Hours: This role is open to part-time and job share applications and those seeking flexible working hours including working from home.

To enhance our potential we are undergoing significant transformation to become a data centric organisation. This presents a unique career opportunity for a Data Scientist to join us at our award winning offices in Taunton, Somerset (with flexibility to work from home) and be part of a growing industry leading data science team.

UKHO develops and serves world leading geospatial software and data solutions to commercial shipping companies, navies and maritime organisations. Our work is of national and international importance for economic development, environmental protection, resource exploration and utilisation, scientific research and security and defence.

As a Data Scientist, you will be working across the whole organisation to embed data science at the UKHO. This will include playing a key role in creating cutting edge machine learning techniques and big data pipelines to process a wide variety of data, including bathymetry data, lidar, satellite images, autonomous vessel data and many more. We are intensive users of deep learning, Python, Cloud and geospatial data, so production experience of these would be highly beneficial. We also use other relational and unstructured data stores. 

Your average day may involve the following:

• Evaluating and understanding new business challenges, exploring new data science techniques to find best fits;

• Designing solutions to complex big data challenges and applying deep learning techniques;
• Producing prototype solutions and working alongside the Data Engineering team to realise and productionise;
• Supporting learning activities across the organisation to spread the word and grow the practice across the organisation;
• Working with like minds across academia and beyond to enable pollination of ideas and help to establish the UKHO as a leader in the field.

• We will also support your professional development with the opportunity to attend international industry leading conferences and run research projects to develop best practice.

  If you are an innovative thinker, love analytical problem solving and coming up with ground breaking solutions to complex, varied and interesting big data/ machine learning challenges this is the role for you.

  Person Specification

• Degree educated in Mathematics/Statistics or in a scientific or engineering discipline, or significant practical experience of working as a Data Scientist/Analyst.
• The ability to confidently programme in either one or more of the following: R, Python, Matlab, Scala, and able to pick up other programming languages quickly.
• Experience of processing geospatial, marine or oceanographic data, or at least a proven record of being able to turn your hand to a variety of different data analysis tasks.
• Demonstrable evidence of an elevated level of emotional intelligence and behavioural understanding with the ability to bridge the gap between the business and technology teams (Collaborating and Partnering).
• Experience of designing and implementing machine learning pipelines.

How to apply and interview process 

Please send your CV saved in Word with as many examples of your experience as possible to [email protected] by 12pm on Friday 16 August 2019. 

We may hold telephone calls with you as part of the interview process.

Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test, technical evaluation exercise or a scenario-based 

activity. If you require any reasonable adjustments during these exercises, please include this info.

Please note where we receive a high volume of applicants, only those selected for interview will be contacted.

Other information 

The post requires the candidate to successfully gain BPSS and SC Clearance.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) 

UKHO embraces diversity and promotes inclusion and equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident employer, which includes offering a guaranteed interview to candidates with disabilities, providing they meet the minimum selection criteria.

If you are a disabled candidate, please ensure you complete the Equality and Diversity form or inform our HR department, at [email protected], if you wish to be considered under the Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme.

 Civil Service Recruitment 

Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.