Data Science Manager - Advertising

Everyone loves travelling, but planning is not without its challenges. That's why we've spent 20 years building tools that turn travel-planning chaos into a breeze. Today, around 100 million travellers count on us every month to skip the whole “47 browser tabs open” phase and find flights, cars, and hotels quickly and easily.Joining Skyscanner means becoming part of a global brand that's striving to become the planet's go-to travel hack accessible for all.Our vision? To be the world's number one travel ally. (Ambitious? Yes, but, hey, that's what got us here.)Now, we’re on the lookout for a Data Science Manager to lead the team shaping the future of data-powered advertising at Skyscanner — helping our partners reach millions of travellers through smarter targeting, better insights, and more effective campaigns!About the Role(Hybrid)This is a high-impact leadership role at the heart of one of Skyscanner’s core revenue streams. You’ll lead a cross-functional team focused on building innovative, data-driven advertising products — using experimentation, machine learning and analytics to improve how our partners engage with travellers.From targeting and relevance to forecasting and performance optimisation, your work will combine technical depth, business acumen and people leadership. You’ll partner closely with Product, Engineering, Commercial and Marketing to evolve our advertising platform and unlock new value for both partners and travellers.What you'll be doingLeading and growing a team of data scientists — fostering a culture of technical excellence, inclusion and continuous learningOwning the delivery of applied data science projects across targeting, relevance, campaign performance and platform optimisationCollaborating with Engineering, Product and Commercial to shape and deliver the advertising data science roadmapScoping and prioritising work to ensure smooth, impactful execution — supporting the team hands-on across modelling, experimentation and product integrationDriving best practices in ML engineering and experimentation — including model monitoring, MLOps and framework developmentIdentifying new opportunities where data science can support partner success and drive business growthContributing to cross-disciplinary initiatives that improve hiring, onboarding, community and career development across the DS disciplineAbout youExperienced leader: You’ve led high-performing data science teams and have delivered applied ML and experimentation solutions in productionCommercially minded: You understand the business levers behind AdTech and analytics platforms — and how data science can influence themClear communicator: You can align stakeholders across disciplines and translate technical work into real business impactTechnically strong: Proficient in Python, with experience using experimentation frameworks. Familiarity with Spark, Airflow and GCP or AWS is a plusStrategic and pragmatic: You’re comfortable navigating ambiguity — prioritising work that delivers measurable value while keeping the long-term vision in viewSupportive mentor: You coach others through feedback, guidance and by creating a psychologically safe and empowering team environmentLifecycle fluent: You know the full data science journey — from ideation and exploration to deployment, monitoring and iteration in productionBias to impact: You’re not just interested in models — you care about how they land, how they’re used, and the value they unlockSustainability and accessibility focused: You think in systems and solutions, always aiming for simplicity, inclusivity and long- term value.What it's like hereWe are the real deal — no corporate gloss, no empty promises. Just a team of genuinely curious, caring humans, building things that help travellers explore the world a little easier.Skyscanner is made up of brilliant humans from every corner of the world. We believe travel makes the world better - and that the same is true of our diverse teams. We're proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and products that are accessible to all.Sound like your kind of adventure? Apply now and help us shape the future of travel.We're committed to ensuring our application and recruitment processes are inclusive and accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments or accommodations for interviews, please let us know. If you'd like more information on any of our policies, such as hybrid working or Parental Leave policies (typically we pay a minimum of 24 weeks birth parent/maternity leave globally), our recruitment team can provide more information on these.