Data Scientist - Machine Learning
London, UK
Centre for Net Zero 🌎 – Data /
Full-time /
Hybrid
How would you design the perfect global energy system, if you could start with a blank sheet of paper? A system that meets energy demands without jeopardising the climate of future generations. One that is resilient in the face of extreme weather events, and enables fair and reliable access to energy for all. At Centre for Net Zero we are dedicated to solving this problem!
Centre for Net Zero (CNZ) is an impact-driven research lab working at the intersection of tech, energy and climate, delivering pioneering research to make a fully sustainable global energy system a reality. We are an autonomous team that sets our own research agenda. Whilst we work closely with Octopus Energy, we are a separate organisation that is part of the Octopus Energy group of companies.
As an innovative and high growth global company, Octopus Energy has access to millions of progressive energy customers with billions of corresponding data points. This gives us unprecedented insight into the energy behaviours of tomorrow, today. We believe that through transparent research, opening up data and building tools in a tech-first way, we can work together to co-design the future energy system.
Our ultimate goal is to model a fully sustainable global energy system. This year, we will be focusing on building regional models by leveraging our knowledge of the energy system and unique in-house data and capabilities. We will expand these models functionally and geographically until we have all the components required to model the future energy system.
We will be developing tools and data products to support energy researchers, innovators and policymakers around the world. Additionally, we will be active in relevant open source communities and conferences to build our profile and build relationships with our peers in the industry.
We are looking for a Data Scientist to join the Data & Modelling team. The primary focus will be building energy systems models. This will entail research, prototyping, developing and deploying models to production. You will also work on other data projects within Centre for Net Zero. Examples of projects we’ve worked on are forecasting the half-hourly energy consumption of a household or predicting whether a household owns low-carbon technologies, like an electric vehicle or heat pump.
What You'll Do...
- Write Python and SQL code for the below:
- Analyse data in notebooks and create visualisations
- Build data pipelines
- Create energy systems models
- Monitor and report on our data products
- Research energy systems modelling and technical solutions
- Present your work (internally and sometimes externally)
- And much more!
What you'll need...
- 3+ years of professional experience developing machine learning or statistical models to solve real-world problems
- Fluency in Python and SQL
- Software development experience (e.g. working with git, testing, CI/CD)
- Curiosity, and an eagerness to learn more about the energy industry
- The ability to see the relevance of your work in the bigger picture context, to identify opportunities and to prioritise effectively
- To be comfortable working autonomously and being responsible for making the first decisions when performing tasks or learning new things
- Attention to detail, to make high-quality technical contributions
- An understanding of the pros and cons of different modelling approaches and what tradeoffs to make for a given problem
- Experience working with datasets that won’t fit on your laptop, e.g. using cloud services like Google Cloud Platform.
- Experience deploying and monitoring models in production and an awareness of the ways models fail in production
- Modelling energy systems (e.g. power flows, energy grids, economic and behavioural models)
- Data protection laws (e.g. UK GDPR and DPA)
Nice to have...
Why else you'll love it here...
- Wondering what the salary for this role is? Just ask us! On a call with one of our recruiters it's something we always cover as we genuinely want to match your experience with the correct salary. The reason why we don't advertise is because we honestly have a degree of flexibility and would never want salary to be a reason why someone doesn't apply to Octopus - what's more important to us is finding the right octofit!
- Octopus Energy is a unique culture. An organisation where people learn, decide, and build quicker. Where people work with autonomy, alongside a wide range of amazing co-owners, on projects that break new ground. We want your hard work to be rewarded with perks you actually care about! We won best company to work for in 2022, on Glassdoor we were voted 50 best places to work in 2022 and our Group CEO, Greg has recorded a podcast about our culture and how we empower our people. We’ve also been placed in the top 10 companies for senior leadership
- Visit our UK perks hub - Octopus Employee Benefits
This role is based at Centre Net Zero’s HQ in London, UK.
If this sounds like you then we'd love to hear from you.
Are you ready for a career with us? We want to ensure you have all the tools and environment you need to unleash your potential. Need any specific accommodations? Whether you require specific accommodations or have a unique preference, let us know, and we'll do what we can to customise your interview process for comfort and maximum magic!
Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire. Across Octopus, we're looking for genuinely decent people who are honest and empathetic. Our people are our strongest asset and the unique skills and perspectives people bring to the team are the driving force of our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. Our commitment is to provide equal opportunities, an inclusive work environment, and fairness for everyone.
