Machine learning engineer

Senior Machine Learning Engineer

(Outside IR35) | 6‑Month Contract

📍 Bristol (Hybrid – ~20% onsite)


Build Machine Learning that Actually Matters

This isn’t another recommender system.

This isn’t ad‑tech.

And it definitely isn’t “just moving notebooks into production”.

We’re looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to help design, build, and deploy mission‑critical ML systems used across defence, security, and high‑integrity public sector programmes.

You’ll be working on problems where correctness, robustness, and trust matter as much as raw performance — and where your work has real‑world impact at national scale.


🔥 Why This Role Is Different

* Real ML engineering: production systems, not demos
* Work on secure, high‑integrity platforms where ML decisions matter
* Influence architecture, not just implementation
* Join a team that treats ML as software engineering, not science experiments
* Hybrid working with minimal onsite requirement

If you care about engineering quality, system design, and deploying ML the right way, you’ll feel at home here.


🧠 What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll take ownership across the entire ML lifecycle, working hands‑on and strategically:

* Design, build, and optimise ML models across:
* Natural Language Processing (NLP)
* Computer Vision
* Predictive / statistical modelling
* Own solutions from data preparation → training → evaluation → deployment
* Design and maintain robust MLOps pipelines (CI/CD for ML, model versioning, monitoring)
* Work closely with Data Engineers and DevOps to deliver scalable, production‑ready systems
* Shape ML architecture decisions — pipelines, data flows, and deployment patterns
* Apply secure‑by‑design coding practices aligned with compliance and assurance standards
* Mentor junior engineers, raise the bar, and lead by example
* Research and evaluate emerging ML techniques and tooling, feeding innovation back into the platform

This is a role where your technical judgment genuinely matters.



💡 What You’ll Get

* £70/hour LTD (Outside IR35)
* 6‑month contract with meaningful scope from day one
* Hybrid working: Bristol + remote
* A team that values engineering rigour and technical leadership
* The chance to work on ML systems that actually get deployed and relied upon


👀 Who This Is Perfect For

This role is ideal if you’re:

* A senior ML engineer who’s tired of throwaway models
* An engineer who enjoys ownership and architectural influence
* Someone who wants their work to have real‑world impact
* A contractor who values interesting problems over hype


Ready to build ML that matters?

If you want to work on serious systems, with serious engineers, solving serious problems — we’d love to hear from you.