Senior Data Scientist

Please note that this role will close at 00:01 on Friday 4 April, and therefore we advise getting your application in no later than midnight on Thursday 3 April.

We have three positions available for this role.

As the UK’s communications regulator, we’re delivering vital work that helps keep the UK connected and shapes the future of how we’ll stay connected with each other. 

Our work covers everything from phones and broadband, through to TV, radio, the postal service, and wireless devices. We’re also taking on the challenge of making the online world a safer place. And we need people of all backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences to help us achieve our goal of making communications work for everyone. 

We are looking for data talent to join the Data Science and Machine Learning team, a central team that supports all areas of Ofcom’s regulatory work, assisting and working alongside colleagues across the organisation to ensure that data and evidence underpin the wide variety of work that we do. You will get the opportunity to apply a broad range of methods to many different, real-world problems. For example, by undertaking proof of concepts to explore the application of deep learning for anomaly detection, combining social media analysis and natural language processing to understand issues affecting consumers in support of policy development, or developing new ways to visualise and enable users to interact with our role in monitoring and reporting data. Using Large Language Models to process text in various documentations across the organization or from sources available online. 

The team also leads on developing and sharing insights on methods, tools and processes in support of the data and research community across Ofcom. Collaborating with our stakeholders and external organizations continually develop our understanding of the areas in which we work and the methods and technologies we can apply. 

• Promote data science, machine learning and NLP skills and inspire best practice in other teams, building an understanding the variety of methods and seeking opportunities to innovate in what we do 

• Source, access, manipulate and engineer data across a range of sources and data formats for insights and analysis, working with stakeholders and data engineers as appropriate

• Lead the development of credible data solutions from a range of data sources and use best practices to generate accurate, reproducible work in an agile way. 

• Explore and visualise data to present a story in a meaningful way and communicate insights to a range of technical and non-technical audiences with impact 

• Maintain an awareness of, and utilise, an evolving range of data analysis tools, including open-source libraries and techniques. Be able to learn and deploy new skills as and when required 

• Maintain your skills and knowledge on the latest tools and techniques used in natural language processing and foundation models and related concepts. 

• Provide methodological and technical advice and guidance to early career data scientists 

• Contribute to the continuous development of our data science workflow and processes so that we work effectively an innovatively 

• Ensuring compliance with relevant data and information security principles 

• Apply project management skills to translate business requirements into actionable projects, then independently manage time, resources and stakeholders throughout the project life cycle 

• Support colleagues in engagement with external stakeholders on data an analytical related topics 

You will need to demonstrate knowledge or experience of: 

• Translating complex business problems into analytical projects, then delivering impactful data or analysis with tangible outcomes 

• A range of appropriate data and analytic tools (such as Python, R, Power BI, Azure ML, Azure Databricks, or equivalent), and cloud computing environments. 

• Knowledge of working with LLMs including building LLM prompting systems, RAG and multi agent systems and libraries like pytorch, transformers and langchain. 

• Broad experience of a number of different data science and machine learning methods, their appropriate application, strengths and limitations. (For example, but not limited to: data exploration, statistical modelling, automation, NLP, clustering/segmentation, anomaly detection, visualisation etc) 

• Applying scientific methods through experimental design, exploratory data analysis and hypothesis testing to reach robust conclusions, including reviewing the work of others 

• Developing the data community, including through support and development of junior staff and others’ projects 

• Awareness of the role of other data roles and skills, including statistics, data engineering and computer science 

• Exploring and advocating ways of utilising new data science tools and techniques to tackle business and organisational challenges, drawing on the application of, and innovation in communication services industries, academia, and other sectors 

• Executing Plans: Awareness of project management skills and the translation of business requirements into actionable projects, then take responsibility for delivering 

• Forming Relationships: Working as part of a team, and independently, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability, and supporting a culture of collaboration and trust. Awareness of the role of other data roles and skills, including data science, data engineering and machine learning, and proven ability to collaborate as appropriate

• Channelling Influence : Strong interpersonal skills and evidence of ability to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders, both internally and externally.

Qualifications 

• Degree in a numerate discipline, computer science or equivalent which demonstrates core statistical skills, such as Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics (this is not a definitive list). 

• Experience in data science or equivalent role