Data Scientist & SanTalk Product Owner | S4 | Chief Data & AI Office | Milton Keynes

Senior Data Scientist & SanTalk Product Owner | S4 | Chief Data & AI Office | Milton Keynes

Country: United Kingdom

IT STARTS HERE

Santander (www.santander.com) is evolving from a global, high-impact brand into a technology-driven organisation, and our people are at the heart of this journey. Together, we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, and the courage to challenge what’s possible.

This is more than a strategic shift. It’s a chance for driven professionals to grow, learn, and make a real difference.

Our mission is to contribute to help more people and businesses prosper. We embrace a strong risk culture and all our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management.

The Chief Data & AI Office (CDAIO) at Santander is responsible for setting the strategic direction for data, analytics, and artificial intelligence across the organisation. It ensures that data is managed as a trusted enterprise asset and that advanced technologies are applied responsibly, securely, and effectively to create value for customers and the business.

THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE

The Chief Data & AI Office (CDAIO) is looking for a Senior Data Scientist based out of Milton Keynes.

As a Senior Data Scientist, you will lead the development and delivery of customer-facing AI solutions across contact centres, chat and digitally assisted channels. You will combine technical leadership with a strong understanding of customer journeys, operational performance and value generation.

We are looking for a senior AI and product leader who can own the UK SanTalk proposition, shape its vision and roadmap, influence Group platform development and lead the rollout, operation and continuous improvement of customer-facing solutions. You will guide multidisciplinary teams and work across Santander UK, Santander Group and technology partners in a complex, fast-paced and regulated environment.

We’re shaping the way we work through customer-focused innovation, advanced AI and close collaboration across the Group. To succeed in this role, you will be responsible for:

- Act as the UK Product Owner for SanTalk, setting the product vision, strategy, roadmap and prioritised backlog for customer-facing AI solutions across contact centres, chat and digitally assisted channels, leveraging SanTalk proposition and its underlying technologies, including Sierra and OpenAI.

- Develop a deep understanding of customer journeys and operational needs, translating UK business priorities, user feedback and colleague requirements into prioritised AI use cases, product requirements, acceptance criteria and delivery plans.

- Represent Santander UK in Group product forums, working with Group platform teams and technology partners to influence the SanTalk roadmap, shape feature proposals and drive agreed capabilities through development and implementation.

- Own the end-to-end delivery, UK rollout and ongoing operation of SanTalk solutions, including experimentation, business readiness, testing, deployment, adoption, maintenance and transition into business-as-usual support.

- Provide technical direction to Data Scientists, Engineers, MLOps specialists and Product Owners, ensuring solutions are scalable, reliable, secure, maintainable and production-ready.

- Own the ongoing performance and continuous improvement of deployed solutions, defining customer, model, operational and financial success measures and using production monitoring, experimentation and benefits tracking to optimise outcomes and evidence value.

- Manage delivery priorities, governance, dependencies and risks within a regulated environment, ensuring responsible AI, model governance and applicable risk and control requirements are embedded throughout the product lifecycle.

- Build alignment across senior business, operations, technology, data, risk and control stakeholders in Santander UK and Santander Group, providing clear reporting on progress, outcomes, risks and decisions, and escalating challenges with practical recommendations.

At Santander, your contribution matters. We recognise the difference you make every day, and we make sure you feel valued, supported and rewarded in return.

Here, recognition goes beyond pay. It’s about the pride you feel in your work, the impact you have on customers and communities, and the opportunities you have to grow and thrive — personally and professionally.

Our people are our greatest strength. Every individual contributes unique perspectives that make us stronger as a team and as an organisation. We’re enabling teams to go beyond by valuing who they are and empowering what they bring.

The following requirements represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for success in this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education:

Languages:

This salary range represents the expected remuneration for the role. Annual salary is based on a standard 35-hour working week. Actual salary offered will depend on skills, experience, qualifications and location.

Ready to be recognised? It starts with you.

LOCAL COMPLIANCE

This is a fixed Term Contract.

At Santander, we’re proud to be an inclusive organisation that provides equal opportunities for everyone — regardless of age, gender, disability, civil status, race, religion or sexual orientation.

We’re committed to creating a recruitment experience that’s accessible, fair and welcoming for all candidates.

We want our people to thrive — at work and at home — while delivering the best outcomes for our customers and supporting each other to grow.

To make this possible, our roles are site-based with a hybrid working pattern, where colleagues are expected to attend the office at least 12 days per month (pro-rata for part-time roles).

When applying, please consider the travel distance, time and cost to your chosen office location.

We welcome applications on the understanding that, should you be offered this role, there may be no relocation package available. Santander will pay the employer mandatory government fees that are required to pay in connection with visa sponsorship. You may be liable for your own personal employee immigration and relocation costs.

Right to work in the UK

WHAT TO DO NEXT

If this sounds like a role you are interested in, then please apply.

If there’s anything we can do in the recruitment process to help you achieve your best, get in touch. Whether it’s a copy of our application form in another format or additional assistance, we’re available through email. You can contact us at resourcing@santander.co.uk.