Principal Data Scientist Job Trends in London

Principal Data Scientist
England > London

The median Principal Data Scientist salary in London is £80,939 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 4 February 2026.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
4 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 377 - 475
Rank change year-on-year - - -
Permanent jobs requiring a Principal Data Scientist 11 0 4
As % of all permanent jobs in London 0.073% - 0.019%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.080% - 0.020%
Number of salaries quoted 5 0 4
10th Percentile - - £97,125
25th Percentile £79,681 - £102,188
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £80,939 - £110,000
75th Percentile £82,198 - £116,250
90th Percentile - - £118,500
England median annual salary £71,179 - £110,000
% change year-on-year - - +140.44%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
London

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in London. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in London with a recognized job title 13,709 13,957 20,035
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 91.31% 91.69% 94.67%
Number of salaries quoted 9,095 8,027 16,201
10th Percentile £36,250 £42,500 £39,500
25th Percentile £50,000 £56,250 £52,500
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £72,500 £75,000 £72,500
Median % change year-on-year -3.33% +3.45% -2.03%
75th Percentile £95,000 £97,500 £95,000
90th Percentile £111,250 £120,000 £115,000
England median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £55,000
% change year-on-year -8.33% +9.09% -12.00%

Principal Data Scientist
Job Vacancy Trend in London

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Principal Data Scientist' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in London.

Principal Data Scientist job vacancy trend in London

Principal Data Scientist
Salary Trend in London

Salary distribution trend for Principal Data Scientist job vacancies in London.

Salary distribution trend for Principal Data Scientist job vacancies in London

Principal Data Scientist Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in London

For the 6 months to 4 February 2026, Principal Data Scientist job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads across the London region featuring Principal Data Scientist in the job title.

1 11 (100.00%) AI
1 11 (100.00%) Data Science
1 11 (100.00%) Machine Learning
1 11 (100.00%) Python
2 8 (72.73%) Computer Science
2 8 (72.73%) Degree
2 8 (72.73%) DV Cleared
2 8 (72.73%) Line Management
2 8 (72.73%) Mathematics
2 8 (72.73%) PhD
2 8 (72.73%) Security Cleared
2 8 (72.73%) Statistics
2 8 (72.73%) Technical Leadership
3 3 (27.27%) Actionable Insight
3 3 (27.27%) Analytics
3 3 (27.27%) B2C
3 3 (27.27%) Big Data
3 3 (27.27%) Broadband
3 3 (27.27%) Customer Experience
3 3 (27.27%) Customer Service
3 3 (27.27%) Data Analysis
3 3 (27.27%) Decision Tree
3 3 (27.27%) Decision-Making
3 3 (27.27%) Deep Learning
3 3 (27.27%) Generative AI
3 3 (27.27%) Natural Language Processing
3 3 (27.27%) Predictive Modelling
3 3 (27.27%) Problem-Solving
3 3 (27.27%) Random Forest
3 3 (27.27%) Reinforcement Learning

Principal Data Scientist Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in London by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Communications & Networking
1 3 (27.27%) Broadband
Database & Business Intelligence
1 3 (27.27%) Big Data
General
1 8 (72.73%) Social Skills
2 3 (27.27%) Analytical Skills
2 3 (27.27%) Finance
2 3 (27.27%) Marketing
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 3 (27.27%) TensorFlow
Miscellaneous
1 3 (27.27%) Algorithms
Processes & Methodologies
1 11 (100.00%) AI
1 11 (100.00%) Data Science
1 11 (100.00%) Machine Learning
2 8 (72.73%) Computer Science
2 8 (72.73%) Line Management
2 8 (72.73%) Mathematics
2 8 (72.73%) Statistics
2 8 (72.73%) Technical Leadership
3 3 (27.27%) Actionable Insight
3 3 (27.27%) Analytics
3 3 (27.27%) Customer Experience
3 3 (27.27%) Customer Service
3 3 (27.27%) Decision Tree
3 3 (27.27%) Decision-Making
3 3 (27.27%) Deep Learning
3 3 (27.27%) Generative AI
3 3 (27.27%) Problem-Solving
3 3 (27.27%) Random Forest
3 3 (27.27%) Reinforcement Learning
3 3 (27.27%) Roadmaps
Programming Languages
1 11 (100.00%) Python
2 3 (27.27%) SQL
Qualifications
1 8 (72.73%) Degree
1 8 (72.73%) DV Cleared
1 8 (72.73%) PhD
1 8 (72.73%) Security Cleared