Data Scientist Internship - Daresbury

Data Scientist Internship - Daresbury

The Hartree Centre helps UK businesses and organisations of any size to explore and adopt supercomputing, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for enhanced productivity, smarter innovation and economic growth. Backed by significant UK government funding and strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as IBM, Atos and the University of Liverpool, the Hartree Centre is home to some of the most advanced digital technologies and experts in the UK.

Our experts collaborate with industry and the research community in all sectors to explore the latest emerging technologies, upskill teams, and apply practical digital solutions to individual and industry-wide challenges for societal and economic benefit

We are seeking to recruit a Data Science Summer Placement to join our Data Science group. Collaborating with our industry and research partners, we develop tools, frameworks, and applications to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies across UK industry and the public sector.

This placement will be working within a long-term collaboration between the Hartree Centre and an international research partner in the field of astronomy. You will work alongside your colleagues, and our collaborators, to implement data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions to monitor operations at a leading international astronomical observatory. There will be scope for you to be able to take ownership of one of several identified potential sub-projects. You will regularly interact with our other technical teams, including AI and Software Engineering, providing you with a fantastic opportunity to understand how real-world solutions are developed and delivered across the Hartree Centre.

What You’ll Learn

• Data Science Context: Relationship with computer science, statistics, and software engineering; impact of different schools of thought.
• Governance & Ethics: Data security, bias, fairness, compliance, and international regulations.
• Data Systems: Processing and storage (on-premise vs cloud), database types (relational, NoSQL, real-time).
• Modelling, event detection, predictive analytics, machine learning, AI, NLP, computer vision.
• Development Standards: Programming practices, testing, source control.
• Data Landscape: Sources (files, systems, APIs, social media), formats (structured/unstructured), patterns in real-world data.
• Problem Reformulation: Translate organisational challenges into Data Science problems.
• Data Engineering: Source, pipeline, transform, and store data.
• Programming & Analysis: Use appropriate languages/tools for manipulation, visualisation, and integration.
• Model Building: Statistical analysis, feature engineering, machine learning, optimisation.
• Solution Implementation: Evaluate architectures, deployment options, ROI, and scalability.

Summer Placements at STFC

STFC’s incredibly diverse range of placements allow you to work alongside world leading engineers, scientists, and technicians in highly collaborative environments. Whichever you choose, you will become a critical member of the team in which you will be exposed to exciting projects and challenges from the start. You will also be supported every step of the way by our dedicated Early Careers Development Team.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Work on building solutions to customers’ data science challenges.
• Learn and apply data-centric analytics and AI technologies.
• Regular collaboration with academic partners, validating conclusions and presenting results to customers, including using advanced visualisation.
• Publish non-confidential results to build the Hartree Centre and your own profiles in the community

Person Specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

In order to apply for the role, we are looking for the following:

Essential:

• You are in full time education at university, and will be returning to university/your studies to complete your undergraduate degree once the summer placement has concluded (S)
• You have the right to live and work in the UK for the duration of the placement (S)
• A strong interest in Data Science, technology and computing (S&I)
• Undertaking a STEM degree with a significant statistical or mathematical component
• Ability to work as part of a team and independently (S&I)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including focus and quality of cover letter (S&I)
• Confident with strong attention to detail and able to prioritise tasks effectively (S&I)
• Self-motivated with the ability to take initiative to solve problems (I)

Desirable:

• Programming experience with at least one language, e.g. Python (S&I)
• Basic knowledge of data science and visualisation libraries such as Pandas, Seaborn, Matplotlib and others (S&I)
• Knowledge of basic concepts in statistics (e.g. mean, variance, probability) (S&I)

Employee Benefits

We are offering a fixed term position with a whole host of benefits including:

• 30 days holiday pro rata
• Flexible working hours.
• Easily accessible public transport links/ free parking.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.

As this job does not fulfil the UK Government minimum criterion for obtaining sponsored migrant worker status, we will be unable to apply for sponsorship for anyone not eligible to work in the UK. At interview, all shortlisted candidates are required to bring with them identification documents and original documents that prove they hold or can obtain the right to work in the UK.

Employee Benefits

• 30 days holiday pro rata
• Flexible working hours.
• Easily accessible public transport links/ free parking.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities.

As this job does not fulfil the UK Government minimum criterion for obtaining sponsored migrant worker status, we will be unable to apply for sponsorship for anyone not eligible to work in the UK. At interview, all shortlisted candidates are required to bring with them identification documents and original documents that prove they hold or can obtain the right to work in the UK.

Application Guidance

• Please note that we can only accept a maximum of 2 applications per candidate.
• Part of our application process involves submitting your CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter should address your suitability for the opportunity based how you meet each essential criteria stated in this advert.
• Please note that we hold the right to close this vacancy early if a sufficient number of applications have been received.

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business support team explore the unknown across every field you could think of. And they turn what they find into work that changes the world around us.

What could you achieve with the world-leading facilities and experts of one of Europe's largest research organisations by your side? Join us and discover what's possible!

About Us

UKRI - UK Research and Innovation

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI.

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Application Process

• Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role.
• Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded.
• Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered.
• Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the ‘experience’ section of the application.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

How to apply

To apply for this role and to find out more, please click on the apply button. Please note that applications may close before the application deadline, so apply early to avoid disappointment.