Principal Data Scientist to set the data science and ML strategy in partnership with the Director of AI and Technology, leading high‑impact modelling, experimentation, and productionised ML to understand player behaviour and market trends.
Responsibilities
- Define the data science and ML roadmap in partnership with the Director of AI and Technology and wider tech leadership.
- Prioritise the team’s model and experiment backlog by measurable business value.
- Translate ambiguous commercial problems into hypotheses, experiments, and ML products.
- Design, train, evaluate, and productionise ML models across relevant techniques.
- Lead A/B automation testing and causal inference work; own statistical rigour and readouts.
- Ensure models are explainable, monitored, retrained on a defined cadence, and have clear ownership.
- Line‑manage data scientists and graduate data scientists; set goals, conduct 1:1s, and support career growth.
- Set the technical bar through code review, model review, and architecture review.
- Create a learning culture: paper reading, experiment write‑ups, internal tech talks, Kaggle/open‑source participation.
- Act as principal data science point of contact for Studio, UA, Growth and Finance leaders.
- Communicate results clearly to non‑technical leaders; drive decisions, not just decks.
- Contribute data science view into SLT and board‑level reporting where required.
- Ensure data science work complies with privacy, security, and platform policy (GDPR, COPPA, store policy).
- Document model risk, bias considerations, and mitigation steps for any customer‑facing model.
- Operate within agreed cost guardrails for compute, storage, and third‑party APIs.
- Ad‑hoc tasks assigned by line manager.
Requirements
- Degree in Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Chemistry, Engineering or a related quantitative discipline. MSc or PhD is a plus.
- 5+ years applied data science / ML, including 2+ years tech‑leading or line‑managing.
- Demonstrable track record of ML models in production delivering measurable business outcomes.
- Games, mobile, or consumer‑tech experience preferred but not required.
- Expertise in Python and SQL, Cloud & Data Platforms and Data Visualisation.
- Experience in technical leadership and mentoring team members.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem‑solving skills.
Benefits
- 25 holiday days + bank holidays, with an extra day for each year of service capped at 5.
- Private medical insurance, dental insurance, life assurance, Royal London pension.
- Free on‑site gym.
- Dog‑friendly office.
- LinkedIn Learning access.
- Flexible working hours and work‑from‑home days.
- Unlimited free snacks and drinks.
- Steam codes for all our game releases.
- Free parking, electric charging stations.
- Exclusive Kwalee merch and seasonal events.
Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
At Kwalee, we take pride in being an equal opportunity employer, where we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to driving creativity. We are committed to creating a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment where everyone can thrive. Our culture is built on celebrating the diverse voices of our team members, fuelling innovation and strengthening our connection to our players. We are dedicated to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion across all areas of life, including age, disability, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We recognise the importance of self‑development, career progression, and well‑being in retaining our talented team. At Kwalee, we celebrate individuality and encourage everyone to bring their authentic selves to work.
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