Principal Data Scientist

Principal Data Scientist  

Division: Data, Technology and Innovation (DTI) 

Department: Digital Intelligence Solutions 

Salary – ranging from £79,300 to £112,300 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience) 

About the FCA 

The FCA regulates the conduct of 45,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. Follow this link to find out more about the FCA. 

There are few organisations where you can genuinely make a difference for 40 million consumers of financial products, two million people who work in the UK financial services industry, and the economy as a whole.  

About the team 

As part of the Data, Technology & Innovation (DTI) division, we are supporting the FCA in embracing the power of digital, data, and advanced analytics to deliver on these priorities. We believe in doing things differently by combining creative techniques and the latest technology to generate meaningful insights. We place emphasis on curiosity and regularly experiment with new techniques and approaches alongside delivering production insights. 

Our Principal Data Scientist role is positioned in the Digital Intelligence Solutions department, a subdivision of DTI that supports delivery of FCA priorities at scale through sophisticated analytics. 

What will you be doing? 

• Coordinate high-profile analytics projects, guiding teams of data scientists and collaborating across departments and with third-party partners 

• Build and maintain supportive relationships with key stakeholders to align data science initiatives with organisational goals 

• Play a core role in the departmental leadership team, building data science capabilities and nurturing the direction of the department 

• Advocate for analytics and provide thought partnership within the FCA 

• Use graph analytics and query languages (Cypher, Gremlin) to analyse complex relationships 

• Collaborate with DevOps teams to automate deployment and manage the model lifecycle 

• Utilise cloud platforms (e.g., AWS) for building and deploying solutions 

• Develop and deploy machine learning models for predictive analytics and risk analysis 

• Perform statistical analyses and data mining on unique large-scale datasets to solve problems and improve operations 

• Develop data pipelines and ETL processes for integrating diverse data sources 

• Present technical information to non-technical audiences effectively 

• Mentor and develop junior data scientists 

• Interact with model risk governance processes 

What you will get from the role 

• Engaging, creative, and exploratory work in the public interest with the potential for making a meaningful impact 

• Collaborate as part of a supportive and dedicated team, working on important projects and programmes with exposure to a range of senior stakeholders 

• Grow into a trusted technical voice within the FCA’s inclusive Analytics Community 

Which skills are required? 

We are a Disability Confident Employer; therefore, disabled people or individuals with long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process (to learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here). 

Minimum 

• Degree with a significant quantitative component  

• Substantial experience in delivering value through data science/machine learning techniques including significant applied experience using Python and related frameworks for data manipulation and model development  

• Experience with graph databases (e.g. Amazon Neptune, Neo4j) and/or proficiency in graph query languages (e.g., Cypher, Gremlin) 

Desirable 

• Advanced degree (PhD or masters) in a data science-related field 

• Applied experience in collaboratively delivering a portfolio of complex data science projects 

• Experience in network analysis, entity resolution, and/or graph algorithms 

• Hands-on experience with modelling and ingesting data into graph databases from a range of sources 

• Machine learning, predictive modelling, and data mining experience 

• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS and its services 

• Knowledge of DevOps practices, including CI/CD for model deployment, versioning, and monitoring in production environments 

• Familiarity with the UK regulatory framework 

• Familiarity with the financial services industry 

• Drive to support innovation in data science research and understand where we can apply emerging techniques to help solve complex problems 

• Experience building, testing and deploying machine learning models into production environments 

Our Values & Diversity 

We are proud to be an inclusive employer, and our ambition is to cultivate a culture for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation. 

Within the workplace you will have access to various employee resource groups which aim to promote and achieve a healthy work / life balance and support our diversity ambitions. 

Did you know? 50% of our Executive Committee were the first in their family to attend university. 

The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our Principal Data Scientist role.  

Benefits of working at the FCA 

• 28 days holiday per year plus bank holidays 

• Hybrid working (work from home up to 60% of your time) 

• Private healthcare with Bupa   

• A non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age – up to 12% a month once you reach age 35)   

• Life assurance of eight times your basic salary   

• Income protection as standard  

We also have a competitive flexible benefits scheme which gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle. 

We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements.  Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we can explore what might work best for both sides. 

 
Follow this link to see what life is like at the FCA - Life at the FCA 

Application Support 

We are dedicated to removing barriers and ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible. 

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition requiring changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter using the details below and they will be happy to discuss this further with you. 

Useful Information and Timeline 

• This role is graded as: Technical Specialist - Regulatory 

• SC Clearance is required for this role (SC Guidance) - you will hold or will be required to obtain Security Check (SC) level vetting 

• When submitting your application, please tailor your CV to highlight how you meet the minimum and essential requirements above 

Timeline: 

• Advert Closing Date:  Midnight 15th May (Please submit your application no later than 11.59pm on Wednesday 14th May) 

• CV Review/Shortlist: 16th May 2025 

• Technical Interview: w/c 19th May 2025  

• Competency Interview: w/c 2nd June 2025 

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time.  

Got a question? 

If you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact Steve Christopher on Steve.Christopher@fca.org.uk 

Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted