Role: Data Scientist
Location: UK, London
Applicants must have the existing right to work in the UK. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.
Job type: Full time, Permanent Hybrid
This position offers a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility between working from home and our office. Typically, employees are expected to work 2 days in the office per week.
Why QS?
At QS, we believe that work should empower you. Thats why we foster a flexible working environment that encourages every employee to own their career whilst flourishing personally and professionally. Our company values underpin everything we do we collaborate, respect and support each other.
Its our mission to empower motivated people around the world to fulfil their potential through higher education, ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities that change lives.
Our diversity makes us stronger. By sharing our experiences, we learn from one another and achieve more together, driving progress across the sector.
At QS, youll be responsible for implementing real change in the international higher education landscape. Youll take on meaningful challenges that see a positive impact across the business and the wider sector.
Were confident youll feel right at home here. QS was named as one of Newsweeks Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK (October 2023), recognising the respect, trust and appreciation that drive our culture every day. And as a gold-accredited Investors in People organisation putting us among the top 28% of workplaces globally its official: QS is a place where everyone can thrive.
As a Data Scientist, this is what youll be doing:
As a Data Scientist, you will work on high-impact analytical and modelling projects that sit at the core of QSs mission to improve higher education worldwide. You will develop models and pipelines that power university ranking simulations, track global skill movements, and predict student behaviour at scale.
Youll collaborate closely with senior data scientists, engineers, and product teams, using QSs rich global datasets to build robust, production-grade solutions. This role is ideal for someone who wants to deepen their technical expertise while contributing to work that influences institutions, learners, and policymakers around the world.
Role Responsibilities
Model Development
Build and validate predictive, simulation and ranking-related models that inform global higher education and workforce insights.
Develop models for student propensity, skills mobility, institutional performance and labour-market trends.
Engineer and transform structured, semi-structured and longitudinal datasets into features suitable for production pipelines.
Apply a range of statistical and machine-learning techniques (e.g., gradient-boosted models, graph methods, NLP, sequential simulation) to solve domain-specific problems.
Experimentation & Analysis
Design and run experiments to evaluate model performance and real-world impact.
Develop metrics frameworks to benchmark ranking methodologies and predictive systems.
Communicate analytical findings clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders across the business.
Collaboration
Work closely with Data Engineering to ensure modelling requirements are embedded into data pipelines and feature stores.
Partner with Product and domain experts (rankings, labour-market intelligence, student mobility) to ensure models align with business and sector needs.
Documentation & Standards
Document workflows, modelling decisions, assumptions and evaluation results.
Contribute to shared modelling components, best practices and reusable analytical assets.
Key Skills And Experience
Proven experience in applied machine learning or data science.
Proficiency in Python and SQL; experience with ML libraries such as scikit-learn, LightGBM, TensorFlow, PyTorch, MLflow.
Strong grounding in statistics, feature engineering and data wrangling.
Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS preferred) and Git.
Ability to tackle ambiguous analytical problems and work collaboratively in cross-functional teams.
Bachelors or Masters degree in a quantitative field (Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics or related).
Please note, if you don't meet all the criteria but believe you have the skills and passion to thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply.
So, who are we and what do we do?
QS is the world leader in higher education services, analytics, insights and intelligence. From consultancy to student mobility, academic partnerships to branding solutions, our services power both institutional and individual success.
Were behind the worlds most widely read university rankings (Meltwater Our QS World University Rankings reach hundreds of millions, shaping decisions and guiding futures.
Since launching in 1990, our impact and influence have only grown. Today, we work with more than 2,000 of the worlds leading higher education institutions, over 12,000 employers, and governments seeking change and socioeconomic development through higher education.
Join QS and youll join an 800-strong community of problem-solvers, creators, collaborators and change-makers based in 40+ countries and 11
international offices, including Australia, Malaysia, India, Romania, Singapore, France, Germany, the USA and our headquarters in London.
With every talented new hire, business acquisition and bold initiative, were strengthening our reach and delivering even greater value to institutions and learners worldwide. Are you ready to shape the future of higher education?
We take investing in our people very seriously.
As Standard You Will Have
Competitive base salary
Access to an annual bonus scheme (for qualifying roles only)
25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays increasing to 27 days after 5 years
Access to a Buy Holiday scheme allowing you to buy up to 5 additional holiday days per year
Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
Generous pension through Royal London
Comprehensive private medical insurance and wellness scheme through Vitality
Cycle to work scheme
A vibrant social environment and multicultural and multinational culture
Benefits
But thats not all. Outside of these standard benefits we also offer resources to allow professional growth and wellness initiatives to nurture a healthy mindset:
Free subscription to the Calm App the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation
A focus on welfare which is led by our global wellness team, with mental health first aiders globally
Access to a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives and groups
Strong recognition and reward programs including a peer-to-peer recognition platform, quarterly and annual QS Applaud Awards, Connect with your Career annual PD event
Support for volunteering and study leave
Free subscription to LinkedIn learning with over 5000 courses and programmes at your fingertips
Options to join our outstanding global Mentorship programme
Like what youve heard? Great, apply now
As a candidate, we know the application and interview process can be daunting and so its important that you have a great experience with us. Our dedicated Talent Team will work hard to ensure you are fully informed at all stages and you are really excited by this opportunity to do meaningful work in the education space.
Equal opportunities
QS Quacquarelli Symonds is proud to be a fair and equal organisation where everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their full potential, irrespective of their background or personal attributes. We celebrate our diversity and believe through sharing our experiences we can learn from one another, be stronger together, and enable our business to thrive.
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