Data Scientist - OVO Smart Home

Location: London/Bristol

We launched in 2009 with a mission to change energy for the better. Since then, we’ve welcomed over a million members, planted a million trees, and set our sights on helping save the planet.

As a Group, we’re working to become a net zero carbon business by 2030, while helping our OVO Energy members halve their carbon footprints at the same time. 

Green energy and technology are great tools to fight the climate crisis with. But it’s people power that will rewrite history.  

So we’re building a zero carbon team inside and out. Of people who share our values, feel inspired by our mission, and want to make change happen. When you work for OVO, it’s not just a job. It’s the work of a lifetime. And we want the sharpest minds to help. 

Up for the challenge?

Where in the world of OVO will I be working? 

As a Data Scientist at OVO Energy you’ll play a key role in achieving our vision of creating clean, affordable energy for everyone - specifically in the area of OVO Smart Home.

The energy industry has changed a lot in recent years, and we don’t expect that to stop any time soon. OVO Energy is changing too - we’re more than just an energy supplier, we’re leading the way in showing our customers the energy world of tomorrow. By creating innovative technology we’re helping customers manage their energy better, decrease their bills and drive their electric vehicles further - all whilst improving our planet for generations to come.

Data is the foundation of everything we do at OVO, and to deliver our vision we need curious, tenacious people who can turn this data, and their knowledge, into strategy and actions. 

The opportunities are broad: working with one of our product teams to develop a new proposition; segmenting our customers to create a better personalised experience; or deriving innovative insights from smart meter data. Wherever you can, you'll help OVO reduce cost to serve by increasing operational efficiency through automation and good data management. These projects may vary in length and content, and will often involve spending time embedded in another team, working alongside a product manager and engineers. You’ll use your data science skills to build scalable solutions to problems and create new opportunities for the future.

What will I be doing?

• Taking an active role in demonstrating the value data science can add to teams across OVO Energy.
• Working with stakeholders to understand their data science needs and delivering projects (or offering guidance) to drive their strategy.
• Owning the delivery of projects from start to finish, determining the right level of time to spend (applying 80/20 principle appropriately) and evaluating value post delivery.
• Using your knowledge of statistics, operations research and machine learning/AI to quickly assess different models and select the most appropriate approach. Using these same skills, rigorously assess the validity of any results and ensure any conclusions are accurate and provable.
• Utilise standard data science tools and programming languages (SQL, Python, Github) to both carry out analysis and build robust models which operate and improve in (near) real time. Through a good understanding of engineering principles, design, productionise and test these models. 
• Working with developers to put your analysis and models into production
• Communicating and presenting complex data to audiences of all technical levels. Using appropriate data visualisations to tell a story with data.
• Promote ethical best practices in the way all data is used and processed, always ensuring compliance and security is placed first.

Examples of the kinds of projects you could be working on:

• Optimising our strategy to offer customers the right products at the right time
• Design optimal pricing models and propositions for the products we offer our customers
• Providing customers with insights that enable them to manage their own energy usage
• Identifying drivers of customer dissatisfaction and churn to ensure customers have a great experience and want to stay with OVO.
• Understanding the factors that lead to high customer value, and developing strategies to improve it

Is this the job for me? 

Essential skills and experience:

• Experience of product analytics/data science experience, ideally in related industries, otherwise on a range of problems including time series modelling, and always translated to true commercial impact
• Working knowledge of analytics and data science domains, including statistics, machine learning and predictive modeling, experimental design, and optimisation
• Proven ability to initiate and drive commercial projects to completion with minimal guidance.
• Experience working with engineers to build scalable algorithms.
• Degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics, Physics, Statistics, or other technical fields.
• Fluency in SQL, Python and Github.
• Able to adequately document your work so others can pick it up and evolve on it to their needs.
• Ability to present and communicate data driven results clearly, concisely and effectively.

Ideally you will have…

• Experience in cloud data services, Google Cloud Platform, AWS, Azure etc
• Experience in at least one advanced ML technique ( i.e. Deep learning, CNN, Reinforcement  Learning )
• Experience using one of the following Python libraries ( Tensorflow, Keras, Pytorch )
• Experience building data pipelines using Airflow.
• Understanding of a Kafka centric architecture, Kubernetes and Docker. 
• Experience working in a team that delivers analytical models in a production setting

From us you’ll get* 

• An annual discretionary bonus
• 4% of your salary to spend on flexible lifestyle benefits
• 5% matched employer contribution to your pension
• 25 days holiday + 1 for your birthday
• And many more... 

(*) Please note that certain benefits kick-in once you have passed probation which can be up to 6 months after your start date.

We want the best people 

At OVO, we empower our people to have choice around where and when they work - flexible working arrangements can be discussed for all of our roles. Please speak to the Talent Acquisition team for more info.

We’re keen to meet people with varied backgrounds - our view is the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We want to build teams which represent a variety of experiences, perspectives and skills, and we recognise talent on the basis of merit and potential.

We understand some people may not apply for jobs unless they tick every box. If you're excited about joining us and think you have much of what we're looking for, even if you're not 100% sure… we'd love to hear from you.

Learn more about working in the OVO family of companies on our careers page and Glassdoor. We’re also delighted to have received a Top Employers certificate in 2018, 2019 and 2020!