Lead Data Scientist (£130k) at Faculty

Job Title: Lead Data Scientist

Salary: £130k

Company Description: Faculty - Applied AI specialist now part of Accenture

Job Description:
Lead technical strategy for high-stakes AI projects in the UK defence sector, collaborating with partners like MOD and Leonardo. You will architect production-grade solutions for UAV automation, LLMs, and edge AI while managing cross-functional teams. This role combines deep technical machine learning expertise with strategic client leadership to deliver real-world national security impact.

Location: London, UK

Why this role is remarkable:

• Work on mission-critical AI applications including UAV automation, satellite computer vision, and OSINT with LLMs that ship into real-world, high-stakes environments.
• Join a prestigious, PhD-heavy technical culture within a company that has transformed over 350 global customers and is now part of the Accenture network.
• Enjoy market-leading benefits including an unlimited annual leave policy, private healthcare, and dedicated professional coaching through Sanctus.

What you will do:

• Set the technical direction and architect scalable, production-grade ML solutions for complex defence and national security challenges.
• Lead and mentor multi-disciplinary teams of data scientists and managers, driving technical excellence and best practices across the organization.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior government and military stakeholders, aligning cutting-edge AI capabilities with long-term strategic commercial goals.

The ideal candidate:

• Deep expertise in machine learning domains such as Computer Vision, NLP/LLMs, or Signal Processing with a track record of delivering production software.
• Proven technical leadership experience, including managing other managers and overseeing the end-to-end delivery of complex, high-risk technical roadmaps.
• Must be eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC) and willing to travel to client sites across the UK 2-4 days per week.