Principal Data Scientist

Company: World of Books Group
Apply for the Principal Data Scientist
Location: London
Job Description:

Posted Thursday 22 January 2026 at 01:00 | Expires Sunday 8 February 2026 at 00:59

Below, you will find a complete breakdown of everything required of potential candidates, as well as how to apply Good luck.

At World of Books, we’re on a mission to become the Planet’s Bookstore — helping people read more while wasting less. As a certified B-Corp and a £200m+ global ecommerce business, data science sits at the heart of how we price millions of books sustainably and profitably.

We’re now looking for a Principal Data Scientist to play a critical technical leadership role in shaping how advanced modelling and experimentation are applied to pricing at scale.

The Role

This is a senior individual contributor role (no people management), focused on solving complex, high-impact pricing problems through experimentation, causal inference and applied machine learning.

You’ll work closely with our Data Science Manager, engineers and commercial leaders, acting as a technical authority and mentor while remaining hands‑on.

What You’ll Be Doing

  • Leading advanced pricing optimisation, elasticity modelling and experimentation
  • Designing and evaluating A/B tests, bandits and quasi-experiments
  • Building and deploying production‑grade models with strong observability
  • Setting practical standards for modelling, experimentation and DS workflows
  • Mentoring senior and mid‑level data scientists through review and example
  • Advising stakeholders on trade‑offs between rigour, speed and business value
  • Identifying future high‑value data science use cases beyond pricing

What We’re Looking For

  • Deep experience applying data science in commercial environments (pricing, ecommerce or marketplaces ideal)
  • Expert Python and strong SQL
  • Advanced knowledge of statistics, ML and causal inference
  • Proven experience deploying and iterating on models in production
  • Ability to influence through expertise and communicate clearly with senior stakeholders
  • Pragmatic, outcome‑focused mindset with comfort in ambiguity

Why Join World of Books?

  • Work on meaningful, planet‑positive problems at global scale
  • A true Principal IC role with influence but no line management
  • Partner closely with an experienced DS Manager who owns strategy and prioritisation
  • Help shape how data science is practised in a growing, evolving organisation
  • Be part of a mission‑driven, collaborative and inclusive culture

Interested? xwzovoh

If you’re a senior data scientist who thrives on complex problems, hands‑on technical leadership and real‑world impact — we’d love to hear from you.

World of Books is proud to be an equal opportunities employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team.

Posted: March 2nd, 2026