National AI Awards 2025Discover AI's trailblazers! Join us to celebrate innovation and nominate industry leaders.

Nominate & Attend

Lead Data Scientist - AI/ML

Anson McCade
Chelmsford
5 days ago
Create job alert

Senior Research Scientist – Data Science & Machine Learning

Location:South East UK (Hybrid: typically 2 days onsite in Great Baddow)

Clearance:SC clearable (UK EYES ONLY) – DV/UKIC eligibility highly desirable

Work Pattern:Full-time (37 hours/week) | Hybrid | Flexible

Interview Process:One-stage, face-to-face with technical presentation


Are you an experienced AI/ML researcher with a passion for applying cutting-edge techniques to real-world, high-impact challenges? Do you thrive in intellectually rigorous, collaborative environments where your research leads to operational outcomes?


We’re hiring aSenior Research Scientistto join a leading R&D team working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomy, and signal processing. This role sits within a growing capability focused on time-series data, decision support systems, and autonomous platforms—and offers an ideal mix of technical leadership, creative freedom, and real-world application.


About the Team

You’ll be part of theInformation Technology & Geospatial (ITG)team—a 35-person unit of scientists and product engineers working across:

  • Machine Learning & Statistical Signal Processing
  • NLP, Knowledge Representation, & Graph ML
  • Geospatial Technology & Distributed Systems
  • Autonomy, Reinforcement Learning, & Edge AI


The team operates within a largerAdvanced Technology division, known for pioneering next-generation AI/ML capabilities for high-trust domains such as defence, space, and cyber.


What You’ll Do

  • Lead applied research in AI/ML, with a focus on sequential data and complex decision-making
  • Develop novel algorithms and prototypes in Python using frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and scikit-learn
  • Mentor junior scientists and contribute to team-wide technical strategy
  • Deliver technical reports, presentations, and research proposals to internal and external stakeholders
  • Collaborate with top UK universities and other partners on forward-leaning research
  • Translate academic thinking into robust, real-world solutions
  • Author technical publications and contribute to patents where appropriate


What You’ll Bring

  • PhD or equivalent experience in machine learning, applied maths, or related discipline
  • Deep understanding of ML/AI applied to time-series/sensor data or decision systems
  • Strong software prototyping skills, especially in Python and major ML frameworks
  • Track record of technical leadership and research delivery
  • Ability to engage technical and non-technical audiences alike
  • Eligible for UK SC clearance as a minimum (UK EYES ONLY)


Bonus Experience (Highly Desirable):

  • Radar, sonar, RF, or electromagnetic signal processing
  • Electronic warfare, CEMA, or distributed sensing
  • Space-domain awareness, autonomous systems, or edge ML
  • NLP, knowledge graphs, generative AI or graph-based ML
  • Academic publications, patent applications, or conference experience

Why This Role?

  • Join one of the UK’s most forward-looking AI/ML research teams
  • Work across multiple high-impact domains: defence, space, cyber, and more
  • Shape the future of autonomous systems and decision intelligence
  • Excellent work-life balance: hybrid working, flexible hours, minimal travel
  • One-stage interview process—streamlined and efficient
  • Collaborate with a world-class technical community of 4,500+ scientists and engineers


If you’re a creative, technically strong researcher who wants to lead meaningful innovation—this role offers the autonomy, support, and opportunity to do just that.

Apply now to learn more.

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Lead Data Scientist

Lead Data Scientist

Lead Data Scientist (Equity only)

Lead Data Scientist (Equity only)

Lead Data Scientist (Equity only)

Lead Data Scientist (Equity only)

National AI Awards 2025

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

How to Present Machine Learning Solutions to Non-Technical Audiences: A Public Speaking Guide for Job Seekers

Machine learning is driving change across nearly every industry—from retail and finance to health and logistics. But while the technology continues to evolve rapidly, the ability to communicate it clearly has become just as important as building the models themselves. Whether you're applying for a junior ML engineer role, a research position, or a client-facing AI consultant job, UK employers increasingly expect candidates to explain complex machine learning solutions to non-technical audiences. In this guide, you’ll learn how to confidently present your work, structure your message, use simple visuals, and explain the real-world value of machine learning in a way that makes sense to people without a background in data science.

Machine Learning Jobs UK 2025: 50 Companies Hiring Now

Bookmark this page—we refresh the Hotlist every quarter so you always know who’s really scaling their ML teams. The UK’s National AI Strategy, a £2 billion GenAI accelerator fund and a record flow of private capital have kicked ML hiring into overdrive for 2025. Whether you build production‑grade LLM services or optimise on‑device models for edge hardware, employers need your skills now. Below you’ll find 50 organisations that advertised UK‑based machine‑learning vacancies or announced head‑count growth during the past eight weeks. They’re grouped into five quick‑scan categories so you can jump straight to the type of employer—and mission—that excites you. For each company we list: Main UK hub Example live or recent vacancy Why it’s worth a look (stack, impact, culture) Search any employer on MachineLearningJobs.co.uk to see real‑time adverts, or set a free alert so fresh openings drop straight in your inbox.

Return-to-Work Pathways: Relaunch Your Machine Learning Career with Returnships, Flexible & Hybrid Roles

Returning to work after an extended break can feel like starting from scratch—especially in a specialist field like machine learning. Whether you paused your career for parenting, caring responsibilities or another life chapter, the UK’s machine learning sector now offers a variety of return-to-work pathways. From structured returnships to flexible and hybrid roles, these programmes recognise the transferable skills and resilience you’ve developed, pairing you with mentorship, upskilling and supportive networks to ease your transition back. In this guide, you’ll discover how to: Understand the current demand for machine learning talent in the UK Leverage your organisational, communication and analytical skills in ML contexts Overcome common re-entry challenges with practical solutions Refresh your technical knowledge through targeted learning Access returnship and re-entry programmes tailored to machine learning Find roles that fit around family commitments—whether flexible, hybrid or full-time Balance your career relaunch with caring responsibilities Master applications, interviews and networking specific to ML Learn from inspiring returner success stories Get answers to common questions in our FAQ section Whether you aim to return as an ML engineer, research scientist, MLOps specialist or data scientist with an ML focus, this article will map out the steps and resources you need to reignite your machine learning career.