Lead Data Scientist - Government

Please note: Due to current business demands, we are only able to consider candidates who hold active security clearance

Faculty is one of Europe’s leading applied artificial intelligence companies. We build, deploy and operate AI solutions to increase our customers’ performance and help them realise their full potential. We believe that AI should be trustworthy, impactful and beneficial across society. Those principles have shaped our work with more than 230 organisations across the public and private sectors as we help them use AI to understand more deeply, make better decisions and act faster.

We are looking for a Lead Data Scientist to join our Government Practice. Faculty has a very strong track record of supporting government departments and agencies to make use of AI and data science, including some of the most sophisticated public sector data science applications to have been implemented. Our work in government is varied - it includes longer-term embedded partnerships to help departments to build and scale their data science capability, large-scale ML software builds, as well as more exploratory discovery and strategy work

You will have access to powerful cloud computational resources, and you will enjoy the comforts of fast configuration, secure collaboration and easy deployment. Because your work in data science will inform the development of our AI products, you will often collaborate with software engineers and designers from our dedicated product team.

What you'll be doing

• Lead project teams to deliver bespoke algorithms to our clients
• Conceiving the data science approach, designing the associated software architecture, and leading on its delivery whilst ensuring that best practices are followed throughout
• Working embedded within government client teams or other partners
• Inspire confidence and communicate the value and limitations of data science to non-technical government stakeholders
• Guide the process of defining the scope of projects to come with an emphasis on technical feasibility
• Acting as the developmental manager or designated mentor of a small number of data scientists
• Actively contribute to the growth of this reputation by delivering courses to high-value clients, by talking at major conferences, by participating in external roundtables, or by contributing to large-scale open-source projects
• Have the opportunity to teach data science courses ranging from data visualisation to reinforcement learning on Faculty’s academia to industry Fellowship program, as well as mentor Fellows

Who we’re looking for

• Senior experience in either a professional data science position
• Ideally some experience working with the UK government or wider public sector, although this is not essential
• Strong programming skills as evidenced by earlier work in data science or software engineering. Fluent in Python. 4+ years of experience applying ML techniques to drive demonstrable value in one or more sectors of industry.
• An excellent command of the basic libraries for data science (e.g. NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn) and familiarity with a deep-learning framework (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch, Caffe)
• A solid grasp of supervised/unsupervised machine learning, model cross validation, Bayesian inference, time-series analysis, simple NLP, effective SQL database querying, or using/writing simple APIs for models. We regard the ability to develop new algorithms when an innovative solution is needed as a fundamental skill
• Excellent communication skills, and actively enjoy shaping requirements and communicating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• An appreciation for the scientific method as applied to the commercial world; a talent for converting business problems into a mathematical framework; resourcefulness in overcoming difficulties through creativity and commitment; a rigorous mindset in evaluating the performance and impact of models upon deployment
• Experience leading a team of data scientists, both to deliver innovative work and as their developmental manager.

What we can offer you

The Faculty team is diverse and distinctive, and we all come from different personal, professional and organisational backgrounds. We all have one thing in common: we are driven by a deep intellectual curiosity that powers us forward each day. This curiosity pushes us to seek truth and understanding in everything we do, to execute work in a nimble and pragmatic manner, to foster talent in one another and always to challenge assumptions.

Faculty is the professional challenge of a lifetime. You’ll be surrounded by an impressive group of brilliant minds working to advance our goal of making artificial intelligence real. Our consultants, product developers, business development specialists, operations professionals and more all bring something unique to Faculty, and you’ll learn something new from everyone you meet. You’ll also have the opportunity to make your mark on a high-growth start-up now poised to expand internationally.

Fostering talent is one of our core values, it’s built into our culture and what we offer. Faculty was founded by people who are passionate about continuous learning, and adding value to our people.

Some of our benefits…..

• Genuinely flexible working: We believe people have needs, responsibilities and interests that require something different to a strict working day. We trust people to organise and take accountability for their own work and do our best to support their lives outside Faculty. We provide you with all you need to work from home, including a laptop, keyboard, chair…even Sony headphones!
• Equity, we want you to benefit from Faculty’s growth and success.
• Unlimited holidays: We encourage each other to use this time to take a break, work on personal projects, or to spend time with their friends and family.
• Fantastic private health, optical and dental cover, for you & your family - including 24/7 unlimited virtual private GP appointments and covering pre-existing medical conditions.
• Access to mental health coaching with Sanctus
• Breakfast & Lunch daily, and more fruit, drinks and snacks than you could ever eat (for office-based employees).
• We work hard and make sure we enjoy what we do. So we have frequent socials and informal get-togethers to help make sure you enjoy your time with us. You’ll make friends and professional connections that will last a lifetime.

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