Job Description

Sr Data Scientist – Product Team

London, UK | Reading, UK

We bring together the power of marketing research, technology, and AI to help brands maximise the impact of their advertising and unlock the power of long-term growth.

Trusted by the Biggest Brands
With a team of researchers, technologists, and data scientists, along with a powerful portfolio of advertising and brand research solutions, MarketCast has established itself as a Top 10 global marketing research provider. In fact, more than 80% of the top advertising spenders in the U.S. are MarketCast clients. Our marketing research helps them find the right audiences to target, craft ad creative that resonates, and build long-term brand Fandom and customer loyalty.

Powered by People, AI and Data
At MarketCast, machine learning and AI aren't just buzzwords - they are fundamental to how we deliver insight. We use a wide spectrum of algorithms and techniques from natural language processing and sentiment analysis to predictive modelling. We leverage cutting-edge techniques to transform complex data into meaningful stories for some of the world's biggest entertainment and media brands. MarketCast believes AI should amplify, not replace, the consumer's voice in marketing research. By integrating AI models throughout our research process and organisation, we're transforming how researchers work and how research gets done.

As a Sr Data Scientist embedded within the MarketCast Data Science Product team, you will be a core builder of the data science capabilities that power our products. Your focus will be on designing, developing, and iterating the models, methodologies, and analytical frameworks that sit at the heart of what MarketCast takes to market.

You will work at the intersection of data science and product development, translating complex analytical thinking into scalable, repeatable product solutions. You'll collaborate closely with Product Managers, Engineers, and Researchers to ensure that what we build is both technically rigorous and commercially compelling.

Key Responsibilities

• Product-Focused Model Development: Design, build, and validate statistical models, machine learning algorithms, and analytical frameworks that form the core of MarketCast's commercial product offerings. Take ownership of the data science layer within products, ensuring models are robust, scalable, and fit for real-world deployment across a diverse range of client use cases.
• Research Methodology & Innovation: Develop and refine the methodologies and measurement approaches that underpin our products, ensuring they reflect best-in-class data science practice. Proactively identify opportunities to introduce new techniques that meaningfully improve product performance and differentiation in the market.
• Product Collaboration & Roadmap Input: Work as an embedded data science partner within the wider product team, contributing to product strategy, roadmap prioritisation, and feature definition. Translate business and market requirements into clear data science specifications, and advocate for technically sound, evidence-based product decisions throughout the development lifecycle.
• Prototyping & Experimentation: Lead rapid prototyping and experimentation efforts to test and validate new product concepts and model approaches before they reach full development. Define and execute A/B tests, pilots, and benchmarking studies to measure the performance of new methodologies against existing solutions, using results to guide product iteration.
• Data Infrastructure & Scalability: Collaborate with engineering to ensure models and pipelines are built in a way that supports scalable, production grade deployment. Contribute to the design of data processing workflows, feature engineering pipelines, and model monitoring frameworks that enable consistent, reliable product performance at scale.
• Quality, Validation & Standards: Establish and uphold rigorous standards for model validation, testing, and quality assurance across all product data science work. Document methodologies clearly and thoroughly to ensure reproducibility, support knowledge sharing, and provide a foundation for ongoing product improvement and auditability.
• Internal Enablement & Thought Leadership: Act as an internal subject matter expert on the data science capabilities embedded in our products, supporting sales, client services, and research teams in understanding and communicating the value of what we've built. Contribute to white papers, internal training, and industry publications that showcase MarketCast's methodological leadership and build credibility in the market.
• Mentorship & Team Development: Provide technical guidance and mentorship to more junior data scientists, fostering a culture of rigour, curiosity, and continuous improvement. Help establish shared best practices, coding standards, and ways of working that raise the overall capability of the team.

It'll be helpful if you have:

• Master's or Ph.D. degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, or a related quantitative field
• 5+ years of experience in data science, with a track record of
  developing models or analytical products that have been deployed
  commercially or at scale
• Strong proficiency in Python (scikit-learn, pandas, numpy, and related libraries) SQL and data pipeline tooling
• Deep experience with machine learning techniques and Generative AI algorithms
• Experience developing and validating data science solutions in a product or platform context
• Solid understanding of experimental design, statistical inference, and model evaluation frameworks
• Experience working with large datasets and cloud-based computing
  environments
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to nontechnical stakeholders, including product managers, commercial teams, and senior leadership
• Experience in the media, entertainment, or marketing research industry is a plus
• Strong problem-solving instincts, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine passion for building things that make an impact

Our Vision
We are creating the most tech and data-forward research business on the
planet, where primary research, AI, and big data work together to solve
complex marketing, content, and product development challenges.

Our Values
Radical Candor Caring personally while challenging directly – offering
feedback that is honest and clear, but always rooted in genuine empathy and respect for the individual.

Client Obsession Maintaining an unwavering focus on understanding and exceeding client needs and expectations, consistently delivering value, and building lasting partnerships through proactive communication, responsiveness, and a relentless commitment to client success.

Unmatched Expertise A level of deep, specialised knowledge and skill that exceeds industry standards, allowing delivery of innovative, tailored solutions to complex client challenges driving superior outcomes. Fostering growth for our talent and establishing a reputation for excellence.

Our Vibe
Check us out: www.marketcast.com and on LinkedIn.
We are social scientists, data geeks, brand junkies, and movie fanatics. We obsess on audience segments, norms, models, and methodologies. This passion transforms client problems into breakthroughs and investments into impact.

At MarketCast, we don't just accept differences - we embrace them, support them, and thrive on them for the benefit of our global culture and success.

MarketCast is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or beliefs, sex and sexual orientation.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories,
consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need
that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Benefits
In addition to your salary, MarketCast believes in providing a competitive
total rewards package for its employees. MarketCast offers employees a
holistic and wide array of benefits including:

• Generous annual leave of 29 days, PLUS Bank Holidays
• Flexitime with core hours between 10am and 3pm
• A suite of benefits including free movie tickets
• 2 days' work from home, per week
• 4% match pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity pay
• Regular social events in both of our UK locations
• Professional growth and career development including LinkedIn Learning

All benefits are subject to eligibility requirements, and the terms of our official plan may be modified or amended from time to time.

GDPR & Privacy Notice:
GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (UK GDPR) NOTICE: The
organisation collects and processes personal data relating to its applicants, employees and former employees to manage pre-employment and employment relationships and post-employment obligations. The organisation is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations. For further information on what information we collect and how its used and protected, please contact the MarketCast UK HR Team.