Skill set
Industry fields of expertise
Stuart in a few words
PhD-qualified industry-experienced data scientist.
Specialised in Search Engines, Recommender Systems, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Large Language Models, and Generative AI.
What can I help you with?
Search Engines
- The design, implementation, and evaluation of state-of-the-art search experiences that deliver relevant results - using Lucene, Solr, Elasticsearch and OpenSearch.
Recommender Systems
- The design, implementation, and evaluation of state-of-the-art recommendation systems that connect customers with your content or e-commerce products.
Text-based NLP
- Natural language processing for text - summarisation, named entity recognition & linking, text classification, text clustering, topic modelling, knowledge bases & graphs.
Machine Learning
- Developing and evaluating production-ready ML solutions using scikit-learn and XGBoost - wrapped in FastAPI end-points using Docker.
Large Language Models
- Get effective results from LLMs via prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and task-specific fine-tuning.
Generative AI
- Developing and deploying GenAI apps and agentic workflows using cloud-hosted APIs and self-hosted open source models.
MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Kibana
- Get expert help defining schemas, building ETL data pipelines to index large volumes of documents, effectively querying your data using traditional lexical search and state-of-the-art vector search - and designing data analytics dashboards that illustrate compelling narratives to your stakeholders.
Experience
- D3 Analytics LimitedCo-Founder and Technical DirectorAugust 2023 - Today (1 year and 6 months)Glasgow, United KingdomBootstrapping a B2B SaaS tech start-up focussed on providing search, recommendation, and analytics over public sector data for buyers and suppliers in the public procurement marketplace.Leading the development of analytics dashboards for buyers in the public procurement sector - driving technical innovation to provide data-driven insights and improve decision-making processes for contracting authorities.
- Foobar LtdData ScientistJuly 2023 - Today (1 year and 7 months)Glasgow, United KingdomProviding freelance, consulting, and contracting Data Science services to clients via a personal service company.
- BIP SolutionsLead Data ScientistMay 2021 - June 2023 (2 years and 2 months)Glasgow, United KingdomLed data science initiatives driving innovation and business value through advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI solutions - leveraging expertise in search relevance engineering and natural language processing to deliver tangible business value and drive strategic decision-making.- Spearheaded high-impact projects developing analytics solutions that provided crucial business insights.- Optimised search relevance and built recommender systems, significantly enhancing user experience.- Implemented customer-focussed NLP and ML solutions to address complex business challenges.- Conducted A/B testing and evaluation experiments to continuously improve data-driven products.- Communicated data-driven insights to leadership, shaping company-wide analytics strategy.- Managed and mentored junior staff, fostering a culture of innovation and professional growth.- Championed data science methodologies across the organisation, balancing technical expertise with strategic leadership.
Recommendations
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computing ScienceUniversity of Glasgow2018Throughout my postgraduate research degree, I developed key skills in the fields of Information Retrieval, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, and Data Science. Further, I developed key skills in applying appropriate research methodologies, gained experience in critically analysing and evaluating experimental results, developed my ability to effectively manage research intensive projects, and have become adept at communicating complex information. Furthermore, my PhD research and development experience has prepared me to effectively deliver commercial value through the industrial applications of cutting-edge research.
- Master in Science (M.Sci.), Computing ScienceUniversity of Glasgow2013