Forge your success as Principal Data Scientist at Forge Holiday Group! Salary: £70,000 to £80,000 per annum Work Days & Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, 37.5 hours per week Working Policy: Flexible hybrid-working policy, with a minimum of two days a week from our Chester head office Team: Data and Analytics Reports to: Data Science Manager About Us The Forge Holiday Group encompasses Sykes Holiday Cottages, Forest Holidays, UKcaravans4hire and Bachcare in New Zealand. We unite under four core company values that serve as the foundation of everything we do: Being One Team, Owning It, Communicating Honestly. Learning, Growing, and Innovating. These values ensure we remain true to our original ethos and ensure we stay true to our Customers, Owners and Colleagues alike. About the Principal Data Scientist Role: As a Principal Data Scientist, you will be a strategic and technical leader for data science, shaping the direction of our most complex, high-impact initiatives. You will provide thought leadership, mentor team members, and work cross-functionally to influence both technical and business strategy. You will lead the development and deployment of advanced machine learning and AI solutions, ensuring they are scalable, robust, and aligned with business priorities. This role is suited to a deeply experienced, commercially-minded individual who combines strong technical expertise with excellent communication and leadership skills. Your Responsibilities: Own and lead the design, development and delivery of our most critical and complex data science initiatives, with clear business impact and measurable outcomes Demonstrate system-level thinking, considering architectural choices, data dependencies and integration across the wider data platform Develop and maintain production-grade ML systems including retraining strategies, model lifecycle management, monitoring and alerting Act as a trusted technical authority, reviewing and challenging project design, methodology, and outputs Drive adoption of CI/CD practices, unit testing, and monitoring frameworks in data science workflows Lead cross-functional collaboration with engineering, product and analytics to shape and deliver strategic initiatives Translate business strategy into data science initiatives, proactively identifying opportunities and influencing stakeholders Shape the roadmap for tooling, technologies and approaches that support scalable, sustainable data science delivery Mentor and develop less experienced data scientists, fostering technical and professional growth Champion ethical AI, explainability and model governance throughout the lifecycle of our solutions Contribute to a culture of continuous learning, experimentation and data-informed decision making Skills and Qualifications: We are looking for those who can share in our company goals, values and ethos, who can grow alongside us and whose skills can aid our ongoing success! By Being One Team, Owning it, Communicating Honestly and showcasing a devotion to Learning, Growing and Innovating, we remain true to our original ethos and ensure we stay true to our Customers, Owners and Colleagues alike. Essential Experience: Extensive experience designing, developing and deploying machine learning and AI solutions in production environments Statistical modelling, machine learning (e.g. logistic regression, random forest, XGBoost,, and modern deep learning techniques (e.g. transformers, transfer learning, reinforcement learning) Proven ability to lead technical direction across projects or domains Expertise in model validation, explainability, governance and ethical AI principles Advanced proficiency in Python (e.g. Scikit-learn, TensorFlow/PyTorch) and SQL, plus familiarity with ML engineering and MLOps practices Nice to have: Experience in setting or influencing data science strategy in a growing organisation Familiarity with AWS SageMaker and modern cloud-based ML workflows History of publications, open source contributions, or community involvement in the data science field MSc or PhD in a quantitative field (e.g. statistics, computer science, mathematics). Forge Holiday Groups Company Benefits Annual STIP Company-wide Bonus Scheme offering up to an additional 10% of your salary through our performance-based bonus program 33 days of annual leave including bank holidays, plus up to 5 extra days with long service A day off to celebrate your Birthday Two paid Volunteering Days off annually One of only 1000 BCORP-certified companies in the UK Enhanced Parental leave (24 weeks maternity, 3 weeks paternity at 100% pay) Exclusive discounts on stays for you, family and friends Discounts and offers with a focus on your overall wellbeing Health Cash Plan starting April 2025 Training & Development programs to set you up for success 24/7 mental health support and initiatives Access to the gym at our Chester HQ Chester HQ has on-site parking and is close to Chester train station Employee Savings Scheme transferring directly from your salary Long Service Awards Hybrid working for selected roles. Diversity and Inclusion: We encourage and welcome our people to bring their authentic and best selves to work every day. We know the power that comes from different ideas, backgrounds and perspectives. We recognise the role diversity plays in achieving our goals as a business. We actively welcome applications from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible. If you need any particular support or accommodations as part of your application process, please get in touch - our recruitment team are happy to help. Apply now to be a part of our inclusive and supportive work environment, where you'll find excellent opportunities for career progression and personal development!