Lead Data Scientist – Forward Deployed AI - Day Rate Contractor (12-Months +)

Lead Data Scientist – Forward Deployed AI - Day Rate Contractor (12-Months +)

At a Glance

• Senior, self-directed contract of up to 12 months, covering maternity leave, with an option to extend by mutual agreement
• Forward deployed AI role working directly with clients in regulated financial services on AI adoption, AI governance and compliance
• Remote, Northern Ireland based, with access to a Belfast office
• Competitive senior-level day rate, Inside IR35 (via umbrella)
• Immediate start
• No people management; reports to a Managed Services VP with real autonomy from day one

About the Company

Our client is a global leader in communications compliance technology. They help some of the world's largest financial institutions capture, archive and supervise their communications to meet regulatory obligations. With a significant presence in Northern Ireland and customers across the major financial centres, they sit at the heart of how regulated firms manage risk.

You'll join their Analytics Services team, which delivers AI, NLP and analytics solutions to Tier 1 banks and other regulated clients.

The Role

This is a senior, hands-on contract with two halves.

Forward deployed engineering. You'll work directly with clients in regulated financial services to understand their compliance requirements, AI adoption and AI governance challenges. You'll then turn what you learn into validated product and delivery ideas.

Technical advocacy. You'll be the team's technical voice with clients and the internal Product group, bringing commercial and technical judgement to scoping and delivery decisions.

You'll set your own priorities, scope ambiguous work and escalate only by exception. There are no day-to-day management duties. A named internal sponsor will support you on commercial and contractual decisions.

What You'll Do

Your time will split roughly 60% strategic and forward deployed work, 25% sales technical support and 15% technical advocacy.

Forward deployed engineering

• Run structured engagements with one or two existing accounts to uncover AI adoption and governance pain points
• Capture each engagement on a standard intake template and use it as the basis for scoping
• Propose, test and log concrete product or delivery ideas for roadmap review
• Deliver a client outcome or validated product idea from every engagement
• Work with team leads to help deliver the current product offering

Product continuity and diagnostic assets

• Maintain continuity of existing AI solutions, including backlog ownership, roadmap input and the client feedback loop
• Scope and prioritise diagnostic and accelerator assets, such as an AI model inventory and risk scorecard, an AI governance maturity workshop, a model health dashboard and a compliance agent skill library
• Document patterns so the wider team can reuse them

Technical advocacy

• Act as the team's technical voice with Product, challenging scope changes, QA issues and unbilled work with written evidence
• Give leadership a clear view of delivery risk and right-size proposed solutions to the actual problem

Sales technical support

• Provide AI technical scoping, proof-of-value and demo support for sales conversations
• Own the creation of client proposals, statements of work and pricing alongside management

What You'll Need

Essential

• Regulated environment experience in banking, broker-dealer, asset management, insurance or regtech. Experience in model risk management, compliance technology, surveillance, or records and archiving is particularly relevant.
• Hands-on AI fluency. You use LLMs and agent tools in your daily work, have designed prompts, skills or agents, and understand evaluation and guardrails at a practical level.
• Client discovery skills. You've run structured discovery conversations that uncover the real problem behind a client's request, and proposed solutions from there.
• Stakeholder confidence. You've challenged senior stakeholders with evidence and held your position under pressure without needing escalation.
• A self-starter mindset. You set your own priorities, thrive on ambiguous briefs and don't need direction to get started.
• Based in Northern Ireland.

Desirable

• Working knowledge of model risk frameworks
• Practical experience with model drift, explainability or monitoring for production models
• A forward deployed, solutions engineering, field engineering or pre-sales background

What Success Looks Like

The contract has clear goals for each stage, so you'll know exactly what good looks like.

1. First 30 days: get set up with full access and meet all stakeholders across your projects and product.
2. Days 0–90 (pilot): run pilot engagements with one or two accounts, set KPI baselines, and put the intake template and scope challenge process in place. Aim to log two or three validated ideas and pilot-test your first diagnostic asset.
3. Months 4–6 (upskill and extend): run workshops for the team, pair less experienced colleagues with you on discovery, and deliver the first diagnostic asset.
4. Months 7–12 (formalise and transfer): formalise a repeatable engagement process with defined success metrics and exit criteria, then hand over documented ownership so at least two team members can run discovery independently

You'll report progress against KPIs, escalations and pipeline to leadership every fortnight.

Working Model and Why Apply

• Term: up to 12 months, with an option to extend by mutual agreement
• Hours and location: full-time and remote within Northern Ireland, with a Belfast office available
• Reporting: to a Managed Services VP, with self-managed day-to-day work and regular leadership check-ins
• Development: protected time for upskilling alongside delivery work
• Impact: direct client-facing access to Tier 1 financial institutions and the chance to shape how a global compliance leader brings AI to its clients

Interested? Send your CV to Shannon McKinley at shannon@ochopeople.com, or connect with Shannon on LinkedIn for a confidential conversation. Please include your day rate expectations and availability when applying.