Senior Data Scientist

SF Recruitment
Birmingham
2 weeks ago
Create job alert
Senior Data Scientist - Fintech | First Permanent DS Hire

£75,000-£85,000 + benefits | Fully Remote (UK)


Direct report to CDO | Build the DS capability | FCA-regulated product


This is a rare opportunity to join a fast-growing, FCA-regulated fintech as their first permanent Senior Data Scientist, shaping a brand-new data science capability from the ground up.


The business has built a highly successful SaaS platform in the Fintech space. With strong investment and FCA approval now secured, they're moving firmly into the data products and insights space - turning the rich consumer financial and behavioural data they hold into real intelligence, new models, and new customer offerings.


Things expected from you

  • Sets the standard
  • Builds the capability
  • Shapes the roadmap
  • Becomes the go-to person for modelling, insights and DS foundations

What you will be doing

  • Build and scale data science and modelling foundations in Databricks
  • Work with financial, consumer and behavioural data to create new models & scorecards
  • Design MI dashboards and reporting to help the business understand its own data
  • Collaborate closely with Product, Finance, Customer Ops and the senior leadership team
  • Evaluate where ML/AI can enhance the core SaaS platform
  • Present insights and model outputs clearly to non-technical stakeholders (including board/NEDs)
  • Influence how the data function grows over the next 12-24 months

This is the start of the data and analytics function - you won't just inherit a roadmap; you'll help write it.


You’ll thrive here if you are:

  • A strong hands-on Data Scientist with experience in FS/fintech or regulated environments
  • Confident working with Python, SQL and Databricks
  • Capable of building predictive models, scorecards and ML components
  • Comfortable creating dashboards/MI to support internal understanding
  • Excited by a startup environment where you'll wear different hats
  • Able to communicate clearly to senior and non-technical audiences
  • Looking for ownership and long-term progression into Head of DS

Why this role is genuinely exciting

  • You're the first permanent hire - you shape how DS works here
  • Direct line to the C-suite, not buried in a data pod
  • True autonomy: you influence strategy, tooling, roadmap and delivery
  • Visible across the entire business, including investors & NEDs
  • The company is moving from SaaS - data products, meaning greenfield work
  • Clear long‑term upward path (team will grow over the next 12-24 months)
  • Underneath you ideally!
  • This is the role for someone who wants more than just building models - someone who wants to make their mark and grow with a FinTech entering its next phase


#J-18808-Ljbffr

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Senior Data Scientist

Senior Data Scientist

Senior Data Scientist

Senior Data Scientist

Senior Data Scientist - Private Equity Consulting

Senior Data Scientist - Private Equity Consulting

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.

Maths for Machine Learning Jobs: The Only Topics You Actually Need (& How to Learn Them)

Machine learning job adverts in the UK love vague phrases like “strong maths” or “solid fundamentals”. That can make the whole field feel gatekept especially if you are a career changer or a student who has not touched maths since A level. Here is the practical truth. For most roles on MachineLearningJobs.co.uk such as Machine Learning Engineer, Applied Scientist, Data Scientist, NLP Engineer, Computer Vision Engineer or MLOps Engineer with modelling responsibilities the maths you actually use is concentrated in four areas: Linear algebra essentials (vectors, matrices, projections, PCA intuition) Probability & statistics (uncertainty, metrics, sampling, base rates) Calculus essentials (derivatives, chain rule, gradients, backprop intuition) Basic optimisation (loss functions, gradient descent, regularisation, tuning) If you can do those four things well you can build models, debug training, evaluate properly, explain trade-offs & sound credible in interviews. This guide gives you a clear scope plus a six-week learning plan, portfolio projects & resources so you can learn with momentum rather than drowning in theory.

Neurodiversity in Machine Learning Careers: Turning Different Thinking into a Superpower

Machine learning is about more than just models & metrics. It’s about spotting patterns others miss, asking better questions, challenging assumptions & building systems that work reliably in the real world. That makes it a natural home for many neurodivergent people. If you live with ADHD, autism or dyslexia, you may have been told your brain is “too distracted”, “too literal” or “too disorganised” for a technical career. In reality, many of the traits that can make school or traditional offices hard are exactly the traits that make for excellent ML engineers, applied scientists & MLOps specialists. This guide is written for neurodivergent ML job seekers in the UK. We’ll explore: What neurodiversity means in a machine learning context How ADHD, autism & dyslexia strengths map to ML roles Practical workplace adjustments you can ask for under UK law How to talk about neurodivergence in applications & interviews By the end, you’ll have a clearer sense of where you might thrive in ML – & how to turn “different thinking” into a genuine career advantage.

Machine Learning Hiring Trends 2026: What to Watch Out For (For Job Seekers & Recruiters)

As we move into 2026, the machine learning jobs market in the UK is going through another big shift. Foundation models and generative AI are everywhere, companies are under pressure to show real ROI from AI, and cloud costs are being scrutinised like never before. Some organisations are slowing hiring or merging teams. Others are doubling down on machine learning, MLOps and AI platform engineering to stay competitive. The end result? Fewer fluffy “AI” roles, more focused machine learning roles with clear ownership and expectations. Whether you are a machine learning job seeker planning your next move, or a recruiter trying to build ML teams, understanding the key machine learning hiring trends for 2026 will help you stay ahead.