Lead - Data Scientist
First seen by Alion on Aug 31, 2026.
Job Description:
We are looking for an experienced Lead Data Scientist / Technical Lead to lead a pod of Data Scientists and drive the end-to-end development and deployment of accelerator-led Data Science and AI solutions for enterprise clients.
This is a deeply technical role involving hands-on Data Science, technical leadership, people mentoring, project delivery and client management.
The candidate will own solutions from problem definition through solution deployment and ensure high-quality, scalable and business-oriented outcomes.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead a team/pod of Data Scientists and provide strong technical direction and guidance.
- Own end-to-end solution development from problem definition, data preparation and model development to validation, optimization and deployment.
- Translate complex business problems into effective Data Science and AI solutions.
- Work with structured and unstructured data, including text, images and other enterprise datasets.
- Design, develop and optimize Machine Learning and Deep Learning models for real-world business use cases.
- Apply expertise in LLMs and Generative AI to develop innovative enterprise solutions.
- Ensure algorithm and model quality through appropriate evaluation metrics, experimentation and continuous optimization.
- Demonstrate strong hands-on programming capabilities in Python and sound knowledge of Data Structures and Algorithms.
- Review technical solutions, code and modelling approaches and ensure adherence to best practices.
- Mentor and guide junior Data Scientists, support their technical development and encourage knowledge sharing.
- Work directly with clients to understand requirements, define solutions and communicate technical approaches and outcomes.
- Collaborate with project managers, engineering teams and other stakeholders to ensure successful and timely delivery.
- Identify technical risks and drive appropriate solutions throughout the project lifecycle.
Required Skills:
- Strong hands-on expertise in Python.
- Strong understanding of Data Structures & Algorithms.
- Strong knowledge of Machine Learning and Deep Learning.
- Practical understanding of LLMs / Generative AI.
- Experience handling structured and unstructured data, including Text and Image data.
- Strong experience in data loading, validation, cleaning and preprocessing.
- Ability to develop, evaluate and optimize Data Science algorithms.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and client-facing skills.
- Proven experience mentoring and guiding Data Scientists.
Preferred Skills:
- At least 1 year of people management experience.
- Experience in Data Science consulting or client-facing project delivery.
- Experience in productionizing and deploying Data Science/AI solutions.
- Exposure to cloud, MLOps or modern AI engineering practices is an advantage.
Education & Experience:
- BE/B.Tech/MS/PhD in Computer Science or a related quantitative field.
- Around 8 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor's degree, with equivalent relevant experience for Master's/PhD candidates.
- Strong experience in Data Science, Predictive Analytics, Machine Learning and AI.
- At least 1 year of direct client delivery experience.
Ideal Candidate:
A hands-on Lead Data Scientist / Technical Lead who can combine strong technical expertise with team mentoring and client management, and independently drive AI/Data Science solutions from problem definition to deployment.
Skills
Data Science, Data Management, Data Scientist, Analytics, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Python