Data Science Manager

OUR MISSION

To become the car-changing destination of choice. By combining technology, media and deep automotive expertise, we've turned how people buy, sell, advertise and lease cars on its head.

What started as a simple reviews site is now one of the largest online car-changing destinations in Europe. Last year alone we grew over 50% with nearly £3bn worth of cars bought on site, while £1.8bn of cars were listed for sale through our Sell My Car service.

In 2024 we went big and acquired Autovia - creators of AutoExpress and Evo magazines - doubling our audience overnight. Together we now have one of the biggest YouTube channels in the world with almost 10m subscribers and over 1.1 billion annual views, while we sell 1.2 million print copies of our magazines and have an annual web content reach over 350million.

And we’re a long way from done!

YOUR MISSION

This is an exceptional opportunity for a driven and experienced Data Science Manager to build and lead the data science function at Carwow. As the first dedicated Data Science Manager you will have a significant impact on our business, shaping our data science strategy and driving the adoption of machine learning and AI across the organization. You'll initially manage a small team of data scientists, with the opportunity to scale the team as the function grows. This role offers a unique blend of strategic vision, hands-on technical contribution, and leadership, allowing you to make a tangible difference in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Leadership & Team Growth: Mentor and develop existing data scientists, fostering their growth and expertise. Lead the recruitment and onboarding of new team members, building a high-performing and diverse data science team. Champion a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning within the team.

• Strategic Vision & Roadmap: Help to define Carwow’s data science vision and roadmap, aligning it with key business objectives and collaborating with product teams and senior leadership to ensure its successful execution. Proactively identify opportunities where data science can drive significant business impact.

• Innovation & Application: Spearhead the exploration and implementation of AI and machine learning solutions across Carwow's products, services, and operations. Identify high-impact use cases, evaluate the latest research and technologies, and champion the adoption of cutting-edge AI techniques.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence: Partner closely with product, engineering, marketing, commercial, and other teams to understand their needs and translate them into impactful data science projects. Effectively communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and influence decision-making at all levels.   

• Model Development & Deployment: Oversee the entire lifecycle of machine learning models, from ideation and development to deployment, monitoring, and optimization. Ensure models are robust, scalable, and deliver measurable business value. Contribute technically when needed, especially in the early stages of team growth.

• Data-Driven Culture: Champion the use of data science to inform strategic decisions across the organization. Promote a data-driven culture by empowering teams with insights and tools.

• Technical Excellence & Best Practices: Maintain a high standard of technical excellence within the team. Implement best practices for data analysis, model development, and deployment. Ensure the quality, accuracy, and scalability of data science outputs.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

We know that no candidate will be the perfect match for all we've listed in this posting, so we’d encourage you to apply if you feel you're close to the brief but not an exact match to the below

• Experience in a senior data science role, with a proven track record of leading and managing teams within a tech or data-driven organization.

• Strong technical proficiency in Python (Pandas, NumPy, Scipy), machine learning modules (Tensorflow or Pytorch, Scikit-Learn), and SQL

• Solid technical experience developing ML solutions in a cloud environment (e.g., Vertex AI, Sagemaker); understanding of software engineering principles including version control, code reviews, agile methodology, unit tests; and familiarity with containerisation.

• Understanding of statistical modeling, machine learning algorithms, and AI principles.

• Demonstrated ability to translate business problems into data science solutions and deliver impactful results.

• Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences.   

• Proven ability to build, mentor, and motivate high-performing teams.

• Experience working in a fast-paced, agile environment.

• (Desirable) MLOps Experience: Familiarity with the ML production life cycle, including model training, monitoring, versioning, and model experimentation

• (Nice to have) LLM Experience: development of LLM-powered solutions that add business value, comparative model evaluation, expertise with prompt engineering and LLM concepts (chain-of-thought, RAG, custom agents) 

INTERVIEW PROCESS

• Introductory call to get to know each other

• Interview with Hiring Manager

• Technical skills assessment

• Values interview

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU

• Competitive comp package

• 28 days' holiday increasing to 35 with length of service, plus extras for house moves, weddings and more!

• Employee-friendly share options

• Pension scheme via Royal London - up to 5% company contribution

• Vitality private healthcare insurance

• Life Assurance - 4x annual salary

• Monthly coaching sessions with Spill - our mental wellbeing partner

• Inclusive parental, partner and shared parental leave including up to 20 weeks' full pay maternity and shared parental leave, and 8 weeks' full partner pay, as well as fertility treatment and pregnancy loss policies

• Bubble childcare support and discounted nanny fees for little ones

• 'Work from abroad for a month' annual scheme

• Generous learning and development budget

• £500/€550 home office budget

Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our culture. We know that diverse teams are strong teams, so we welcome those with alternative identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply for this position. We make recruiting decisions based on experience, skills and potential, so all our applicants are treated fairly and equally.