Senior Data Scientist

About Smart Data Foundry

Smart Data Foundry has a purpose to unlock the power of financial data as a force to improve people's lives.

What we do

We enable the research ecosystem to flourish through the provision of research ready real financial data.

We create data-driven insights based on real financial data, that identify areas to inform policy change and enhance regulation.

Who we are looking for

Smart Data Foundry (SDF) is hiring a Senior Data Scientist with deep experience in data exploration, feature engineering, data visualisation and expertise in developing statistical techniques to analyse data and help discover new insight.

This role will report to the Chief Data Scientist and as part of our Data Science team. You will proactively engage with researchers and public sector stakeholders in order to help shape policy decisions that impact such diverse issues such as financial vulnerability, poverty, economic exclusion, fuel poverty and economic growth. Communication and explanation of the insight and innovative solutions you build for stakeholders is key, as is working cross-functionally with product, data operations, platform engineers, and program management teams to deploy new and exciting insight using financial data for good.

You must possesses technical prowess, a methodical approach to problem-solving, proficiency in data analysis and machine learning technologies, and be able to evidence that you can design and build analytical solutions that stand the test of time. We want you to bring an abundance of positive energy, empathy, and enthusiasm, in addition to being highly effective.

At Smart Data Foundry we work across a flexible range of AWS cloud applications as well as the Edinburgh University Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) based Trusted Research Environment (TRE), which provides us with secure data storage. We are looking for somebody who wants to test their data science expertise and help us scale and diversify our data science and machine learning operations while making use of the best of our currently available toolset.

A key part of the role is to be an advocate for good data science practice and act as a technical mentor for those in Smart Data Foundry wishing to gain more capability in your areas of expertise.

Key Responsibilities

• Support data collection and preparation for analytical projects
• Work collaboratively with other engineers, data scientists and product owners to build the next generation of insightful products and services for SDF.
• Ship high-quality, well-tested, secure, and maintainable code.
• Find a path to get things done, despite roadblocks, to get your work into the hands of users quickly and iteratively.
• Enjoy working in a fast-paced, design-driven, product development cycle.
• Applies statistical and machine learning algorithms to achieve objectives, prepare and evaluate data, and communicate findings and risks.
• Design experiments and can support operational models at scale.
• Understand relationship between selected models and insight objectives. Ensures clear linkage between selected models and desired objectives. Defines and designs feedback and evaluation methods.
• Present results and findings to senior customer stakeholders.
• Drive the development and adoption of responsible data science practices, ensuring ethical, transparent, and compliant use of systems.
• Provide feedback, coaching, and support to Data Science team and other teams based on business knowledge, technical expertise, and industry trends.
• Demonstrate excellent coding and debugging skills across multiple features/solutions.
• Lead data-driven projects with domain acumen and data science expertise.
• Drive business value by collaborating with stakeholders and improving solutions.
• Deliver customer-oriented solutions and builds trust with SDF products.

Essential Know-How

• Doctorate in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND relevant data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
• OR Master's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 1+ years relevant data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
• OR Bachelor's Degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or related field AND 2+ years relevant data-science experience (e.g., managing structured and unstructured data, applying statistical techniques and reporting results)
• Experienced with agile development practices and Git version control.
• Knowledge of the operational aspects of predictive modelling/machine learning, including deployment, monitoring, and continuous integration of ML models.
• Expertise in domains such as financial services, public sector, economics, healthcare or related fields.
• Effective at communicating technical models in business and technical contexts.
• Positive attitude towards LLM assisted development
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and ability to work closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers, designers, and other engineers.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Passion for learning new technologies and staying up to date with industry trends and best practices
• Proven ability to collaborate and contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment, fostering knowledge sharing and growth within the team.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity and react quickly in an evolving and fast paced environment.
• Ability to work autonomously, under pressure and with conflicting and changing priorities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Personable approach with ability to develop positive working relationships at all levels within an organisation
• Passionate about having an impact on some of the most vulnerable groups and key issues affecting the UK (including poverty, unemployment, economic exclusion, homelessness).
• Self-motivated and proactive
• Preferred Toolset:
• Python (Pandas, Polars, ScikitLearn, PyTorch, XGBoost, LightGBM, NumPy, Flask, Streamlit, SHAP, Lime, PyIceberg, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly)
• SQL, Graph stores (e.g. Neo4J)
• Containers (e.g. Docker)
• Data bases/Data Lakes (e.g. PostgreSQL, Apache Iceberg, Databricks, Azure Fabric etc.)
• AWS (CDK/Python, Bedrock, Sagemaker) or similar cloud toolset experience