Data Scientist

Job details

Salary: £37,280 to £41,771 pa

Employer: Somerset Council

Location: Taunton, Somerset,

Contract type: Fixed term

Working pattern: Full time

Closing date: 31 March 2026 11:59 pm

About the job

Key information

Fixed term position for 2 years.
Hybrid working – County Hall, Taunton
30 days annual leave, plus Bank Holidays.
Secondments considered for internal applicants, please discuss with your Line Manager before applying.

Are you passionate about Data Science?

What will I be doing?

Do you want to see your work make a real-world difference in people’s lives?

Somerset Council is looking for a driven Data Scientist to join our team. If you have experience in transforming data into actionable insights, then we want to hear from you! We are looking for a keen data scientist, particularly knowledgeable in the areas of supervised learning algorithms and risk models, but we do offer training and guidance to help you grow and be the best you can be. So, if you have passion and a drive for solving problems, please apply!

We cannot offer sponsorship for this role. You must already have the right to work in the UK without needing visa sponsorship.

We’re working to improve the lives of people in Somerset – and you’ll be a key part of that. Your day-to-day work will involve:

Designing and deploying innovative Data Science solutions Through the use of machine learning, you will be taking data and transforming it into actionable insights, with these models playing a role in helping our organisation thrive. It will be varied and exciting, ranging from supervised learning to unsupervised learning, and even reinforcement learning as well.
Working with teams to design solutions Be able to work with departments within Somerset Council, do deep dives to understand their data and their ways of working, with the goal to design data science solutions that benefit them.
Building scalable and secure Data Science infrastructure Work as a team to develop and manage infrastructure for model development and deployment, such as experiment tracking and continuous model monitoring. Be keen to develop on and use tools such as fabric notebooks and ML Studio.
Ensuring ethical and responsible practises Lead on fairness assessments, transparency-by-design, and developing ethical guardrails, all of which underpin everything we do.
Monitoring and evaluating model performance We need to continuously monitor, retest, and retrain models in order to ensure their continued effectiveness, and measure real world impact of projects.
Contributing to the continuous improvement of AI practices and tools Collaborate with data teams to enhance pipelines, tooling, and infrastructure that supports Data Science workloads.
Staying current with industry trends and emerging technologies Maintain awareness of best practices and innovations in Data Science, and exploring the latest technologies together with the team.

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. This post is ideal for candidates who are keen to grow their skills in Data Science. You do not need prior experience in every single area of data science, what matters most is a solid foundation in core data science methodology, experience with Python or similar programming languages, and a strong appetite to learn and develop in this fast-moving field.

It will really help if you:

Are able to use Data Science to solve real world problems. Expertise in supervised learning and risk modeling is advantageous.
Have hands-on experience with Python (or similar languages) for building and integrating data solutions.
Are enthusiastic about making a real and positive difference to people’s lives.
Are comfortable working in cloud environments and collaborating across teams.
Have experience in taking a Data Science project through the whole lifecycle, from data cleaning to productionisation.
Knowledge of good documentation practises for your work, and ability to explain Data Science concepts to non-experts.
Have relevant experience as a Data Scientist or hold a degree or qualification in Computer Science, Mathematics, Data Science, Engineering or a related field.

What is in it for me?

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
Staff discounts in gyms.
Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

DBS check

This role requires a criminal background (DBS) check via the Disclosure procedure.

Supporting documents and information

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Josh Pimm, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, josh.pimm@somerset.gov.uk

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

If you are internal and applying as a secondment opportunity, please discuss with your line manager before applying.

Due to the importance of the role, we recommend applying as soon as possible. Depending on the level of response, we anticipate conducting interviews ahead the closing date.

The salary for this role is £37,280 – £41,771 per annum.