Staff Data Scientist, Associate Director (Manchester)

Fitch Group is seeking a Staff Data Scientist, Associate Director based out of our Manchester office. Fitch Group is an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Fitch Group delivers vital credit and risk insights, robust data, and dynamic tools to champion more efficient, transparent financial markets. The AI Implementation Team builds and supports Generative AI, ML, and Data Science solutions across the Fitch Ratings and Solutions organizations.

• Drive Business Value through AI/ML Solutions: Collaborate with business partners and cross-functional teams to identify high-impact use cases for AI, LLMs, and traditional ML. Design and deliver models that solve evolving business problems and improve internal workflows.
• Deliver Data Science Insights: Conduct robust statistical analyses and exploratory modeling. Define and build well-structured, AI-ready datasets that support advanced analytics at scale.
• Bridge Business & Technical Priorities: Act as a connector across teams—translating strategic needs into technical solutions, partnering with product, engineering, and business teams to iterate quickly and deliver results.
• Own the End-to-End Model Lifecycle: Develop, fine-tune, evaluate, and deploy models in production environments. Monitor performance, gather feedback, and adapt solutions to meet changing requirements.
• Promote Reusability & Sound Engineering: Build and maintain production-quality code with strong documentation and testing practices. Emphasize modularity, maintainability, and object-oriented programming for scalable ML solutions.
• Communicate Effectively: Translate data science & ML concepts for technical and non-technical stakeholders, focusing on applicability to Fitch use cases.

• 6+ years of professional experience in data science or ML-focused roles
• Expertise in traditional ML (e.g., regression, classification, time series) and modern deep learning ML, LLMs, including fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and evaluation
• Hands-on experience across the full ML lifecycle from exploratory analysis, experimentation and modeling, to deployment, monitoring, and iteration
• Experience building and integrating AI solutions into existing workflows, leveraging and/or finetuning LLMs (agentic workflows strongly preferred)
• Familiarity with containerization tools like Docker, Kubernetes, AWS EKS, etc.
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure and services (AWS and Azure) such as AWS Bedrock, SageMaker, S3; Azure AI, OpenAI, and related storage
• An adaptable mindset and strong problem-solving focus with a bias toward practical, business-first AI implementation
• Bachelor’s degree (master’s or PhD strongly preferred) in a quantitative or technical field

• Strong software engineering skills, OOP, version control, and testing
• Exceptional communication skills for translating complex modeling concepts to varied audiences
• Experience supporting prototyping teams and transitioning from prototype to deployment
• Experience mentoring data scientists and fostering collaboration
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work proactively as part of a distributed team
• Proven ability to integrate AI solutions into broader workflows and projects
• Familiarity with credit ratings agencies, regulations, and data products

• Hybrid Work Environment: 2 to 3 days a week in office depending on line of business and location
• Culture of Learning & Mobility: Training, leadership development, and mentorship programs
• Investing in Your Future: Retirement planning and tuition reimbursement
• Promoting Health & Wellbeing: Comprehensive healthcare offerings
• Supportive Parenting Policies: Family-friendly policies, including generous parental leave
• Inclusive Work Environment: Collaborative workplace with Employee Resource Groups
• Giving Back: Paid volunteer days and matched charitable donations

Fitch is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, and other statuses protected by law.