Data Scientist - sports analytics/betting
4 days ago
City of London
Data Scientist Salary: £55-70k plus attractive bonus on top Location: London or Leeds (hybrid working, if preferred) About us We have an exciting opportunity for a Data Scientist to join our rapidly growing Sports Forecasting & Analytics company. Purpose of the role As a Data Scientist within the Modelling & Data Engineering department, you will play a key role in the design, development, and implementation of predictive models that power our sports forecasting products. You will work collaboratively within a sport-specific team to develop robust, scalable models, contribute to the research and development of new modelling methodologies, and ensure our forecasts remain accurate, low-latency, and aligned with client demands. You will be expected to use your programming, analytical, and mathematical skills to extract insights from data, build high-performance modelling pipelines, and help improve modelling practices across the business. This role is ideal for someone with a strong foundation in data science who is looking to make a meaningful impact in a high-performance, fast-paced environment. Key responsibilities • Design, build, and maintain statistical or machine learning models to support sports forecasting and pricing across various markets., • Extract actionable insights from large-scale sports datasets using sound mathematical and statistical principles., • Translate modelling requirements and business objectives into effective data science solutions, working closely with the Delivery Manager and Engineering teammates (Software and Data Engineers) within your modelling team., • Perform data cleaning, exploratory data analysis (EDA), feature engineering, and model evaluation to support continuous model improvement., • Write clean, efficient, well-documented code aligned with team standards for structure, reproducibility, and version control., • Work collaboratively with other Data Scientists to propose ideas, troubleshoot modelling challenges, and refine methodologies., • Contribute to the delivery of accurate, reliable forecasts with low latency under evolving client or market demands., • Participate in code reviews and collaborative design sessions to uphold technical quality across the team., • Provide mentorship and support to Junior Data Scientists working on the same or related projects. Experience and knowledge 2+ years’ experience solving analytics and modelling problems, ideally in sport, gaming, or similar domains with forecasting needs. Skills and competencies Essential: • Experience working with Python or R in a production or research setting., • Strong experience using data wrangling tools (e.g. Pandas, NumPy, dplyr)., • Solid grasp of statistical modelling and machine learning, with hands-on use of libraries such as scikit-learn, xgboost, PyMC3, TensorFlow., • Experience working with SQL and relational databases., • Ability to explain model behaviour through visualisations and reports., • Familiarity with Git and collaborative development workflows., • Good written and verbal communication; able to contribute to cross-functional discussions., • Proven problem-solving and time management skills. Desirable: • Familiarity with cloud services (e.g. AWS S3, Athena, Lambda)., • Basic understanding of data engineering or ML pipelines., • Knowledge of distributed systems (e.g. Kafka)., • Interest in American sports or the betting industry., • Some exposure to .NET-based systems or application integration. Follow our company page, OTA Recruitment Limited, on LinkedIn to stay updated on current and upcoming job vacancies