Staff Data Scientist, Associate Director (Manchester)

Fitch Group is seeking a Staff Data Scientist, Associate Director based out of our Manchester office. Fitch Group delivers vital credit and risk insights, robust data, and dynamic tools to champion more efficient, transparent financial markets. With over 100 years of experience and colleagues in over 30 countries, Fitch Group’s culture emphasizes credibility, independence, and transparency, and includes Fitch Ratings and Fitch Solutions. Fitch is owned by Hearst and has dual headquarters in London and New York.

The AI Implementation Team is dedicated to building and supporting Generative AI, Machine Learning (ML), and Data Science solutions across the Fitch Ratings and Solutions organizations. Our objectives include developing and implementing enterprise-level AI and ML technology, tools, and capabilities in collaboration with business partners and product squads, as well as providing guidance for efficient and secure use of AI.

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• Drive Business Value through AI/ML Solutions: Collaborate with business partners and cross-functional teams to identify high-impact use cases for AI, LLMs, and traditional ML. Design and deliver models that solve evolving business problems and improve internal workflows.
  
• Deliver Data Science Insights: Conduct robust statistical analyses and exploratory modeling. Define and build well-structured, AI-ready datasets that support analytics at scale.
  
• Bridge Business & Technical Priorities: Act as a connector across teams—translating strategic needs into technical solutions, partnering with product, engineering, and business teams to iterate quickly and deliver results.
  
• Own the End-to-End Model Lifecycle: Develop, fine-tune, evaluate, and deploy models in production environments. Monitor performance, gather feedback, and adapt solutions to changing requirements.
  
• Promote Reusability & Sound Engineering: Build and maintain production-quality code with strong documentation and testing practices. Emphasize modularity, maintainability, and object-oriented programming for scalable ML solutions.
  
• Communicate Effectively: Translate data science and ML concepts for technical and non-technical stakeholders, focusing on applicability to Fitch use cases.
  

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• 6+ years of professional experience in data science or ML-focused roles
  
• Expertise in traditional ML (regression, classification, time series) and modern deep learning ML, LLMs, including fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and evaluation
  
• Hands-on experience across the full ML lifecycle, from exploratory analysis to deployment and monitoring
  
• Experience building and integrating AI solutions into existing workflows, leveraging and/or fine-tuning LLMs. (agentic workflows strongly preferred)
  
• Familiarity with containerization tools like Docker, Kubernetes, AWS EKS, etc.
  
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure & services (AWS and Azure) e.g., AWS Bedrock, SageMaker, S3; Azure AI services, OpenAI, etc.
  
• An adaptable mindset and strong problem-solving focus with a bias toward practical, business-first AI implementation
  
• Bachelor’s degree (master’s or PhD strongly preferred) in a quantitative or technical field
  

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• Strong software engineering skills, OOP, version control, and testing
  
• Exceptional communication skills to translate complex concepts to varied audiences
  
• Experience supporting prototyping teams to enable transition from prototype to deployment
  
• Experience mentoring data scientists and fostering collaboration
  
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work proactively in a distributed team
  
• Experience collaborating with non-AI/ML teams to integrate AI into broader workflows
  
• Familiarity with credit ratings agencies, regulations, and data products
  

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• Hybrid Work Environment: 2 to 3 days a week in office, based on line of business and location
  
• Culture of Learning & Mobility: Training, leadership development, and mentorship programs
  
• Investing in Your Future: Retirement planning and tuition reimbursement
  
• Promoting Health & Wellbeing: Comprehensive healthcare offerings
  
• Supportive Parenting Policies: Family-friendly policies and parental leave
  
• Inclusive Work Environment: Collaborative workplace with Employee Resource Groups
  
• Giving Back: Paid volunteer days and matched donations
  

Fitch is committed to providing global securities markets with objective, timely, independent and forward-looking credit opinions. Employees must declare any potential conflicts of interest prior to employment, and may be asked to divest holdings if conflict arises. Fitch is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or other statuses protected by law.