Data Scientist

Join our team at the Guardian and be a part of a diverse and inclusive global organisation that delivers fearless, investigative journalism, and holds power to account. Our team of award-winning journalists, cutting-edge commercial professionals, and industry-leading digital experts are committed to making a difference and represent a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. We offer a challenging and exciting environment for career development, with a focus on training, growth and fostering an inclusive culture.

We are now looking for a Data Scientist to join our Data Science team! You'll take on end-to-end problems and turn ambiguous questions into analysis, models, and recommendations that teams can act on.

We keep things practical and focus on what works. Our data primarily lives in Google BigQuery, and we also work with off-platform data sources such as social media. We use a mix of Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform for infrastructure, and Apache Airflow powers our pipelines and orchestration. We mostly use Python and SQL, though we pick up other languages and other tools as the work demands.

About the role

• Own data science projects from problem definition to delivery, independently delivering impactful projects across the editorial, marketing, advertising, product and engineering departments. 
• Understand what makes stories reach and engage audiences, support content discovery and tagging systems, analyse how editorial decisions influence performance and help journalists find leads and insights in large datasets
• Model reader conversion, churn, and engagement with products, segmenting audiences to support growth and supporting marketing campaign and product optimisation
• Optimise advertising campaigns, enrich content metadata for advertising purposes and help teams make better decisions with imperfect data
• Deploy data solutions in close collaboration with the engineering team, embedding models into existing tools and workflows
• Work on improvements at every step of the Machine Learning lifecycle

About you

• Strong experience in Python and SQL, experience working with data in BigQuery would also be beneficial.
• Excellent command of statistics and machine learning (NLP experience a bonus)
• Proven track record delivering end-to-end analysis or modelling projects
• Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and incomplete information

We actively encourage applications from groups traditionally underrepresented in the UK media

We operate in a hybrid environment working 3 days a week from our offices in Kings Cross and 2 days a week remotely. 

We value and respect all differences (seen and unseen) in all people. We aspire to have inclusive working experiences and an environment that reflects the audience we serve, where our people have equal access to career development opportunities, their voices are heard and can contribute to our future. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Many of our staff work flexibly and we will consider all requests for flexible working arrangements.

How to apply

To apply, please upload your latest CV and a cover letter which outlines why you’d love to take on this role, and why you’re a great match for what we’re looking for. 

We appreciate the time taken to prepare each application we receive. We do not use AI-assisted technology to review applications; every application is reviewed by a member of our recruitment team. 

The closing date for applications is Friday 29th May 2026.

All roles at the Guardian are open for everybody to apply. It is important to us that you feel supported and comfortable throughout your recruitment process, in order to perform your best. Please let us know if there are any changes we could make to help your application, this includes providing documents in accessible formats or personalising the process to better support your needs. Please contact Anna Vipers  on anna.vipers@guardian.co.uk to discuss further so we can work with you to support you through your application.

Benefits at the Guardian

You'll have 30 days of annual leave per year (plus bank holidays) with the option to purchase an additional 5 days. Our pension scheme is generous; if you contribute 5% then we will contribute 8-12% (depending on your age). We believe in giving back, which is why employees are given 2 volunteering days annually and the option of payroll giving. Season ticket loans are also available.

You are entitled to private healthcare, life cover, income protection, and eye tests. You can also opt in to dental insurance.

We have enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave policies in place. We also support our employees by offering an IVF, menopause, baby loss, and trans equality policy.

Culture and wellbeing

We want everyone to feel like they belong at the Guardian and we champion diversity of thought. Our various employee forums provide a platform to use their voice to foster an inclusive workplace. We became the first major media organisation to achieve B Corp status.

We offer tools to help you prioritise your wellbeing including access to our employee benefits platform which provides tailored support for health and wellbeing. In addition, we also offer free yoga and pilates classes. These run alongside our corporate gym membership and cycle to work scheme.

Our canteen has views overlooking the Regents Canal and caters for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Learning and development

We encourage personal and professional growth. Employees have access to a broad range of tools and solutions, and we are happy to support the pursuit of professional qualifications through vocational courses and apprenticeships.