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- Tasks: Lead innovative data and AI projects across legal and business services.
- Company: Global law firm committed to innovation and inclusion.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, diverse culture, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Join a diverse team and help shape the future of legal services.
- Why this job: Make a real impact with cutting-edge AI solutions in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in Data, ML, and GenAI; strong Python and SQL skills.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
We are seeking a Lead Data Scientist to define and deliver data and AI-enabled products and capabilities across legal, knowledge, finance, and business services. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role for someone who can set direction, translate high-value problems into scalable solutions, design robust data and GenAI architectures, and drive delivery into production with clear governance and measurable outcomes.
You will operate at the intersection of solution architecture, applied ML/GenAI, product delivery, and senior stakeholder management. You will lead use cases such as document intelligence, knowledge retrieval and search, due diligence, pricing/profitability insights, workflow automation, and agent-enabled assistants, while establishing the evaluation, monitoring, Responsible AI controls, and adoption metrics needed to scale impact across the firm.
Responsibilities
- Set the technical strategy and solution direction for the firm’s Data & AI portfolio across legal and business functions.
- Co-create the AI roadmap with senior stakeholders, prioritising opportunities by business value, feasibility, risk, and platform readiness.
- Turn ambiguous problem statements into target architectures, delivery plans, and clear technical requirements.
- Lead the design and implementation of ML, NLP, GenAI, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) solutions.
- Own the solution architecture patterns for orchestration, retrieval, evaluation, monitoring, security, and human-in-the-loop review.
- Deliver document-heavy AI use cases (e.g., OCR/document intelligence, clause extraction, due diligence, knowledge search, workflow automation).
- Partner with product and platform engineering, knowledge, legal tech, and business teams to integrate AI into core systems and workflows.
- Assess third-party vendors/tools and advise on capability fit, integration effort, governance, commercial model, and strategic longevity.
- Define standards for experimentation, validation, model quality, and release readiness (evaluation, testing, and monitoring).
- Coach and mentor data scientists, analysts, and cross-functional contributors; uplift delivery maturity and engineering standards.
About You
- Significant experience leading Data, ML, and GenAI initiatives in complex enterprise and/or regulated environments.
- Proven ability to blend strategy, stakeholder leadership, and hands-on technical delivery to achieve measurable outcomes.
- Strong working knowledge of Python and SQL, ML workflows, and modern GenAI tooling.
- Experience building statistical and measurement frameworks (e.g., adoption/usage, quality, value tracking, experimentation design).
- Strong experience with LLM applications, RAG, embeddings, vector search, and custom retrieval patterns.
- Experience designing and delivering solutions on Azure and Databricks (including Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Foundry or equivalent capabilities).
- Experience with document-heavy AI use cases (OCR/document intelligence, search, summarisation, extraction, and classification).
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and align IT and business teams.
- Track record of defining governance, evaluation, security, and Responsible AI controls for deployed solutions.
- Ability to lead multi-disciplinary delivery teams and mentor technical practitioners while remaining credible at architecture depth.
About Us
We're a global law firm helping our clients achieve their goals wherever they do business. Our pursuit of innovation has transformed our delivery of legal services. With offices in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, we deliver exceptional outcomes on cross-border projects, critical transactions and high-stakes disputes.
At DLA Piper, we understand that inclusion is not a one-size-fits-all concept. We embrace and celebrate the range of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences that each individual brings to our firm. By fostering a culture that welcomes and appreciates all aspects of our individuality, we ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
Our commitment to inclusion and positive social impact enables us to provide exceptional service to our clients and communities, while nurturing a unique and inclusive culture for all our people. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.
Lead Data Scientist in London employer: Saragoça da Matta & Silveiro de Barros - Sociedade de Advogados, R.L.
Contact Detail:
Saragoça da Matta & Silveiro de Barros - Sociedade de Advogados, R.L. Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Data Scientist in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry on LinkedIn or at events. A friendly chat can lead to opportunities that aren’t even advertised yet.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio showcasing your projects, especially those related to ML and GenAI. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can do.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios relevant to data science. Think about how you’d tackle real-world problems they might throw at you.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, we love hearing from passionate candidates like you!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Data Scientist in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience with Data, ML, and GenAI initiatives. We want to see how your skills align with the specific responsibilities mentioned in the job description.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t forget to emphasise your proficiency in Python, SQL, and any relevant ML workflows. We’re looking for someone who can hit the ground running, so let us know about your hands-on experience with these tools!
Highlight Leadership Experience: Since this is a senior role, it’s crucial to demonstrate your ability to lead teams and manage stakeholders. Share examples of how you’ve successfully guided projects and influenced decision-making in previous roles.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to submit your application directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity at DLA Piper!
How to prepare for a job interview at Saragoça da Matta & Silveiro de Barros - Sociedade de Advogados, R.L.
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in Python, SQL, and the latest GenAI tools. Brush up on your knowledge of ML workflows and document-heavy AI use cases like OCR and clause extraction. Being able to discuss these topics confidently will show that you’re ready to lead.
✨Prepare for Stakeholder Scenarios
Think about how you would approach stakeholder management in complex environments. Be ready to share examples of how you've influenced senior leaders and aligned IT with business teams. This will demonstrate your ability to blend strategy with hands-on delivery.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Be prepared to discuss how you turn ambiguous problem statements into clear technical requirements and delivery plans. Use specific examples from your past experience to illustrate your thought process and how you’ve successfully tackled similar challenges.
✨Emphasise Your Leadership Style
As a Lead Data Scientist, you’ll need to coach and mentor others. Share your approach to uplifting delivery maturity and engineering standards within teams. Highlight any experiences where you’ve led multi-disciplinary teams and how you maintain credibility at an architectural level.