Lead Data Scientist

We have a fantastic opportunity to join the IT team at Greggs as a Lead Data Scientist.

Greggs has enjoyed tremendous success in recent years and has ambitious plans for the future with 4 main drivers for growth - to grow the Greggs estate; to extend trade into the evening; to develop digital channels to offer greater convenience for our customers; to broaden customer appeal and drive loyalty. Underpinning this is an intent to invest in the integrated supply chain and technology ready for a bigger business.

Data and Artificial Intelligence is seen as a fundamental enabler of these growth drivers, helping the business to look forward and understand our customers better. This is a fantastic opportunity to join the growing Data & AI team at Greggs as the Lead Data Scientist. We offer:

• 25 days (5 weeks) annual leave, pro-rated, increasing with service (in addition to bank holidays), plus 1 additional floating day

• Company car or car allowance

• Management Bonus Scheme which is worth up to 17.5% of your salary

• Profit share: We want everyone to share in the success of the business, so we distribute 10% of our profits to all our employees who have at least 6-month service, or more, each year

• Private Medical Insurance which is free for you and subsidised for your dependants

• Permanent Health Insurance which is a replacement income scheme

• You will automatically join our Greggs pension scheme which is a fantastic way to save for your retirement and allows you to benefit from employer contributions and tax advantages

• Defined contribution management pension scheme

• Death in service benefit which provides a lump-sum payment equal to 4 times your year's salary

• Colleague discount, up to 50% off our own-produced products

• Share save schemes that let you buy discounted Greggs shares, by saving a set amount of money over a fixed time, to have an even bigger share of our profits

• Career progression and learning and development

• Employee Assistance Programme; A free, confidential helpline, offering advice and support with financial, relationship, work-related and wellbeing issues, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Including a mobile app providing a range of wellness content on physical, mental, social, and financial wellbeing

• Perks and savings, such as digital gift card discounts, online cashback, in-store and online coupons and lifestyle offers

• Cycle to Work scheme

• A company who cares about our communities; the environment and being a better business! Click here to read about The Greggs Pledge

• Colleague Networks - internal groups where colleagues and their allies can share their own experiences, offer feedback on the way we do things at Greggs, and provide support to one another

About the role

• This is a full-time role, however flexibility in this will be considered
• We know that having a work-life balance is important, so we offer our colleagues as much flexibility as possible in line with the needs of their role
• The base location for this role is Innovate House, Balliol Business Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Ideally North East based or willing to travel when required usually on a weekly basis

What you'll do

The Lead Data Scientist will oversee the data science team, driving advanced analytics initiatives to support Greggs business growth and strategic decision-making. This individual will leverage data-driven insights to address complex business problems, optimise processes, and develop predictive models to enhance customer experience, product development, and operational efficiency. You will act as a subject matter expert in machine learning, statistical analysis, and data engineering, ensuring the delivery of high-quality insights.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership and Team Management:
  Lead, mentor, and manage a team of data scientists, ensuring continuous development of technical skills and commercial acumen. Facilitate prioritisation and collaboration between data science, engineering, product, and business domain teams.
• Data Strategy and Innovation:
  Define and execute a data science strategy aligned with business objectives. Identify new data sources, tools, and methodologies to improve data-driven decision-making and innovation.
• Model Development and Deployment:
  Build, validate, and deploy machine learning models to solve business challenges, such as customer segmentation, recommendation engines, and anomaly detection and supply chain optimisation
• Data Analysis and Insights:
  Lead exploratory data analysis, visualization, and storytelling to inform business stakeholders of trends, insights, and actionable recommendations.
• Horizon scanning and future trends:
  Keep abreast of the latest developments in AI and evaluate applicability in the Greggs context. Make periodic recommendations
• Collaboration with Stakeholders:
  Partner with senior leadership, product teams, marketing, and engineering to understand business needs and prioritize data science initiatives accordingly.
• Performance Monitoring and Model Maintenance:
  Develop pipelines for monitoring model performance and implementing necessary updates to ensure long-term accuracy and relevance.
• Data Governance and Ethics:
  Ensure the team follows best practices in data privacy, security, and ethical use of AI and machine learning algorithms. Develop scalable, maintainable, and explainable models.
• Tools and Technologies:
  Drive the adoption of cutting-edge data science tools and technologies including Generative AI and LLM's. Guide the team in using technologies such as Python, R, SQL, Spark, Vertex and cloud-based platforms like or Azure and Databricks

About you

You will fit right into this role if you:

• Are a passionate data science leader with experience turning complex analytics into actionable insights that drive business value.
• Have a deep understanding of machine learning, AI, and advanced analytics
• You are highly skilled at building and deploying predictive models that solve real-world business problems.
• You have strong programming skills in Python, R, or similar languages and experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment, where you can lead and mentor a team, while also rolling up your sleeves to work on hands-on technical challenges.
• You have a strong ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, translating data-driven insights into clear, strategic recommendations.
• Have a master's or PhD in Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related field with experience in a leadership role.
• You stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in AI, particularly in generative models, and are eager to explore innovative applications for these technologies.
• Are supportive of an inclusive culture - recognising and valuing that difference is good
• Desirable:
  • Experience working in industries such as retail, supply chain, telecommunications, or similar.
  • Familiarity with MLOps and model governance best practices.
  • Experience in working with large-scale customer data, behavioural analytics, and optimization techniques.

About Greggs

Here at Greggs, we love what we do, and we have fun! What makes Greggs so special is our culture – the way we are, the way we behave and the way we support each other. We're hard-working, but above all else we're family; and it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from or what your favourite bake is, we’d love you to join us! We want everyone to feel welcome at Greggs and our colleagues to be able to be themselves at work, whatever their background, preferences, or views. We'll make sure you have the skills and knowledge you need to have a great career with us.