Principal Data Scientist

Job summary

Can you lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver high‑quality data science projects that drive organisational outcomes?

Have you implemented data science or AI solutions to produce robust analysis that informs policy development?

Are you skilled in applying research and technical insight to shape strategic decisions and improve services?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Active Travel England is dedicated to enabling people across the country to walk, wheel and cycle safely by improving the design and accessibility of streets and places. Our Data Science team supports this mission by delivering high‑quality analytical projects, generating insight that strengthens policy development and enhances national capability. We work collaboratively across disciplines to raise standards, inform decision‑making and ensure active travel becomes a core part of people’s everyday journeys.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at ATE:

Active Travel England roles: Active Travel England - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

In this role you will be the lead data scientist for Active Travel England, guiding a multidisciplinary team to design and deliver advanced data science products that combine geospatial analysis, statistics and machine learning. You will gather organisational requirements, shape long‑term data science roadmap and ensure all outputs provide a robust and impactful insights. Working closely with digital, data and analytical colleagues, you will create new datasets, deliver insights and develop models that support ATE’s operations and strategic goals.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

1. Provide technical leadership, direction, and mentorship for the data science team, cultivating a culture of technical excellence, curiosity, and impactful delivery. This includes formal line management responsibilities of one data scientist.
2. Translate the organisation's strategic goals into a tangible data science work programme, defining project roadmaps, shaping technical requirements, and ensuring delivery aligns with the analytical strategy set by the Head of Analysis.
3. Lead the end-to-end design, development, and deployment of high-impact data science products, using geospatial data, machine learning, and advanced statistical methods to generate new insights into active travel behaviours and outcomes.
4. Design and develop novel statistical models and analytical methodologies that leverage active trave sensors to produce robust estimates of cycling and walking uptake from ATE investments, directly measuring the impact of our interventions.
5. Act as the lead technical expert on innovative methods, proactively researching and implementing cutting-edge techniques in areas like mobile phone data analysis or computer vision to measure the impact of active travel interventions.
6. Champion the use of data science across Active Travel England, effectively communicating complex analytical findings and the value of your team's work to a diverse range of stakeholders, including policy experts, economists, and senior leadership.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

1. Experience leading multidisciplinary project teams to establish requirements and deliver data science products that meet the needs of the organisation or business priorities e.g. development of technical roadmaps.
2. A track record of owning the delivery of business impact, by proactively identifying analytical opportunities and ensuring data science products are strategically valuable, widely adopted, and provide a robust evidence base for policy.
3. Expert-level knowledge of statistical, analytical, and machine learning techniques in Python and SQL, with demonstrable experience guiding teams to select the most robust and innovative methods to solve complex analytical challenges.
4. Proven experience driving the adoption of modern software development practices, including version control (e.g., GitHub), continuous integration, and designing systems for reproducibility and scalability using Google BigQuery or R for reproducible analytical pipelines.
5. Experience applying data science to transport, with an understanding of how to strategically work around data limitations to generate valuable insights.

The role is part of the Government Digital and Data (or Government Security Profession Career Framework) profession and utilises an enhanced Capability–Based Pay Framework which provides access to a Digital and Data allowance.

The base pay is £57,515. In addition to this the role includes a Digital and Data allowance of up to £24,915.

The value of allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated through the selection process. Here are more details on the pay framework.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Applied maths, statistics and scientific practices (Expert)
• Programming and Build (Expert)
• Delivering Business Impact (Practitioner)
• Data Engineering (Expert)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,515, Active Travel England contributes £16,662 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).

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1:Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1:Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement 1250-word count. Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:

1. Experience leading multidisciplinary project teams to establish requirements and deliver data science products that meet the needs of the organisation or business priorities e.g. development of technical roadmaps.
2. A track record of owning the delivery of business impact, by proactively identifying analytical opportunities and ensuring data science products are strategically valuable, widely adopted, and provide a robust evidence base for policy.
3. Expert-level knowledge of statistical, analytical, and machine learning techniques in Python and SQL, with demonstrable experience guiding teams to select the most robust and innovative methods to solve complex analytical challenges.
4. Proven experience driving the adoption of modern software development practices, including version control (e.g., GitHub), continuous integration, and designing systems for reproducibility and scalability using Google BigQuery or R for reproducible analytical pipelines.
5. Experience applying data science to transport, with an understanding of how to strategically work around data limitations to generate valuable insights.

The sift will take place from 20/07/2026

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – (Leadership, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture)
• Technical – (Applied maths, statistics and scientific practices, Programming and Build, Delivering Business Impact, Data Engineering)

The interviews will take place week commencing 03/08/2026

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Current Civil Servants (all contract types) will need to ensure that they are still employed as a civil servant at the point of starting in the relevant new post. If their contract ends (e.g. end of FTA contract or resignation) at any point during the recruitment/onboarding process for the advertised role, they will no longer be eligible and may be withdrawn.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All external applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour
• Threats or acts of violence
• Illegal activity or substance misuse
• Sexually explicit material
• Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle - it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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

Security

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

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

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).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.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Chris Stewart
• Email : chris.stewart@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DFTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

Attachments

Role Profile (7) Opens in new window (pdf, 220kB)