovative and practical outcomes under commercial pressure.

• You possess strong customer leadership skills, able to act as a trusted technical advisor and drive long‑term strategic relationships with demanding clients.

• You excel at cross‑functional collaboration, effectively aligning technical strategy with Engineering, Commercial (BD), and Infrastructure teams.

• You have experience extending technical oversight to business unit‑level initiatives, using your vision to influence and contribute to organisational success.

We aim to grow the best team - not the most similar one. We know that diversity of individuals fosters 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.

• Unlimited Annual Leave Policy

• Private healthcare and dental

• Enhanced parental leave

• Family-Friendly Flexibility & Flexible working

• Sanctus Coaching

• Hybrid Working