Contract Data Scientist - Search Order / Ranking / Recommendation
£480/day | Outside IR35 | 3-4 months | Remote / Hybrid
I'm working with a major consumer travel business looking to bring in a hands-on Data Scientist to support a project focused specifically on search order, ranking and recommendation.
The business manages a large inventory of holiday properties, and the core problem is deciding which properties should appear, in what order, for a given customer search.
This is not a generic Data Science role. Previous experience with search ranking / sort order / recommendation systems is essential.
The role will involve:
Improving the search order / ranking logic used to surface properties to customers
Building and refining recommendation and ranking models
Working across ranking by destination, country, brand, park and individual property / unit level
Running A/B tests and experiments to measure the impact of ranking changes
Measuring performance against customer and commercial KPIs
Analysing how factors such as price, brand, region and country affect sort order performance
Building out a broader dashboard / KPI framework
Working with behavioural and transactional data
Feeding findings and recommendations back to product and business stakeholders
Essential experience:
Hands-on experience with search ranking / search order / sort order
Hands-on experience with recommendation / recommender systems
Strong Python and SQL
Snowflake
AWS
Strong A/B testing / experimentation
Experience measuring ranking or recommendation changes against commercial KPIs
Strong hands-on Data Science background
Nice to have:
Learning-to-rank / re-ranking
Metaflow
XGBoost / LightGBM
Propensity modelling
Optimisation
PyMC
Streamlit
Cold-start recommendation
Travel, ecommerce, marketplace or booking-platform experience
...
Contract Data Scientist - Search / Ranking / Recommendation employer: Harnham - Data & Analytics Recruitment Careers
As a leading consumer retail organisation based in London, we pride ourselves on fostering a dynamic and inclusive work culture that champions innovation and collaboration. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through tailored development programmes and the opportunity to lead transformative digital initiatives, all while enjoying a competitive salary and bonus structure. Join us to be part of a forward-thinking team that values your contributions and empowers you to drive meaningful change in a rapidly evolving market.
Contact Details:
Harnham - Data & Analytics Recruitment Careers Recruitment Team
