Data Scientist – Operational Research

• Job Term (e.g. FTC/Perm): Permanent
• Job: Location: London

This role is posted within the Marketing job family for internal system reasons, but the position itself sits in our central Data Science Hub (Data & Analytics). You’ll work on cross‑functional, high‑impact data science projects across areas including pricing, digital, supply chain and commercial—not marketing delivery.

What you’ll do:

We’re looking for a data science specialist with a particular interest in working on operations research problems. You’ll be working on one of the largest datasets in retail, delivering huge business impact, as part of a team that builds, deploys, and maintains cutting-edge data-products that drive competitive edge.

Stakeholder management

• Using non-technical language, tell engaging stories that influence business stakeholders
• Develop and maintain relationships with key internal customers and product owners
• Identify, scope and size data science and operations research opportunities across the Business

Technical delivery

• Understand and document relevant business processes and driving performance metrics
•  Research, design and build decision models and algorithms
•  Define data requirements, gather and validate data
•  Work closely with engineering (DecisionOps) teams to align on robust production architectures that enable long-term support and iteration
• Design tests that quantify the computational and business performance in both digital and physical domains

Coaching and Mentoring

• Take a leading role in the development and delivery of team upskilling
• Share Operations Research expertise across the Data Science community
• Contribute to our vibrant Data and Analytics community of over 800 colleagues

What we’re looking for: 

Academic profile

We typically look for candidates with a Master’s or PhD in a relevant quantitative field (e.g., maths or operational research). However, strong applicants with equivalent industry experience or a related scientific/engineering degree are also encouraged to apply.

Essential Criteria

• A passion for driving business impact through the application of Operational Research methods
• Excellent business acumen, commercial awareness, and judgement
• Ability to translate real-life problems into mathematical models - linear, non-linear, stochastic, etc.
• Broad knowledge across a range of mathematical optimisation and simulation techniques, as well as exact and heuristic solution methods
• Previous experience working with mathematical modelling libraries/platforms and solvers

Preferred experience

• Practical experience applying operational research techniques to deliver measurable business value or a strong publication record, with significant relevance to industry applications
• Experience with Agile team management methodologies (preferably Kanban)
• Familiarity with software engineering best practices including version control, CI/CD, testing
• Basic proficiency with SQL and python