Data science is a broad and fast-moving field spanning maths, statistics, software engineering and communications. Data scientists will often work as part of a multidisciplinary team, using data and analytics to inform and achieve organisational goals.
In this role, you will:
- be inquisitive
- explore and visualise data
- make recommendations to address complex problems and to inform strategic and operational decision making
- use data ethically and appropriately
- be innovative and adaptable
- explore existing and new data using a range of statistical tools and techniques, such as machine learning and predictive analytics
- find patterns in data and transform them into organisational insight
You will need the following skills for this role, although the level of expertise for each will vary, depending on the role level.
- Applied maths, statistics and scientific practices. You can apply analytical methods including exploratory data analysis, visualisation and statistical testing to reach accurate conclusions. You can use analytical approaches to interpret data confidently. You can summarise and describe data to support decision making.
- Data engineering and manipulation. You can select and use the most appropriate tools and techniques to manipulate and transform the data for data science products. You can collaborate with data engineers.
- Data science innovation. You can apply data science innovation in your approach to new questions, opportunities, data and techniques by using an inquisitive mind. You can improve methods and maximise insights. You can apply your data science innovation to produce creative solutions to data science problems.
- Delivering business impact. You can understand processes, data and strategic priorities. You can apply data science techniques to produce and present data science products. You can design solutions that meet user needs, allowing for design and ethics standards. You can work towards the successful delivery of products and establish maintenance requirements.
- Developing data science capability. You can work with data scientists and developers to share skills. You can ensure that your team can access the right technologies to create products. You can develop your data science skills. You can routinely engage with and update your continuous professional development (CPD).
- Ethics and privacy (data science). You can understand and comply with frameworks, standards and laws, including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act (DPA) and the Equalities Act. You can work with legal, policy and public colleagues, government departments and ministers to clearly communicate ethical issues and ideas. You can store and treat data appropriately.
- Programming and build (data science). You can use programming tools to undertake analysis and create scalable data products. You can identify and reuse common approaches and code. You can document and test code to ensure its quality. You can understand the organisation’s tech stack and get code into production by working with developers and architects.
- Understanding product delivery. You can use different product delivery methods (such as Agile) and phases to make decisions. You can work collaboratively with other professionals. You can use knowledge of product management to deploy data science products into the organisation. You can show data science is used effectively to support products and services.