Senior Machine Learning Engineer
Applying rigorous machine learning to real‑world problems that matter
We're looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to join a multidisciplinary data and AI team delivering high‑impact, real‑world solutions in a secure and highly regulated environment.
This is a senior, hands‑on practitioner role, not a people‑management position. You'll operate with a high degree of autonomy, leading complex machine learning work end‑to‑end through technical depth, sound judgement, and delivery credibility.
The organisation is outcome‑led rather than technology‑led. Where strong market solutions exist, they are used. Machine learning is built in‑house only where problems are genuinely complex, niche, or sensitive - requiring experimentation, evaluation, and iteration beyond what can be bought. This means the work is thoughtful, challenging, and purposeful, rather than driven by novelty or trend.
What you'll be doing
You'll take ownership of complex ML problems, applying scientific thinking and pragmatism in equal measure.
You will:
1. Lead end‑to‑end machine learning delivery, from problem definition through experimentation, evaluation, and iteration
2. Apply mathematical, statistical, and scientific reasoning to form hypotheses, quantify uncertainty, and interpret results
3. Design and run structured experiments to assess model behaviour, performance, and user impact
4. Work with real, imperfect operational data, not just curated or static datasets
5. Collect, assess, and transform data to support model evaluation and continuous improvement
6. Balance rigour with pragmatism, delivering solutions that are robust, proportionate, and fit for purpose
7. Integrate machine learning components into wider systems, considering performance, reliability, and operational constraints
8. Communicate complex technical ideas clearly to non‑technical stakeholders, enabling informed decision‑making
9. Engage confidently in deep technical design and review discussions with peers
10. Operate effectively within a strong technical assurance and review culture
11. Collaborate with internal teams and selected external partners working at the leading edge of AI
What we're looking for
This role suits a senior ML practitioner who values judgement, evidence, and outcomes over theoretical or tooling purity.
Essential experience:
12. Proven experience operating at senior practitioner level as a Machine Learning Engineer, AI Engineer, Applied ML Scientist, or equivalent
13. Strong grounding in applied mathematics, statistics, and scientific practice
14. Demonstrated ability to evaluate ML models using quantitative evidence and structured experimentation
15. Excellent Python skills for building, evaluating, and iterating on ML solutions
16. Experience working with real‑world, imperfect data from operational systems
17. Strong software engineering practices, including readable, maintainable, and well‑tested code
18. Experience integrating ML components into broader production systems
19. Clear understanding of data ethics, privacy, and responsible use of data
20. Strong communication skills across technical and non‑technical audiences
21. Proven ability to lead work independently and take ownership of outcomes
Technologies you'll encounter
The environment evolves, but typical tools include:
22. Python for experimentation, modelling, and evaluation
23. Weights & Biases (or equivalent) for experiment tracking
24. AWS, including services such as SageMaker and Bedrock
25. Internally supported AI development platforms and tooling
This role is not suited to candidates who are dogmatic about specific tools. Adaptability and outcome focus matter more than platform allegiance.
Desirable experience
26. Working in secure, safety‑critical, or heavily regulated environments
27. Background in sectors such as energy, oil & gas, defence, or public sector
28. Experience within formal technical assurance or governance processes
29. Collaboration with external suppliers, partners, or research organisations
30. Comfort operating at pace where quality, safety, and compliance are non‑negotiable
Guidant, Carbon60, Lorien & SRG - The Impellam Group Portfolio are acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.