Ontology and Classification Manager in Winchester

KOIOS Master Data Limited is a fast‑growing data infrastructure company headquartered in Winchester, Hampshire, UK. We work with some of the world's largest industrial supply chains, helping them solve a fundamental and persistent problem: the quality, consistency and interoperability of product data at scale. Our technology sits at the intersection of semantic data standards, artificial intelligence and enterprise data management – and is deployed by global distributors and manufacturers who need to trust their data absolutely. We are a small, expert team building something genuinely significant. This is an early‑stage role with substantial scope to shape both the position and the function.

The Concept Dictionary Manager will own the integrity, growth and governance of KOIOS's core reference data asset: a structured, standards‑aligned dictionary of industrial product concepts spanning multiple domains, classification systems and international standards. This is not a conventional data management role. It requires someone who is comfortable working at the boundary of language, logic and industrial knowledge — someone who understands that the precise, consistent definition of a concept is a form of engineering. You will be responsible for the ongoing curation and quality of existing concepts, the systematic onboarding of new concept domains from industrial sectors including electronics, mechanical engineering, chemicals and MRO, and the governance processes that ensure consistency across the dictionary as it scales.

What You Will Do

• Manage the end‑to‑end lifecycle of concepts within the dictionary, from initial scoping through definition, review, classification and publication.
• Work with domain specialists, customers and standards bodies to onboard new concept domains in a structured, repeatable way.
• Maintain alignment with relevant international standards and classification frameworks, including ECLASS, UNSPSC and IEC Common Data Dictionary conventions.
• Define and enforce governance rules for concept naming, attribute structures, units of measure and multilingual equivalences.
• Identify gaps, inconsistencies and duplication across domains and drive resolution.
• Work closely with the engineering and product teams to ensure the dictionary remains fit for purpose as the platform scales.
• Contribute to documentation, methodology guides and onboarding materials for new domain contributors.

What We Are Looking For

Essential

• A rigorous, analytical mind with a demonstrable interest in how things are defined, categorised and described — particularly in technical or industrial contexts.
• Experience working with structured data, ontologies, taxonomies, classification systems or controlled vocabularies.
• Familiarity with one or more industrial product domains (electronics, engineering components, chemicals, MRO, or similar).
• Strong written English and an instinct for precision in language.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities in a small team environment.
• Comfortable commuting to or working from Winchester, Hampshire.

Desirable

• Exposure to ISO or IEC standards relating to product data, master data management or data quality.
• Experience with knowledge management platforms, data modelling tools or ontology editors.
• A background in technical writing, library science, information architecture or a related discipline.
• Understanding of supply chain or procurement data challenges.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience.
• Meaningful equity participation in a high‑growth company.
• A genuinely novel technical problem to work on — one with real commercial and industrial consequence.
• Close collaboration with a founding team that includes internationally recognised experts in data standards.
• Winchester office base with flexibility.