Data Scientist

We are looking for a mid-senior data scientist to join our growing team. As a member of our data science team, you will develop and deliver the machine learning and analytics that power our inventory and pricing optimisation solutions.

About Sparkbox

At Sparkbox, we believe retail should run on data. We’re building a suite of software solutions that eliminate guesswork and help retailers make better, data-driven commercial decisions.

Sparkbox was founded by a team of retail professionals and our clients are global retail brands. We are venture backed and have been recognised by Forbes, Retail Week, Fashion District, and Tech Nation as “one of the most exciting and innovative early-stage tech companies in the UK”.

We operate a hybrid model and we meet when it adds value to work together, typically once a week at our Holborn office.

The Role

Reporting to our Principal Data Scientist, you will be responsible for planning and delivering projects to build on and enhance the predictive modelling that sits behind our existing solutions. You will play a key role in shaping and advancing our modelling approach, ensuring deployed solutions are robust, scalable, and continuously improving in performance.

We are looking for a proactive and commercially minded individual, motivated by the challenges of growing a technology company, with flexibility and adaptability to changing priorities. On our Data Science team, you will play a critical role in developing new and existing machine learning models and supporting best practices across the function.

This role would suit a candidate with strong machine learning experience, and an interest in applying new techniques within a retail and consumer goods environment.

Responsibilities

• Owning the planning and delivering data science projects, working with the Principal Data Scientist to define scope, approach, and success criteria
• Design, develop, test, evaluate, and improve new and existing machine learning models and internal analysis and productivity tools
• Analyse client data to uncover actionable insights, informing product development and commercial decision-making
• Build end-to-end solutions which follow best software engineering practices, optimised for speed and efficiency
• Stay up to date with advances in data science and proactively apply relevant innovations to improve solutions and drive business value

Required Skills

• Background in predictive machine learning, applied to real-world examples
• Strong python programming skills (e.g. scikit-learn, pandas, etc) with the ability to write clean, production-quality code
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain models, assumptions, and outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Knowledgeable in a broad range of mathematical techniques, tools, and modelling frameworks and able to assess their relative merits and applicability to specific problems
• Experience deploying and maintaining machine learning models in production environments
• Strong software engineering skills including, unit testing, git best practices and object-oriented programming
• Experience with a cloud computing platform (GCP or other)

Nice to have..

• Experience of applying machine learning in consumer goods or retail, with domain expertise in price optimisation, demand forecasting, or inventory optimisation
• Comfortable processing large data sets for model estimation, insights and analysis with a working knowledge of SQL
• Experience implementing LLMs in production

Benefits

• 33 days holiday per annum (25 days annual leave + UK bank holidays)
• Stock options (part ownership of our company & participation in our growth)
• Flexible working options
• Health cash plan
• Monthly team meetups with team lunch or drinks
• Ongoing development opportunities

Location: Hybrid mix of remote and office work; UK only

Start date: ASAP