Data Scientist

Zaizi is a software consultancy specialising in building bespoke digital solutions using open source software and cloud platforms. We primarily work with central government agencies and adhere to the Government Digital Service standard. We are looking for a product-focused Data Scientist to join our engineering team, passionate about delivering high-quality data-driven solutions.

Role Overview:

As a Data Scientist at Zaizi, you will be responsible for analysing data to find and bring value to our clients. This involves a mixture of business acumen and technical expertise in data science disciplines. You will be digging through data to deliver data-driven, machine learning solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Take ownership of projects and initiatives.
• Deliver at pace and have a "get things done" attitude.
• Develop scrappy exploratory code and code that adheres to best practices and production-ready standards.
• Design and implement workflows 
• Optimising data pipelines to improve clients performance and scalability whilst maintaining their data integrity
• Monitor and ensure observability of deployed solutions.
• Collaborate with technical and non-technical team members.
• Apply various machine learning techniques, understanding their benefits and drawbacks.
• Supporting Zaizi in response to ML bid  requirements 
• Choose the appropriate machine learning technique for the task at hand.
• Understand when simpler solutions are more effective than complex ones.
• Work within a multidisciplinary team and collaborate with other teams.
• Implement and follow ML Ops best practices with deep frameworks 
• Deploy models to production, ideally as serverless applications.
• Understand and implement data protection and security practices.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms 
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and cloud-based deployment.

• Action-oriented and eager to take ownership of projects and initiative.
• Start-up mindset.
• A problem solver with the ability to be client facing 
• Ability to switch from exploratory code to production-ready code.
• Passion for monitoring and observability of deployed solutions.
• Proactive and collaborative approach to problem-solving.
• Ability to effectively communicate technical concepts.
• Broad knowledge of various Machine Learning techniques.
• Understanding of when simpler solutions are more effective.
• Team player who loves working within a multidisciplinary team.

Experience:

• Strong proficiency in Python and Data Science libraries like scikit-learn or equivalent.
• Experience with SQL/Databricks for data exploration.
• Ability to explain data science concepts and solutions to broad audiences.
• Proven record of deploying models to production, ideally as serverless applications.

Desirable:

• Experience with containerisation and orchestration technologies like Docker and Kubernetes (K8s).
• Experience with LLMs.

Security Clearance

Certain projects demand that our staff be British and cleared to SC level (or eligible for clearance). 

You don’t meet all the requirements?

Studies show that women and black, Asian and minority ethnic people are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification. So if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with the job description, we’d love you to still apply. You might just be the perfect person for this role, or another role here at Zaizi.

We actively welcome applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, neurodivergent individuals, parents, carers, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

If you need any accommodations to support your specific situation, please feel free to let us know. For candidates who are neurodiverse or have disabilities, we are happy to make any adjustments needed throughout the interview process—just ask!

Interview Process:

1st stage:

Initial phone screening done by a member of the recruitment team

2nd stage:

Technical interview, this stage evaluates your technical expertise and problem-solving abilities, especially if you're applying for a technical role.

Final Stage:

10-15 min presentation and a panel interview where multiple people from different departments ask you questions.

Salary: £45,000 - £65,000

25 days paid holiday, plus bank holidays

Vitality medical insurance
Workplace Pension 5% employer contribution
Group Life Assurance
Cycle scheme
5 days a year for approved Training
WFH equipment allowance
Buy / Sell Holiday
2 days paid volunteering days

Other benefits:
Flexible working
Work on exciting projects - make a difference
Empowered to make decisions
Encouraged to fail fast and learn quickly
1-2-1 and team coaching / training available to all our staff