iwoca · London
Data & AIData ScienceRemoteFullTime
Hybrid in London, United Kingdom
We’re looking for a Junior Data Scientist
You'll design experiments and build the statistical models that shape how iwoca reaches new customers. You'll practise mastery of your craft, mentored by the team's data scientist, with iwoca's wider data science community around you.
The company
Small businesses move fast. Opportunities often don’t wait, and cash flow pressures can appear overnight. To keep going, and growing, SMEs need finance that’s as flexible and responsive as they are.
That's why we built iwoca. Our smart technology, data science and five-star customer service ensures business owners can act with the speed, confidence and control they need, exactly when it's needed.
We’ve already cleared the way for 100,000 businesses with more than £4 billion in funding. Our passionate team is driven to help even more SMEs succeed, through access to better finance and other services that make running a business easier. Our ultimate mission is to support one million SMEs in their defining moments, creating lasting impact for the communities and economies they drive.
The team
The Sales & Marketing team, also known as Direct Acquisition, owns how iwoca reaches UK small businesses – across paid and organic marketing channels and direct sales.
The team is autonomous and cross-functional, bringing together Marketing, Sales, Brand, and AcquiTech – iwoca's acquisition technology team, which includes software engineering, product, design, and data science. As a Data Scientist, you'll work with people across each function.
The role
As a Data Scientist in the Direct Acquisition team, you'll design experiments and build the statistical models that shape how iwoca reaches its next customers. Your findings feed directly into how we invest in sales and marketing.
You'll work alongside the team's data scientist, who mentors you closely as you take on more ownership.
Experimentation. You'll design and evaluate experiments so decisions on sales and marketing rest on evidence.
Modelling. You'll build models that solve the team's business problems, with input on approach and solution design.
Community and mastery. You'll join iwoca's wider data science community – analysts, data scientists, and statisticians – to align on methodology and develop your expertise across acquisition.
The requirements
Essential:
Statistical foundations. You have a background in probability and statistics from a quantitative field – typically a degree (or recent/final-year Master's) in Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or similar. You reason about uncertainty and calibration as first-order concerns.
Research mindset. You're curious about new methods and actively look for better ways to do things. You try them out, not just read about them.
Judgement. You critically evaluate model output – yours, a colleague's, or an LLM's – and can explain why a choice is right. You defend your reasoning under challenge, and challenge others' when the evidence points elsewhere.
Analytical ownership. You take workstreams from framing to a landed decision, with support on solution design where you need it. You like to move fast, iterate, and update on new evidence rather than chase perfection.
AI fluency. You use AI as a primary tool. You prototype with it, automate with it, and use judgement on where it helps and where it doesn't.
Communication. You write and speak clearly, directly, and concisely. You adapt technical detail for non-technical colleagues in sales and marketing.
Bonus:
Domain experience. You have worked on marketing, sales, or customer acquisition problems.
Causal inference and experimentation. You have designed or analysed experiments where distinguishing signal from noise mattered – A/B tests, quasi-experiments, or lift studies.
Marketing mix or attribution modelling. You have used or contributed to models that quantify channel impact or optimise spend.
Bayesian methods. You have used hierarchical models, MCMC, or Bayesian updating in real work.
Production ML. You have built and shipped supervised ML models end to end – exploration, training, deployment, monitoring.
Python. The stack the team uses.
The salary
We expect to pay from £40,000 to £60,000 for this role. But, we’re open-minded, so definitely include your salary goals with your application. We routinely benchmark salaries against market rates, and run quarterly performance and salary reviews.
The culture
At iwoca, the best idea wins. We model our culture on independent thinking, challenging untested logic, and evidence-based decisions. We prioritise learning and growth, and give people the autonomy to develop in the direction that makes them most effective.
We're a tech company and believe in the power of AI to help us work faster and better. We provide the infrastructure where every iwocan always has access to the best models and where those models have access to all of our data. We will help our people to learn how to use and grow with the new tools available to them.
The offices
We put a lot of effort into making iwoca a great place to work:
Offices in London, Leeds, Berlin, and Frankfurt with plenty of drinks and snacks.
Events and community-led groups, including running groups, padel, and monthly ping-pong and pool competitions.
The benefits
Flexible working hours.
Medical insurance from Vitality, including discounted gym membership.
A private GP service (separate from Vitality) for you, your partner, and your dependents.
25 days’ holiday per year, an extra day off for your birthday, the option to buy or sell an additional five days of annual leave, and unlimited unpaid leave.
A one-month, fully paid sabbatical after four years.
Instant access to external counselling and therapy sessions for team members that need emotional or mental health support.
3% Pension contributions on total earnings.
An employee equity incentive scheme.
Generous parental leave and a nursery tax benefit scheme to help you save money.
Electric car scheme and cycle to work scheme.
Two company retreats a year: we’ve been to France, Italy, Spain, and further afield.
And to make sure we all keep learning, we offer:
A learning and development budget for everyone.
Company-wide talks with internal and external speakers.
Access to learning platforms like Treehouse.
Useful links: