Head of Data & AI

About the ClientOur client is building an AI-first operating system for a critical, real-world industry, connecting multiple stakeholders into a single intelligent platform.The business is already operating at scale, with thousands of active users and live enterprise deployments across multiple markets, integrating transactional, operational, and inventory data into one ecosystem.They are now entering the next phase of growth:👉 Evolving from predictive analytics into agentic AI systems that can autonomously make and execute decisions.The OpportunityThis is a senior, hands-on AI leadership role with a clear mandate:Improve core machine learning systemsBuild intelligent, decision-making AIDrive measurable operational efficiency across the businessWhat You’ll Be Responsible ForOwning and evolving the forecasting and optimisation engineImproving machine learning model accuracy across demand and inventory use casesDesigning and deploying agentic AI systems that:Reduce manual intervention and inefficienciesSolving complex challenges such as low-frequency / sparse data forecastingBuilding and scaling production-grade ML systems and pipelinesWorking with large, multi-source datasets across operational systemsDriving AI adoption across multiple business functionsLeading a lean, high-impact data science team, while staying hands-onExperience required:7–12+ years in Data Science / Machine Learning (strong hands-on expertise)Proven experience building and improving forecasting modelsStrong experience with statistical and ML approaches (e.g., regression, tree-based models)Ability to choose and apply the right model to complex, real-world problemsExperience deploying ML systems into production environmentsStrong coding skills (Python, ML frameworks, data pipelines)Experience leading teams while remaining deeply hands-on🚫 Not suited for:Purely strategic or consulting profilesCandidates without strong ML fundamentalsNice to HaveExperience with agentic AI systems or decision automationExposure to optimisation, reinforcement learning, or advanced ML approachesBackground in operations-heavy environments (e.g., logistics, marketplaces, etc.)Why This RoleBuild AI systems that directly impact real-world operationsWork with large-scale, high-quality datasetsOwn and shape the AI direction of a scaling businessHigh visibility, high ownership, and direct access to leadershipOpportunity to solve complex, non-trivial ML challenges