At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and development of predictive models for data-driven products.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking company revolutionising data analytics in finance.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, flexible hybrid working, and a comprehensive benefits package.
- Other info: Collaborative culture focused on innovation and impactful work.
- Why this job: Shape innovative data products and influence strategic decisions with senior leadership.
- Qualifications: Proficient in Python, SQL, and experienced in credit modelling and data governance.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
My client is building a next-generation data and analytics capability using large-scale financial datasets spanning millions of records. Their goal is to transform complex data into predictive insights, industry intelligence, and innovative data products that create real business value.
As Lead Data Scientist, you will be responsible for designing, building, and governing predictive models that support data-driven products and strategic decision-making. You will work closely with engineering and product teams to transform raw data into robust, auditable, and commercially valuable solutions.
Skills & Experience
- Technical Expertise
- Strong proficiency in Python (Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn) and SQL.
- Hands-on experience with Snowflake or similar cloud-based data warehouse platforms.
- Experience using Git and reproducible development practices.
- Strong understanding of data pipelines, data quality, and analytics engineering principles.
- Credit Modelling & Predictive Analytics
- Proven experience conducting rigorous exploratory data analysis and feature engineering.
- Experience building predictive models in regulated financial services environments, ideally within:
- Retail banking
- Commercial banking
- Asset securitisation
- Credit management
- Expertise developing and deploying credit risk models, including:
- Probability of Default (PD) models
- Scorecards
- Risk segmentation models
- Experience evaluating and implementing challenger models such as XGBoost while balancing explainability and regulatory requirements.
- Strong understanding of model performance metrics including AUC, Gini, KS, calibration, and business impact measurement.
- Experience deploying production-ready models with monitoring, retraining triggers, and controls against issues such as target leakage.
- Governance & Regulatory Knowledge
- Experience operating within model risk governance frameworks, including documentation, validation, and audit requirements.
- Strong understanding of GDPR and automated decision-making considerations.
- Aware of emerging AI regulations, including the EU AI Act and related governance requirements.
- Knowledge of security-by-design principles when working with sensitive financial and personal data.
Why Join Us?
- Opportunity to shape and build a new data products capability from the ground up.
- Direct exposure to senior leadership and strategic decision-making.
- Work on complex, high-value datasets and industry-leading predictive analytics challenges.
- Join a collaborative environment that values innovation, ownership, and impact.
- Competitive salary and benefits package with flexible hybrid working.
Due to the volume of applications received for positions, it will not be possible to respond to all applications and only applicants who are considered suitable for interview will be contacted. Proactive Appointments Limited operates as an employment agency and employment business and is an equal opportunities organisation. We take our obligations to protect your personal data very seriously. Any information provided to us will be processed as detailed in our Privacy Notice, a copy of which can be found on our website.
Lead Data Scientist - Credit Modelling & Data Products in London employer: Proactive Appointments
Join a forward-thinking company that is at the forefront of data and analytics innovation in the financial sector. As a Lead Data Scientist, you will have the unique opportunity to shape a new data products capability while collaborating with senior leadership and cross-functional teams in a dynamic and supportive work culture. Enjoy a competitive salary, flexible hybrid working arrangements, and the chance to work on complex datasets that drive real business value.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Data Scientist - Credit Modelling & Data Products in London
✨Get Involved in Data Science Meetups
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We think you need these skills to ace Lead Data Scientist - Credit Modelling & Data Products in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Projects:In the world of data science, your projects can speak volumes about your skills. Make sure to showcase a few key projects in your CV or portfolio, especially those that highlight your ability to work with data sets, build models, or use relevant tools like Python, R, or SQL. Don’t forget to include links to any GitHub repositories if applicable!
Quantify Your Achievements:Employers love numbers! When drafting your CV, highlight your achievements with quantifiable results. For instance, mention how your data analysis led to a certain percentage increase in efficiency or revenue at a previous job or project. These details can really make your application pop!
Craft a Tailored Cover Letter:For a full-time role at Proactive Appointments, your cover letter should reflect your passion for data science and your excitement about the specific projects or values of the company. Dive into why you’re a good fit, how your skills align with their needs, and any unique perspectives you can bring to the team.
Stand Out with Relevant Courses and Certifications:Although experience talks, relevant courses or certifications can be your ticket to impressing hiring managers at Proactive Appointments. Mention any standout courses you've completed that equipped you with essential skills, such as machine learning certifications or data visualisation courses. This shows your commitment to continuously developing your skills in the field!
How to prepare for a job interview at Proactive Appointments
✨Brush Up on Your Statistics
For a data science role, we need to seriously sharpen our statistics skills. Get ready to tackle technical questions on probability distributions, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis. These are often the bread and butter of data science interviews, so don't just skim over them!
✨Showcase Your Projects
Prepare a killer portfolio showcasing your data science projects. We should include details about the datasets used, the tools and techniques applied, and the impact of your findings. If we can walk them through a particularly challenging project or a cool visualisation that had real-world implications, it’ll really make us stand out!
✨Get Comfortable with Python and R
Most data science positions require us to be proficient in programming languages like Python and R. We should practice common libraries like pandas, NumPy, and scikit-learn, and be ready for live coding exercises or algorithm questions. Showing off our coding chops can really impress the interviewers at Proactive Appointments!
✨Prepare for Case Studies
Expect to encounter real-world case studies during the interview. We might be asked how we’d approach a data problem or analyse a dataset to extract insights. It's essential to think out loud and demonstrate our problem-solving process so that the interviewer can see our logical thinking in action.
