Data Science Discipline Lead
Published | November 4, 2022 |
Location | Bristol, United Kingdom |
Category | Data Science |
Job Type | Full-time |
Description

Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies.
This role is within the Applied Technology practice which has an excellent record in consultancy and delivery to a wide range of clients including some of the largest public and private sector organisations in the UK, particularly in defence, security and government markets.
The increased use of data within these organisations means that they now must be able to respond to the disruption of the digital era and the increasing pace, volatility, variety and scale of change that is now inherent in today’s business environment.
As a Data Science Discipline Lead in our Data Intelligence Practice, you will be able to apply cutting edge data science techniques to solve real-world problems. You will be able to see clearly how the work you do impacts society, and you will have access to a wealth of un-tapped historic and real-time data. You will be responsible for growing the data engineering capability, leading deliveries of data services and driving engagements across a diverse mix of clients.
Role And Responsibilities
You will be a key role of a growing, multidisciplinary team that is well-established in the space of digital solution development services. In your role you will:
- Engage directly with clients and domain experts to understand their challenges and propose Data Service solutions.
- Establish best practice data science frameworks and accelerators, for example Model Lifecycle Management.
- Use data analysis techniques to prove hypothesis by building statistical models using a range of tools including Python, Spark and R.
- Drive the development and evolution of the Data Science capability that provides a framework of learning for Data Scientists focussed on delivering data science solutions and services to meet client demand.
- Support the data science team to achieve their potential through active technical leadership and coaching.
- Lead one or more Data Service projects ensuring the correct delivery structures exist to meet agreed milestones. Mature the delivered solutions and services from proof-of-concepts through a minimum-viable-product to a highly resilient and scalable production strength system.
- Collaborate with key senior Practice staff to align the Data Science capability with the team and the practice capabilities.
- Drive cross-practice collaboration to reinforce the use of blended delivery teams that maximise the right skillsets from the right teams.
- Work collaboratively with technical leaders to design and develop sector/client-specific prototypes and deployable solutions.
- During bid process or client engagement, translate client needs into a delivery model that includes an appropriate team structure and deliver process to meet the client demands.
- Participate in external activities related to your own specialism such as conferences and relevant communities.
The Individual
You are an experienced and well-rounded technical consultant that has delivered production-strength data services of varying complexity. You have depth of technical knowledge that allows you to design appropriate data solutions for a given architectural and business context. You will have leadership experience that evidences how you drive the successful delivery of data solutions evidencing how you’ve traded-off your focus in the right areas of the team to balance empowerment of capable senior staff with quality scrutiny where risk or demand requires. You are competent in nurturing client and senior staff relationships to embed trust in your and your team/organisations’ capabilities.
Requirements
Essential-
- A degree in applied maths, statistics, computer science, engineering or other related fields or equivalent experience.
- Excellent stakeholder management with clients and senior staff that has a focus on nurturing & developing strong relationships.
- Ability to distil technical knowledge into capability statements that drive direction of internal capability development aligning with industry standards and client demands.
- Experience of leading, mentoring and coaching a team of data scientists.
- A problem-solving mindset and the ability to make conceptual links between real word problems and data analytics solutions.
- Strong grasp of numbers, statistics, mathematical concepts, and algorithms.
- Understanding of Machine Learning with demonstrable experience in their application to real-word problems.
- Experience of handling unstructured data such as images, point cloud, text etc.
- Experience with developing and provisioning sustainable solutions within cloud-based ecosystems (e.g. Microsoft Azure, AWS).
- Experience of identifying and leading teams to build accelerators to drive up quality and drive down inefficiencies when delivering projects.
- Good planning, communication and relationship building skills; able to influence business decisions and formulate positive relationships with customers, strategic partners and colleagues.
- A high-level of self-initiation, organisation, enthusiasm and eagerness to learn and develop new skills.
Desirable-
- Good understanding of data modelling, data structures, master & metadata management.
- Experience of implementing Model Cycle Management/ML-Ops for multiple experiments.
- Proficiency with machine and deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, Keras.
- Data Governance and Management knowledge, for example DAMA BoK qualification.
- Wider architectural change framework knowledge, for example Togaf.
- Enterprise agile delivery frameworks, for example SAFe.
Why work for Atkins?
People join us because they share a desire to be at the forefront of the ADS&T Business Unit and deliver outstanding projects. We empower our people to be the professional individuals they want to be, working on projects they feel proud of, making a difference to the world they live in and the legacy they leave behind.
We value diversity and believe that everyone deserves to thrive, without exception. We have signed the MoD's "Women in Defence" and "Women in Aviation and Aerospace" charters. These pledges include providing opportunities for women to succeed at all levels. We're also committed to being a Military friendly employer and have been recognised with the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) Gold Employer Recognition Award.
We develop individuals through a portfolio of training and development courses designed to help you make the best of your abilities and talents. We encourage participation in all forms of training and have an active programme of in-house as well as external training for all our staff.
Meeting Your Needs
When you start with us, you'll enjoy "Total Reward", a package that can be tailored to your lifestyle, career and personal needs. From flexible holidays to life assurance, health & wellbeing benefits, and career planning for the senior stage of your career.
Making sure you're supported is important to us. So, if you identify as having a disability, tell us ahead of your interview. And let's talk about any adjustments you might need.
YourReward at SNC-Lavalin (snclavalin.com).
More About Us
Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is a top global consultancy with over 80 years of design and engineering expertise. With us, you'll be surrounded by the skills, knowledge and support to help you succeed. Together, we can deliver projects which have a positive, sustainable impact on the world.
Atkins, ranked as one of LinkedIn’s Top 25 Companies, where UK professionals want to work and stay once they join. We're also a Silver Rating holder in the Aerospace & Defence sector, as per the Financial Times rating of the UK’s leading management consultants.
Check out some of our recent, most exciting projects.
Additional Information
This role may require security clearance and offers of employment will be dependent on obtaining the relevant level of clearance. If this is necessary, it will be discussed with you at interview. If applying to this role please do not make reference to (in conversation) or include in your application or CV, details of any current or previously held security clearance.
Atkins recognise that there are many well qualified people who are looking to further their career, but who cannot commit to full time employment. We support flexible working arrangements and are interested to discuss how we can accommodate individual requirements.
We are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop. To help embed inclusion for all, from day one, we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee networks to support staff from different backgrounds. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability.