Lead Data Scientist - Remote

Lead Data Scientist Surrey office, x1 day every two weeks. A well-established, product-led business is looking for a Lead Data Scientist to spearhead innovation and drive measurable value through advanced machine learning, experimentation, and the development of production-grade models. Sitting within a cross-functional data team, this is a hands-on leadership role with the autonomy to shape the modelling roadmap, contribute to R&D strategy, and influence pricing and risk decisions across multiple business lines. You’ll manage a small team of data scientists, guiding them through delivery while remaining actively involved in technical implementation and experimentation. This is a unique opportunity for someone passionate about building machine learning systems that go beyond prototypes — models that deliver real-world commercial outcomes in a data-rich, regulated environment. Lead a high-performing team of data scientists to deliver cross-functional, impactful AI/ML initiatives Design and implement predictive models and machine learning solutions for core business areas Build and productionise models in collaboration with data engineers and platform teams Evaluate vendor data sources, assess economic and technical feasibility, and lead test-and-learn initiatives Contribute to the modelling roadmap, experimentation frameworks, and internal data science tooling Coach junior team members and promote best practices across the wider data and analytics community Ideally, 6+ years of hands-on experience applying data science techniques in commercial or research-led environments, delivering clear business outcomes Advanced academic background (MSc or PhD) in a technical or quantitative field such as Machine Learning, Computer Science, or Statistics Strong programming ability in Python (data science ecosystem) and SQL, with proven experience handling large, complex datasets Solid track record of building, validating, and deploying machine learning models into real-world systems Practical experience designing experiments, selecting evaluation metrics, and applying multivariate testing frameworks Leadership mindset — you’ve mentored or managed data science colleagues or helped steer technical decisions in a collaborative team Skilled at working with both structured and unstructured data to unlock insights and power models Hands-on experience with Databricks, Apache Spark, or similar tools used in large-scale data processing Exposure to machine learning model deployment using APIs or lightweight serving frameworks like Flask or Keras Familiarity with geospatial data would be a great bonus!