National AI Awards 2025Discover AI's trailblazers! Join us to celebrate innovation and nominate industry leaders.

Nominate & Attend

Data Scientists

Made Tech
Manchester
1 day ago
Create job alert

Principal Data Scientist

Job Description

Our Principal Data Scientists are responsible for leading and delivering strategically significant, complex client engagements across our portfolio of clients.

We believe that great delivery stems from a thorough understanding of our clients and their needs, strong discipline skills and subject matter expertise, excellent leadership and a clear vision of lasting and effective change in a public sector environment. We expect our Principal Data Scientist to bring all of that and enthuse our delivery teams with the same passion.

The successful candidate will lead the Data Science aspects of our client engagements while overseeing the wider delivery within the account (or industry) when appropriate. They will coach and develop team members on their engagements providing them with detailed performance feedback, as well as monitoring overall delivery to achieve the highest levels of client satisfaction.

In addition, our Principal Data Scientists are responsible for engaging with our clients to understand their challenges and build lasting, trusted advisor relationships. They will also oversee multiple, concurrent client deliveries to help ensure quality and drive the sharing of best practice across our engagements and industries.

Our Principal Data Scientists are members of the Data & AI Practice leadership team with the responsibility to develop the capability of the practice to meet business needs and to accelerate the growth of the practice, their account and the wider business.

You will be responsible for the practice and service line-specific delivery elements of your engagement/account as well as a shared ownership for the overall delivery of client outcomes. You will leverage your client and delivery insight to support the account and industry teams to identify opportunities and develop client solutions.

The right person for this role will do this by combining their technical discipline/craft experience, leadership skills and industry network with Made Tech's unparalleled experience of delivering digital services and digital transformation for the Public Sector.

Key responsibilities

Collaborate with clients to understand their needs, provide solution advice in your role as a trusted advisor and shape solutions that leverage Made Tech's wider capabilities and credentials
Assess project performance as a part of the billable delivery team, Quality Assure (QA) the deliverables and outcomes, and ensure client satisfaction. Coach and mentor team members as well as providing direction to enable them to achieve their engagement outcomes and to develop their careers
Act as a Technical Authority to provide oversight and ensure alignment with internal and industry best practices. Ensure engagement experience is captured and used to improve standards and contribute to Made Tech knowledge
Participate in business development activities, including bids and pre-sales within the account, industry and practice. Coach team members on their contributions and oversee the relevant technical aspects of the proposal submission
Undertake people management responsibilities, including performance reviews and professional development of your engagement and practice colleagues
Serve as a thought leader within Made Tech, our account engagements and the wider public sector and represent the company at industry events

Skills, knowledge and expertise

Lead the delivery of high-impact data science deliveries across multiple client accounts and projects
Design and implement advanced machine learning solutions and propositions using state-of-the-art techniques and best practices coupled with pragmatism to meet clients' needs.
Deep expertise in one or more Data Science or AI domains
Proven track record of leading complex AI projects in an agile environment
Strong technical proficiency with modern ML tools and frameworks:
PyTorch, TensorFlow, SparkMLLib, SciPy, Scikit-Learn, NLTK (etc)
MLflow or similar ML lifecycle tools
Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)
Experience with AI governance and responsible AI practices
Understanding of public sector data requirements and compliance
Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills
Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences
Knowledge of Data & Platform Engineering practices, allowing you to interface effectively with Agile delivery teams
Drive AI governance and ethical implementation, including model quality assurance, fairness and bias mitigation and safety and security protocols
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to client delivery teams as a billable member of the team and in providing technical oversight
Partner with stakeholders to develop and execute AI strategy and roadmaps
Support business development through solution design and pre-sales activities
Maintain high billable utilisation while delivering exceptional client value
Contribute to Made Tech's thought leadership in AI/ML
Guide clients in building robust MLOps practices and data-driven cultures
Hiring and line-managing data scientists and analysts

Experience in the following things isn't essential, but it's highly desirable

Central Digital & Data Office's Data Ethics Framework
Leadership of a data science capability or function
Working within an account or programme leadership team
Working within bid teams to win contracts exceeding value of £1m
Working with multidisciplinary digital and technology teams
Working within the public sector
Experience in hiring, forming and running teams
Track record of sustainable AI implementations
Experience with AI accessibility and inclusion
Knowledge of upcoming AI regulation and its implications

Job benefits

Support in applying

If you need this job description in another format, or other support in applying, please email .

We believe we can use tech to make public services better. We also believe this can happen best when our own team represents the society that actually uses the services we work on. We're collectively continuing to grow a culture that is happy, healthy, safe and inspiring for people of all backgrounds and experiences, so we encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply for roles with us.

When you apply, we'll put you in touch with a talent partner who can help with any needs or adjustments we may need to make to help with your application. This includes alternative formats for documents, the time allotted for interviews and any other needs. We also welcome any feedback on how we can improve the experience for future candidates.

Life at Made Tech

We're committed to building a happy, inclusive and diverse workforce. You can get a sense of what it's like working here from our blog, where we talk about mental health, communities of practice and neurodiversity (as well as our client work and best practice).

Like many organisations, we use Slack to chat to each other. The Slack groups that have formed give an idea of the diversity within Made Tech. If you'd like to speak to someone from one of these groups about their experience as an employee, let your recruitment agent or Made Tech Talent Specialist know.

The Groups Are

antiracist-activists
disability
lgbtqiaplus-allies-and-activists
neurodiversity
parents-carers
women-in-tech

Benefits

We are always listening to our growing teams and evolving the benefits available to our people. As we scale, as do our benefits and we are scaling quickly. We've recently introduced a flexible benefit platform which includes a Smart Tech scheme, Cycle to work scheme, and an individual benefits allowance which you can invest in a Health care cash plan or Pension plan. We're also big on connection and have an optional social and wellbeing calendar of events for all employees to join should they choose to.

Here are some of our most popular benefits listed below:

30 days Holiday - we offer 30 days of paid annual leave
Flexible Working Hours - we are flexible with what hours you work

Flexible Parental Leave - we offer flexible parental leave options

Remote Working - we offer part time remote working for all our staff

Paid counselling - we offer paid counselling as well as financial and legal advice

An increasing number of our customers are specifying a minimum of SC (security check) clearance in order to work on their projects. As a result, we're looking for all successful candidates for this role to have eligibility. Eligibility for SC requires 5 years' continuous UK residency and 5 year' employment history (or back to full-time education). Please note that if at any point during the interview process it is apparent that you may not be eligible for SC, we won't be able to progress your application and we will contact you to let you know why.

Location:

Any UK Office Hub (Bristol / London / Manchester / Swansea)

Department

Technology > Data & AI

Employment Type

Permanent

Workplace Type

Hybrid

Compensation

£105,000 - £115,000 / year

Apply now

Sounds good?

Join us in our mission to use technology to improve society for everyone.

Apply for this position

How we hire

Our hiring process is designed to be thorough, transparent, and supportive, guiding candidates through each step. The exact process may vary slightly depending on the role but these are the typical steps candidates can expect.

We'll keep you updated throughout the process and provide helpful feedback at each stage. No matter the outcome, we make sure the feedback is useful and supportive, so you feel informed and can learn from the experience.

Our talent team will review all applications, and while we may use AI to help speed up the process, a real human will always make the final decisions. Once reviewed, shortlisted applicants will be invited to a screening.

This is a 25-30 minute call with someone in our talent team who is hiring for the role.

Once screenings have taken place the hiring manager will review the shortlist and invites to interview will be sent.

You may then be invited to an initial virtual interview which is usually with the hiring manager or a couple of members from the team. This is usually around 45 - 60 minutes and the format may vary depending on the role.

If you progress, you'll be invited to a final stage interview which is usually with two members of the team. The format varies depending on the role and this is usually an hour.

Final conversation with one of our exec members.
#J-18808-Ljbffr

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Data Scientist - GenAI - Up to £170k

Data Scientist - GenAI - Up to £170k

Data Scientist - GenAI - Up to £170k

Data Scientist - GenAI - Up to £170k

Data Scientist - GenAI - Up to £170k

Data Scientist - GenAI - Up to £170k

National AI Awards 2025

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

AI Jobs UK 2025: 50 Companies Hiring Now

Bookmark this guide – we refresh it every quarter so you always know who’s really scaling their artificial‑intelligence teams. Artificial intelligence hiring has roared back in 2025. The UK’s boosted National AI Strategy funding, record‑breaking private investment (£18.1 billion so far) & a fresh wave of generative‑AI product launches mean employers are jockeying for data scientists, ML engineers, MLOps specialists, AI product managers, prompt engineers & applied researchers. Below are 50 organisations that have advertised UK‑based AI vacancies in the past eight weeks or formally announced growth plans. They’re grouped into five easy‑scan categories so you can jump straight to the kind of employer – & culture – that suits you. For each company you’ll find: Main UK hub Example live or recent vacancy Why it’s worth a look (tech stack, culture, mission) Use the internal links to browse current vacancies on ArtificialIntelligenceJobs.co.uk – or set up a free job alert so fresh roles land in your inbox.

Return-to-Work Pathways: Relaunch Your AI Career with Returnships, Flexible & Hybrid Roles

Stepping back into the workplace after a career break can feel like embarking on a whole new journey—especially in a cutting-edge field such as artificial intelligence (AI). For parents and carers, the challenge isn’t just refreshing your technical know-how but also securing a role that respects your family commitments. Fortunately, the UK’s tech sector now boasts a wealth of return-to-work programmes—from formal returnships to flexible and hybrid opportunities. These pathways are designed to bridge the gap, equipping you with refreshed skills, confidence and a supportive network. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover how to: Understand the booming demand for AI talent in the UK Leverage transferable skills honed during your break Overcome common re-entry challenges Build your AI skillset with targeted training Tap into returnship and re-entry programmes Find flexible, hybrid and full-time AI roles that suit your lifestyle Balance professional growth with caring responsibilities Master applications, interviews and networking Whether you’re returning after maternity leave, eldercare duties or another life chapter, this article will equip you with practical steps, resources and insider tips.

LinkedIn Profile Checklist for AI Jobs: 10 Tweaks That Triple Recruiter Views

In today’s fiercely competitive AI job market, simply having a LinkedIn profile isn’t enough. Recruiters and hiring managers routinely scout for top talent in machine learning, data science, natural language processing, computer vision and beyond—sometimes before roles are even posted. With hundreds of applicants vying for each role, you need a profile that’s optimised for search, speaks directly to AI-specific skills, and showcases measurable impact. By following this step-by-step LinkedIn for AI jobs checklist, you’ll make ten strategic tweaks that can triple recruiter views and position you as a leading AI professional. Whether you’re a fresh graduate aiming for your first AI position or a seasoned expert targeting a senior role, these actionable changes will ensure your profile stands out in feeds, search results and recruiter queues. Let’s dive in.