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10 Machine‑Learning Recruitment Agencies in the UK You Should Know (2025 Job‑Seeker Guide)

3 min read

With deep‑learning projects now integral across healthcare, finance and tech, UK demand for machine‑learning talent is booming. Lightcast shows +50 % YoY growth in UK adverts referencing “machine learning,” “deep learning,” “computer vision” or “reinforcement learning” in Q1 2025. Monthly vacancies sit around 1,800–2,100, but certified ML specialists number fewer than 15,000. Specialist recruiters help candidates access hidden roles, competitive packages, and structured interview prep.

How we screened:
Only UK‑registered agencies with clear ML/AI or Data practices

Agencies that posted ≥ 5 UK ML roles between March and June 2025

1. 2025 UK Machine‑Learning Hiring Snapshot

Vacancy Growth & Geography
• +50 % YoY in ML-related job ads (Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024)
• Hot regions: London (~67 %), Cambridge (9 %), Manchester (7 %), Edinburgh (3 %)
• Format: 55 % hybrid, 20 % fully remote—especially research & vision roles

Salary Benchmarks (mid‑level)
• Machine‑Learning Engineer: £78 k (+13 %)
• Deep Learning Engineer: £85 k (+14 %)
• Computer Vision / CV Specialist: £88 k (+15 %)
• Reinforcement Learning / RL Engineer: £90 k (+15 %)

Tip: Equity allocations (0.3–0.6 %) are common in scale‑ups deploying ML into production.


2. Quick‑Reference Directory: Top 10 UK Machine‑Learning Recruiters

Emails are published inboxes or “Use website contact form” if not publicly listed.

Harnham – Data Science & ML — London SE1 9SP — +44 (0)20 7811 9000 — info@harnham.com — https://www.harnham.com

Xcede – AI & ML Recruitment — London W1T 3NN — +44 (0)20 3587 7777 — info@xcede.com — https://www.xcede.com

Understanding Recruitment – AI/ML Team — St Albans AL1 3LF — +44 (0)1727 228 210 — info@understandingrecruitment.com — https://www.understandingrecruitment.com

DeepRec.ai – ML & Computer Vision — London EC2M 7BF — +44 (0)20 8132 4250 — hello@deeprec.ai — https://www.deeprec.ai

ADLIB Recruitment – AI & Data — London SW1A 2HR — +44 (0)20 7808 7800 — info@adlib-recruitment.co.uk — https://www.adlib-recruitment.co.uk

Insight Global – AI/ML Resourcing — London EC2R 7BP — +44 (0)20 7498 7001 — contact@insightglobal.com — https://www.insightglobal.com

La Fosse Associates – AI & Analytics — London W1T 1PF — +44 (0)20 3372 7770 — info@lafosse.com — https://www.lafosse.com

Optimus Search – AI/ML Roles — Manchester M1 5BY — +44 (0)161 398 9500 — Use website contact formhttps://www.optimussearch.com

Stott and May – AI & ML — London EC3V 9BS — +44 (0)20 7469 6000 — info@stottandmay.com — https://www.stottandmay.com

Korn Ferry – AI/ML Executive Search — London EC4N 1SL — +44 (0)20 7776 7000 — Use website contact formhttps://www.kornferry.com


3. Choosing & Maximising Your Recruiter Partnership

  • Stack alignment: Computer vision roles → DeepRec.ai. Reinforcement learning → Harnham.

  • Show impact: Upload Kaggle scores, CVPR papers, or deployable models.

  • Prep asks: Good recruiters share test notebooks or ML-system whiteboard prompts.

  • Total package: Consider bonuses, GPAs, on-call allowances, compute credits (Docker cloud, GPU access).


4. In‑Demand Machine‑Learning Skills (2025)

  1. Transformer architectures & prompt chains (LLMs)

  2. CV libraries & real-time inference (ONNX Runtime, TRT, Edge deployment)

  3. Reinforcement Learning frameworks (RLlib, Unity ML‑Agents)

  4. MLOps deployment & monitoring (Kubeflow, SageMaker Pipelines)

  5. Self-supervised & contrastive learning (SimCLR, BERT-style masked training)


5. Interview Prep: What to Expect

  • Notebook exercise: Build RBM or transformer & document test splits

  • Design challenge: Architect an ML schema from raw data to model observability

  • Behavioral loop: Cross-disciplinary collaboration and model explainability tactics

  • Case presentation: Explain model outputs and business outcomes to executives


6. FAQ Highlights

Do agencies charge candidates? No—employers pay.
Are AWS/GCP ML certs needed? Helpful but not required.
Time to hire? 3–5 weeks; senior roles may require longer loops.
Multiple agencies? Yes—as long as you avoid duplicate submissions.


7. Next Steps

  1. Shortlist 2–3 aligned agencies

  2. Polish GitHub/Kaggle with explainability dashboards or LLM demos

  3. Book recruiter calls within 48 hours

  4. Track applications in a spreadsheet

Upload Your CV
Submit your CV to MachineLearningJobs.co.uk—shared with all recruiters above and top AI-hiring employers across the UK.


8. Final Word: Your ML Career Starts Here

From fine-tuning transformers to deploying real-time CV systems, UK roles in machine learning are expanding rapidly. Work with a specialist recruiter to fast-track interviews, tailor your story and secure offers that reflect your technical edge.

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