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# Lead Data Scientist

- **Company:** Harnham
- **Location:** Slough, UK
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** £95,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Data Presentation, Python (Programming Language), Machine Learning, Standard Sql, Large Language Models, Machine Learning Operations
- **Published:** September 15, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.collegerecruiter.com/job/2879187078-lead-data-scientist

## About the Role

We're particularly interested in candidates who can combine technical excellence with strong consulting and stakeholder management skills., * Strong commercial experience within Data Science, Machine Learning, or Applied AI.

 * Experience leading and developing Data Scientists within a team environment.
 * A consulting, professional services, or highly client-facing background. This is essential.
 * Strong Python and SQL expertise.
 * Experience delivering forecasting, segmentation, propensity modelling, and predictive analytics projects.
 * Exposure to production machine learning environments and ML Ops practices.
 * Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
 * Experience presenting insights and recommendations to senior business audiences.
 * A track record of translating analytics into measurable commercial outcomes.

## Description

If you're currently leading Data Science projects in a consulting or client-facing environment and want the opportunity to build a function rather than simply contribute to one, this role offers a rare chance to shape the direction of Data Science within an AI-driven business. You'll combine team leadership, client engagement, and hands-on machine learning while influencing both product strategy and commercial outcomes., As Lead Data Scientist, you will be responsible for building and developing the Data Science function while remaining closely involved in the most commercially important analytical work.

You will:

 * Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Data Scientists.
 * Establish modelling standards, validation frameworks, and best practices.
 * Deliver forecasting, customer segmentation, propensity modelling, and machine learning solutions.
 * Take ownership of complex analytical challenges from design through to deployment.
 * Work closely with Product, Engineering, and commercial teams to deliver business impact.
 * Partner directly with clients and senior stakeholders, translating analytical outputs into strategic recommendations.
 * Help drive the adoption of AI tools and LLMs across the Data Science workflow.
 * Support model deployment, monitoring, governance, and ML Ops practices.
 * Influence the future growth and structure of the Data Science team.


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