Lead Data Scientist - Recommender Systems

NBCUniversal
Brentford
3 weeks ago
Applications closed

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Lead Data Scientist

Lead Data Scientist

Lead Data Scientist - Drug Discovery

Lead Data Scientist - Drug Discovery...

Lead Data Scientist

Lead Data Scientist

Company Description

NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our theme parks and consumer experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, USA Network, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Universal Studio Group, and have world-renowned theme parks and attractions through Universal Destinations & Experiences. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.


Our impact is rooted in improving the communities where our employees, customers, and audiences live and work. We have a rich tradition of giving back and ensuring our employees have the opportunity to serve their communities. We champion an inclusive culture and strive to attract and develop a talented workforce to create and deliver a wide range of content reflecting our world.


Comcast NBCUniversal has announced its intent to create a new publicly traded company ('Versant') comprised of most of NBCUniversal's cable television networks, including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel along with complementary digital assets Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. The well-capitalized company will have significant scale as a pure-play set of assets anchored by leading news, sports and entertainment content. The spin-off is expected to be completed during 2025.


Job Description

As part of the Peacock Data Science team, the Lead Data Scientist will be responsible for creating recommendation and personalisation solutions for one or more verticals of Peacock Video Streaming Service.


Collaborate with a global, cross-functional team of engineers, architects, product managers, and analysts to shape and advance Peacock’s personalisation models. You’ll drive the full lifecycle, from feature creation to model evaluation and deployment, while gaining the opportunity to innovate with cutting-edge machine learning foundation models and reinforcement learning techniques.


Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:



  • Work with a group of data scientists in the development of recommendation and personalisation models using statistical, machine learning and data mining methodologies.
  • Drive the collection and manipulation of new data and the refinement of existing data sources.
  • Translate complex problems and solutions to all levels of the organisation.
  • Collaborate with software and data architects in building real-time and automated batch implementations of data science solutions and integrating them into the streaming service architecture.
  • Drive innovation of the statistical and machine learning methodologies and tools used by the team.

Qualifications

  • Degree in Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Operations Research or another quantitative field or equivalent.
  • 5+ years of combined experience in machine learning in industry or research.
  • Experience with commercial recommender systems or a lead role in an advanced research recommender system project.
  • Working experience with deep learning and graph methodologies in machine learning. Strong experience with deep learning using TensorFlow.
  • Experience implementing scalable, distributed, and highly available systems using Google Could Platform.
  • Experience with Google AI Platform/Vertex AI, Kubeflow and Airflow.
  • Proficient in Python. Java or Scala is a plus.
  • Experience in data processing using SQL and PySpark.
  • Experience working with foundation models and other GenAI technologies.

Desired Characteristics

  • Experience in media analytics and application of data science to the content streaming and TV industry.
  • Good understanding of reinforcement learning algorithms.
  • Team oriented and collaborative approach with a demonstrated aptitude and willingness to learn new methods and tools.

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.


If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to .


#J-18808-Ljbffr

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Data Science Jobs for Career Switchers in Their 30s, 40s & 50s (UK Reality Check)

Thinking about switching into data science in your 30s, 40s or 50s? You’re far from alone. Across the UK, businesses are investing in data science talent to turn data into insight, support better decisions and unlock competitive advantage. But with all the hype about machine learning, Python, AI and data unicorns, it can be hard to separate real opportunities from noise. This article gives you a practical, UK-focused reality check on data science careers for mid-life career switchers — what roles really exist, what skills employers really hire for, how long retraining typically takes, what UK recruiters actually look for and how to craft a compelling career pivot story. Whether you come from finance, marketing, operations, research, project management or another field entirely, there are meaningful pathways into data science — and age itself is not the barrier many people fear.

How to Write a Data Science Job Ad That Attracts the Right People

Data science plays a critical role in how organisations across the UK make decisions, build products and gain competitive advantage. From forecasting and personalisation to risk modelling and experimentation, data scientists help translate data into insight and action. Yet many employers struggle to attract the right data science candidates. Job adverts often generate high volumes of applications, but few applicants have the mix of analytical skill, business understanding and communication ability the role actually requires. At the same time, experienced data scientists skip over adverts that feel vague, inflated or misaligned with real data science work. In most cases, the issue is not a lack of talent — it is the quality and clarity of the job advert. Data scientists are analytical, sceptical of hype and highly selective. A poorly written job ad signals unclear expectations and immature data practices. A well-written one signals credibility, focus and serious intent. This guide explains how to write a data science job ad that attracts the right people, improves applicant quality and positions your organisation as a strong data employer.

Maths for Data Science Jobs: The Only Topics You Actually Need (& How to Learn Them)

If you are applying for data science jobs in the UK, the maths can feel like a moving target. Job descriptions say “strong statistical knowledge” or “solid ML fundamentals” but they rarely tell you which topics you will actually use day to day. Here’s the truth: most UK data science roles do not require advanced pure maths. What they do require is confidence with a tight set of practical topics that come up repeatedly in modelling, experimentation, forecasting, evaluation, stakeholder comms & decision-making. This guide focuses on the only maths most data scientists keep using: Statistics for decision making (confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, power, uncertainty) Probability for real-world data (base rates, noise, sampling, Bayesian intuition) Linear algebra essentials (vectors, matrices, projections, PCA intuition) Calculus & gradients (enough to understand optimisation & backprop) Optimisation & model evaluation (loss functions, cross-validation, metrics, thresholds) You’ll also get a 6-week plan, portfolio projects & a resources section you can follow without getting pulled into unnecessary theory.