Band 4 Data Science and AI Developer

Office for Nuclear Regulation

Bootle

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 4 weeks

Flexible

£38,215 - £44,656 per year

Job summary

ONR is not a Civil Service department, however, we are an arms length body of Department of Work and Pensions.

ONR is transforming how data and AI support its mission to protect society by securing safe nuclear operations. The Data Science and AI Developer will work with business users to develop and assure analytics, data science and AI solutions that deliver business priorities and support strategic and operational decision making.

About The Role

The Data Scientist and AI Developer will:

Grow the data science and AI capability across the organisation.
Identify opportunities to apply data and AI to deliver innovative solutions to business needs with colleagues, partners and the wider sector.
Apply financial, ethical and data protection considerations to the collection and use of data in decision making.
Coach and educate teams across the business to build trust in advanced analytics and strengthen AI competency and data literacy.
Apply current and emerging technologies to business challenges.

Principal Responsibilities

Explain the value of AI and data science to different audiences and work with colleagues to define the problems to be solved.
Develop, test, deploy and maintain AI and analytical outputs in line with governance, assurance and quality frameworks, ensuring evidence is available to support scrutiny and challenge.
Bring together data from multiple sources to build models, test ideas and generate insight.
Maintain documentation, including risk assessments, approval records, monitoring evidence and model retirement decisions.
Provide clear, defensible explanations of analytical methods and AI outputs for technical, operational and executive audiences.
Develop, deploy and manage models, algorithms and AI solutions.
Ensure data and AI products meet organisational requirements for information management, data protection, security and quality.
Keep up to date with developments in data science, analytics and AI.

Job description

Line Management Responsibilities

None currently, however, at this level there could be an expectation to manage staff in the future.

Location / Travel

This post will be undertaken from a base at Bootle.

ONR operates hybrid working (working in the office and or at home) as part of our flexible working policy. There is an expectation that everyone will spend time in the office on a regular basis, recognising that some work is better done face to face. Managers will work with their teams on what works best to meet individual, team, business and organisational needs to enable collaboration, as well as balancing personal choice and wellbeing.

Work with Us

Our colleagues are from all walks of life with varied personal experiences and career journeys into ONR. We want the best people for our roles. As an inclusive employer we value individuals’ contributions, regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social background, religion, or belief. Our values ‘supportive, open-minded, fair and accountable’ are central to this. We invest in our people to build capability, resilience, and promote wellbeing in our great teams, underpinned by our inherent focus on inclusion and excellence.

Security Clearance

Person specification

Inclusion

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We will consider reasonable adjustments to ensure the recruitment process is inclusive and barrier-free. If you require reasonable adjustments as part of your application, please contact ONR HR as soon as possible, preferably before the vacancy closes, by emailing ONR.Human-Resources@onr.gov.uk orStephanie.Glen@onr.gov.ukto discuss further.

We will also offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the guaranteed interview scheme.

We recognise we have a role to play in helping those leaving the Armed Forces and have a Veterans guaranteed interview scheme. We offer an interview to Veterans who meet the minimum criteria for applicants who opt into the scheme. Please see eligibility criteria below.

served for at least one year in His Majesty's Armed Forces (as a Regular or Reserve).

be in transition from, or ceased to be a member of, His Majesty’s Armed Forces.
not already be employed by ONR.

Skills/Job Related Expertise

Essential

Conducting data analysis using Python, R or equivalent tools to generate insight and support decisions.
Developing and delivering modern AI approaches (e.g. LLMs, generative AI and retrieval augmented generation (RAG).
Experience working with cloud platforms to deploy and operationalise models (CI/CD, monitoring, drift, incident response).
Demonstrable ethical mindset and ability to identify/raise data ethics concerns.
Experience applying governance and cyber security principles to data science, AI and cloud-based solutions.
Working collaboratively and applying innovative approaches to problem solving.

Desirable

Experience designing solutions with user needs and service context in mind.
Familiarity with Microsoft development tools e.g., Fabric/Azure ML, and DevOps.
Understanding of risk-informed decision making.
Experience of producing clear, auditable technical documentation.
Experience within government, nuclear, defence, energy or other regulated sectors.

Qualifications

A Batchelor’s degree in data science, computer science, engineering or maths or a related numerate discipline.

A masters degree or equivalent practical experience is advantageous.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,215, Office for Nuclear Regulation contributes £11,070 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

An annual leave allowance of 25 plus 8 days public holiday. There is also an entitlement to 1 privilege day. Your annual leave allowance will increase by 1 day each year up to a maximum of 30 days.

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A civil service pension

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Please submit your application through the recruitment portal on the ONR website directly by clicking onto the link above apply at advertisers site where you can also download full job description.

For more information about this vacancy please contact:

E: Tim.Stanley@onr.gov.uk

How to apply

Please submit your application through the recruitment portal.

The closing date for receipt of applications is Sunday 6th December at 23:45.

Please note that should we receive a sufficient volume of applications meeting the required standard, this role may be closed before the advertised closing date.

Interviews will take place W/C 14th December 2026.

Your application should include:

CV to include a full record of your education and professional qualifications and a full employment history.
A suitability statement (maximum of 800 words) highlighting how you meet the ‘essential skills and experience” required for the role, which will be used at shortlisting in conjunction with your CV.
Where applicable highlight if you have any experience under ‘desirable skills and experience’ within the application form.

Throughout our shortlisting process, we will make decisions about your capability to do the job, based on evidence you provide against the essential criteria (and the desirable if applicable).

Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Important guidance when providing CV’s – please upload text-based CVs with no graphics or pictures to ensure the anonymisation function works correctly.

Please note - if whilst completing your application, you use special characters such as (‘; “- _ *) within your examples, Hireserve will convert these characters into symbols. We are currently unable to change this.

Whilst these examples will appear on your application, this will not prevent it from being reviewed at the shortlisting stage.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Name : Tim Stanley
Email : Tim.Stanley@onr.gov.uk

Salary range

£38,215 - £44,656 per year