Principal Data Scientist

Lead / Principal Data Scientist

x2/3 days a week in the office

About the Role & Company

This is a leadership opportunity at a fast-scaling AI consultancy known for its technical excellence and track record in delivering real-world impact across some of the most important companies globally. The team helps major clients in the Retail sector apply cutting-edge data science in complex operational environments, balancing innovation with reliability and rigour.

Youll join a deeply technical, collaborative group working on custom AI and machine learning solutions that support automation, forecasting, and decision intelligence. The focus is on strategic value creation: solving ambiguous problems with clarity, and delivering tools that embed into the heart of client systems.

What Youll Be Doing

• Set the technical direction on multi-disciplinary data science & AI projects, from approach selection to architecture design
• Take ownership of full solution pipelines, leading hands-on development and supporting others to do the same
• Work closely with senior client stakeholders to shape project scope, track value delivery, and communicate findings
• Oversee a small team of data scientists on each project, supporting mentorship, quality control, and technical review
• Collaborate with commercial and delivery teams to shape proposals and ensure feasibility of engagements
• Contribute to internal capability-building by sharing knowledge, tools, and best practices within the wider team

What Theyre Looking For

• Youve led the delivery of applied machine learning projects, ideally across commercial or regulated sectors
• Strong Python skills and comfort using core libraries (e.g. NumPy, Pandas), plus familiarity with deep learning tooling like PyTorch
• Expertise in a wide range of ML methods, including supervised and unsupervised learning, time series, or NLP and LLM / GenAI based projects.
• Ability to scope and structure solutions around ambiguous business problems, turning them into tractable pipelines
• Confident in managing small technical teams, reviewing work, and setting standards for robustness and clarity
• Experience with stakeholder engagement and translating outputs for non-technical audiences

If this role interests you and you would like to find out more (or find out about other roles), please apply here or contact us via niall.wharton@Xcede.com (feel free to include a CV for review).