Digital science associate

Entity:
Technology

Job Family Group:
IT&S Group

Job Description:

About bp

Our purpose is to bring together people, energy and markets to power and navigate a changing world. In a time of change and possibility we need talent to pursue opportunities, motivated by best-in-class insight and expertise. We're always targeting for more innovative digital solutions, sustainable outcomes and closer collaboration across our company and beyond, and you could be part of that too. Together we continue to grow as the world's leading energy company!

About the Role

As a Digital Science Associate, you will connect powerful scientific advancements with real-world business opportunities. Working across artificial intelligence, data science, sophisticated analytics, and computational modeling, you will explore new directions that can bring value for bp and support its digital transformation.

In this position, you will establish relationships with government organizations, startups, and industry partners. Together with these collaborators, you will help shape research initiatives, explore new insights, and uncover opportunities that could benefit bp's businesses.

You will coordinate proof-of-concept activities from early exploration through implementation, partnering with technical, commercial, and legal teams to support informed decision-making and successful delivery.

Success in this role comes from a combination of technical expertise, curiosity, collaboration, and sound judgment.

What You Will Deliver

Technology Scouting and Evaluation

• Identify, assess, and prioritize emerging digital, AI/ML, and computational technologies that have the potential to address strategic business challenges.
• Supervise academic, industrial, and commercial technology landscapes to identify relevant innovation opportunities.
• Evaluate technology maturity, scalability, business relevance, and deployment readiness.
• Develop independent technical assessments and recommendations regarding the adoption of new technologies.

External Partnerships and Innovation

• Establish and lead partnerships with organizations.
• Define collaboration scopes, structure partnership agreements, and be a phenomenal partner.
• Serve as a representative for bp across external innovation engagements.
• Build and maintain a portfolio of external partnerships that supports bp's innovation and research objectives.

Proof-of-Concept Leadership

• Lead proof-of-concept (PoC) projects from initiation through completion.
• Define objectives, success criteria, timelines, and key results.
• Coordinate research agreements, contracts, intellectual property considerations, and interested party alignment.
• Assess project outcomes and provide data-driven recommendations regarding future development, scaling, or adoption.

Technical Assessment and Strategy

• Benchmark emerging technologies against existing bp workflows, industry standards, and relevant technical baselines.
• Assess data quality, availability, scalability, and model performance.
• Identify mitigation strategies for data and modeling limitations, including transfer learning, synthetic data generation.
• Evaluate the commercial viability and business impact of emerging technologies.

Technology Deployment

• Support the transition of validated technologies into bp's business and technology organizations by collaborating with engineering, operations, and digital teams.
• Define deployment pathways and facilitate effective technology handover.
• Work with relevant collaborators to ensure successful implementation and value realization.

Government and Research Ecosystem Engagement

• Engage with organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), ARPA-E, and laboratories to identify collaboration and funding opportunities.
• Supervise research initiatives and emerging opportunities.
• Support or lead proposal development activities.

Executive and Interested party Communication

• Prepare executive-level briefings, technology reviews, and recommendations.
• Communicate sophisticated technical topics optimally to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Support long-term technology strategy development and innovation planning.
• Present proof-of-concept outcomes and technology assessments,

Knowledge Sharing

• Document project outcomes, lessons learned, and guidelines.
• Develop reusable frameworks and methodologies for evaluating emerging technologies.
• Supply to the broader Digital Science innovation agenda by sharing insights from the external technology ecosystem and identifying emerging opportunities.

What You Will Need to Be Successful

Education

• Master's degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computational Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• PhD or equivalent experience research experience is highly preferred.

Technical Expertise

• Solid understanding of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, including:
  • Machine Learning
  • Deep Learning
  • Probabilistic Modeling
  • Scientific Machine Learning (SciML)
  • Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs)
  • Operator Learning
  • Hybrid Modeling
  • Optimization Techniques
  • Uncertainty Quantification
• Ability to critically evaluate technical research, validate results, and assess technology readiness and scalability.
• Experience benchmarking models, evaluating performance claims, and assessing technical maturity.
• Understanding of modern computational science methodologies and digital technologies.

Experience

• Significant experience leading external research collaborations and technology partnerships.
• Experience handling proof-of-concept initiatives and technology evaluations from concept through completion.
• Experience working with universities, national laboratories, government research organizations, startups, or technology vendors.
• Familiarity with research agreements, intellectual property considerations, and collaborative research frameworks.
• Experience engaging with government-funded research programs and agencies such as NSF, DOE, ARPA-E, or national laboratories.
• Validated experience assessing emerging technologies and translating technical findings into business recommendations.

Leadership and Communication

• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Validated experience presenting technology assessments and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
• Strong collaborator management and relationship-building capabilities.
• Ability to operate efficiently in ambiguous environments and make informed decisions under uncertainty.
• Strong influencing skills to navigate sophisticated organizational and external interested party environments.

Additional Capabilities

• Understanding of intellectual property management in collaborative research environments, including ownership, licensing, publication rights, and data-related considerations.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to handle multiple concurrent initiatives and partnerships.
• High commercial awareness, professional integrity, and sensitivity to confidential information.
• Curiosity and passion for new technologies and their application to scientific and engineering challenges.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with a continuous learning attitude.

Why Join bp

At bp, you will have the opportunity to shape how emerging digital technologies are applied to address some of the world's most sophisticated energy challenges.

You will work alongside leading scientists, engineers, and innovators while helping accelerate technologies that support bp's transformation and long-term strategy. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the future of digital innovation across research, technology, and business domains while building strategic partnerships across academia, industry, and government.

Equal Opportunity and Accessibility Statement

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities throughout the application, interview, and employment process. If you require accommodation, please let us know, so we can support your participation and success.

bp is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at all levels of the organization. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute their best work.

Travel Requirement
Up to 10% travel should be expected with this role

Relocation Assistance:
This role is not eligible for relocation

Remote Type:
This position is not available for remote working

Skills:
Commercial Acumen, Communication, Data Analysis, Data cleansing and transformation, Data domain knowledge, Data Integration, Data Management, Data Manipulation, Data Sourcing, Data strategy and governance, Data Structures and Algorithms (Inactive), Data visualization and interpretation, Digital Security, Extract, transform and load, Group Problem Solving
.

Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics like race, religion, color, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp's recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.