Senior Data Scientist Roles at the Geographic Data Service

If you thrive on turning vast, messy datasets into insights that shape policy and improve lives, you’ll feel right at home in the brand-new Geographic Data Service (GeoDS)—the UK’s national hub for location-rich smart-data research.

Why GeoDS?

Funded by UK Research & Innovation as part of the £22 million Smart Data Research UK (SDR UK) programme, GeoDS links four universities—Liverpool (your base), UCL, Oxford and Edinburgh—with government, industry and the third sector. Our mission: fuse everyday “smart” data with official stats to uncover the roots of regional inequality and guide decisions that build fairer, more prosperous places.

The Opportunity

We are hiring two Senior Data Scientists who can:

Engineer end-to-end workflows in Python or R that wrangle terabytes of geospatial data—and increasingly, large-language-model outputs—into usable research assets.
Prototype and deploy tools that academics and partners can use.
Lead projects balancing reproducible science and production-grade reliability.
Translate tech to impact packaging findings for a wider range of partners who can benefit from location-aware insight.
Mentor and coordinate, guiding colleagues and students while keeping an eye on service uptime, data governance and user support.

What You’ll Bring

A PhD (or equivalent industry experience) in Computer Science, Geographic Information Science, or a similarly code-heavy field.
Proven fluency in Python or R; solid command of spatial analysis; confidence in Linux.
Curiosity about social-science questions—whether that’s mapping digital inequality, spotting commuting inequities, or quantifying retail resilience.
The communication skills to explain technical concepts clearly.

The Practical Bits

Contract: Fixed-term to 31 March 2029.
Salary: £46,735–£59,139 (Grade 8) plus University of Liverpool benefits.
Deadline: 23:30 (BST) on 27 May 2025.