At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a team to develop predictive tools for network investment planning.
- Company: Join Virgin Media O2, a top UK telecommunications provider.
- Benefits: Hybrid work, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with a focus on innovation and mentorship.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on the UK's digital infrastructure with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Master’s or PhD in a quantitative field and experience in data science leadership.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
Location: London (Hybrid)
Reports To: Head of Data Science
About Virgin Media O2
Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is one of the UK’s largest telecommunications providers, connecting over 46 million customers across mobile, broadband, and TV. We are delivering one of the largest investments in UK digital infrastructure in a generation, allocating hundreds of millions of pounds annually to build the networks of the future—including ultrafast fibre and next-generation 5G. To power this massive capital investment, we are leveraging cutting-edge AI, machine learning, and mathematical optimisation to ensure every pound is invested where it can deliver the maximum benefit.
About the Role
We are looking for a Lead Data Scientist to join our Network Investment team. In this role, you will be the technical lead driving the design, development, and deployment of optimisation and predictive planning tools that shape our capital investment strategy. You will lead a high-performing team of data scientists to build intelligent, automated models that simulate rollout scenarios, and forecast and optimise their impact on key business measures. This is a unique opportunity to act as both a hands‑on technical expert and a mentor to a talented team, working on high-impact problems that directly shape the physical connectivity of the UK.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead & Mentor: Act as the technical lead for a team of data scientists. Provide mentorship, steer project architectures, and champion high standards for clean, reproducible, and production‑grade code.
- Modelling, Forecasting and Optimisation: Design and implement models to simulate our networks and forecast how our customers use them and the service quality they will receive. Leverage these to solve crucial business planning problems.
- End-to-End Delivery: Own the lifecycle of data science projects from discovery to deployment. Work as part of a cross‑functional team leveraging Python, dbt, and GCP (Vertex AI, BigQuery) to build robust pipelines.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Partner closely with Network stakeholders to translate complex commercial constraints into data science problems and the solutions to those problems into tangible impact.
- Storytelling & Impact: Distil highly technical modelling outcomes into clear, visual, and actionable insights for senior leaders and executives making multi‑million‑pound investment decisions.
What We Are Looking For (Requirements)
The Must-Haves:
- Educational Background: Master’s degree or PhD in a highly quantitative field or equivalent commercial experience.
- Technical Leadership: Experience leading or mentoring data scientists, setting technical direction, and managing the end-to-end delivery of analytical products.
- Proven Problem-Solving Record: Proven track record of using mathematical, ML and software techniques to solve industrial problems and deliver business impact.
- Modern Tech Stack: Advanced proficiency in Python (pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn) and SQL.
- Communication: Exceptional ability to explain complex technical concepts, algorithmic trade-offs, and probabilistic outputs to non-technical business partners.
Nice-to-Haves:
- Mathematical Optimisation: Background in Operations Research, with hands‑on experience using optimisation solvers (e.g., Gurobi, Google OR-Tools) to solve real world problems.
- Domain Knowledge: Prior experience in the Telecommunications, Utilities, Logistics, or Infrastructure sectors.
- Cloud & MLOps: Experience developing and deploying production-grade models in cloud environments.
Lead Data Scientist employer: 慨正橡扯
At Virgin Media O2, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. Our London-based team enjoys the benefits of hybrid working, competitive salaries, and opportunities for professional growth, all while contributing to transformative projects that shape the future of digital connectivity in the UK. Join us to lead a talented group of data scientists in leveraging cutting-edge technology to make a real impact on millions of customers.
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We think you need these skills to ace Lead Data Scientist
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