We are looking for a proactive and creative Senior Data Scientist to join our team in London. In this role, you will be the bridge between complex data sets and actionable business strategy. Whether you are optimizing supply chains, refining product recommendations, or solving trading challenges, your mission is to help the Partnership make better, customer-centric decisions. This is a role for a "Discipline Evangelist"—someone who is as comfortable coding in Python as they are mentoring the wider data community and influencing senior stakeholders. In addition to your contractual pay, any time worked between 22:00 - 06:00 will attract Night Premium at a rate of £5.00 per hour. This will also apply to existing Partners who have enrolled onto Enhanced Hours Premium arrangements.
Salary: Up to £65,000
Location: London Head Office (Pimlico),
Working pattern/flexible working: Partners can work from home or the office, with a requirement for regular collaborative attendance at our head office locations.
Contract Type: Permanent
People Management: No direct reports, but significant mentoring responsibilities.
End-to-End Solution Development: Design and develop data science solutions from problem definition through to implementation and business adoption, balancing model complexity with business value.
Model Building & Optimization: Transform complex data sets into models that optimize customer experience, revenue generation, and cost reduction.
Stakeholder Influence: Act as a trusted partner to various business domains, translating technical concepts into clear, concise, and understandable recommendations for both technical and non-technical audiences.
Technical Best Practices: Adhere to and champion best practices in SQL, Python, and Git within our tech stack (Snowflake, GCP, GitLab).
Mentoring & Community: Advise and mentor the wider data and insight community on data science use cases, acting as a subject matter expert (SME).
Governance & Ethics: Ensure all work complies with GDPR and adheres to the Partnership’s risk management and data privacy policies.
Agile Collaboration: Work within multidisciplinary agile teams (ML Engineers, Analysts, Architects) to deliver data-driven products on time and within budget.
Machine Learning & Statistics: Proven experience applying statistical and machine learning techniques to solve real-world business problems.
Python Proficiency: Expert user of Python and its relevant packages and libraries for data science.
Data Manipulation: Strong SQL skills and the ability to link complex data sets for actionable insights.
Communication & Influence: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of working across functional teams to design technical solutions.
Analytical Mindset: A highly analytical approach with a proactive "problem-solving" attitude.
Sector Expertise: Previous experience in Retail, Marketing, or E-commerce.
Modern Tech Stack: Familiarity with Cloud technologies (GCP/Snowflake) and command-line tools.
Software Engineering & MLOps: Experience with the implementation of end-to-end ML solutions and Git version control.
Agile Delivery: Experience working in Agile teams and applying Agile methodologies.
Bayesian Modelling: Experience working with and implementing Bayesian statistical models in a commercial setting.
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Closing Date:
February 1, 2026
Pay:
Contract Type:
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Where You'll Be Working:
London Central Office, 1 Drummond Gate, London, , SW1V 2QQABOUT THE PARTNERSHIPWe’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.
We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.
As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.
We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.
As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.
Important points to note:
It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.
We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.
We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.
Top Skills
What We Do
Working in Partnership for a happier world.
Our Partnership is an ongoing experiment to find happier, more trusted ways of doing business, for the benefit of us all. We work together to create a successful business and a fairer, more sustainable future for Partners, customers, suppliers and communities.
Our Partnership is owned entirely in trust by Partners which means we are more than employees; we share knowledge, power and profit.
Our Purpose inspires our principles, drives our decisions and acts as our guide.
Visit www.jlpjobs.com directly to view our current opportunities.
