cover image
Senzo

Data Science & AI Lead

Hybrid

London, United kingdom

£ 120,000 /year

Senior

Full Time

04-02-2026

Share this job:

Skills

Leadership Data Engineering Product vision Machine Learning Data Science

Job Specifications

Data Science & AI Lead

Equity included

London, Hybrid | Full Time

This is an opportunity to join an early stage, venture backed B2B SaaS AI company as their Data Science & AI Lead, owning one of the most important pillars of the platform as the business enters its next phase of growth.

The company is building an AI platform that is gaining strong traction in the market. With a live product, early enterprise customers, and a seed round weeks away, the focus has shifted from proving the concept to building durable, scalable foundations that can support long term growth.

This role sits at the intersection of Data, ML, AI, and technical leadership. This is a senior IC role where you will take ownership of how data, machine learning, and AI are structured, governed, and evolved across the platform, whilst stepping into a lead role as the team builds beneath you.

Working closely with the CEO, Head of Engineering, and founding team, you will help define the direction of the Data Science and AI function, acting as the person who translates product vision into executable systems. Over time, you will help shape the team and capability beneath you as the platform scales.

This is a pivotal hire. The right person will not just contribute to the product, but play a key role in shaping how this part of the company is built.

The Role

Own the design and evolution of the company’s Data, ML, and AI foundations, from ingestion through to models and insight.
Provide technical leadership across data engineering, ML, and applied AI use cases.
Define how datasets are structured, governed, and managed as the platform grows.
Set clear standards for quality, process, and decision making, supporting junior engineers as they develop.
Work closely with engineering, product, and leadership to translate business problems into ML and AI solutions.
Balance short term delivery with longer term architectural thinking in a fast moving startup environment.
Contribute to shaping future hires and capability gaps as the team evolves.
Remain hands on where needed, particularly in the early stages.

What you will get

Ownership of a mission critical area of the product.
A genuine opportunity to shape a Data Science and AI function from an early stage.
Direct influence on product direction and technical decisions.
Equity as part of the overall package.
Hybrid working, typically two days per week in London.
A senior, thoughtful founding team that values clarity, ownership, and sound engineering judgement.

Core skills

An upward trajectory in Data Science and or AI, with recent experience operating at Lead or Manager level within a Data, ML, or AI function.
A strong hands on foundation in data, machine learning, and applied AI, with evidence of having shaped or owned systems, not just contributed to them.
Experience working with production grade data and ML systems, where reliability, governance, and real world constraints mattered.
Comfortable providing technical direction and architectural judgement in environments where best practice must be adapted pragmatically.
Able to operate effectively in ambiguous, early stage settings where problems are not fully defined.
Confident working across engineering, product, and leadership stakeholders.
Still close enough to the work to stay grounded in implementation, even if no longer writing code full time.

Nice to have

Experience in B2B SaaS environments.
Exposure to AI governance, observability, or risk focused platforms.
Experience supporting or growing teams in early stage companies.

Salary guide

Target range: £90,000 to £120,000 base plus equity

There is flexibility for the right profile, particularly where equity forms part of the overall package.

Unfortunately sponsorship is not available.

Applicants must already be living in the UK.

About the Company

Senzo partners with businesses shaping the future through AI, Data Science, and Advanced Analytics. Our roots are in startups and early scaleups, and when an enterprise wants to hire with genuine care, we are very happy to support them. Built on 18+ years of experience in AI, Data, and Analytics recruitment, Senzo exists to bring depth and real value back to hiring. We keep things simple. Low volume. High quality. Value led delivery for teams that care about doing things properly. Know more