Machine Learning Scientist

Syngenta
Bracknell
3 weeks ago
Create job alert

Syngenta Crop Protection is a leader in agricultural innovation, bringing breakthrough technologies and solutions that enable farmers to grow productively and sustainably. We offer a leading portfolio of crop protection solutions for plant and soil health, as well as digital solutions that transform the decision-making capabilities of farmers. Our 17,900 employees serve to advance agriculture in more than 90 countries around the world. Syngenta Crop Protection is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, and is part of the Syngenta Group.


Our employees reflect the diversity of our customers, the markets where we operate and the communities which we serve. No matter what your position, you will have a vital role in safely feeding the world and taking care of our planet. Join us and help shape the future of agriculture!


About the role
Position: Machine Learning Scientist
Location: We could consider candidates based at additional locations within Europe
Application process: Carefully read instructions in "Additional Information" section

We have an exciting opportunity for a Machine Learning Scientist to join our Digital Biology Group in Crop Protection Research and Development. Within this role you will work on Syngenta biological data to uncover patterns and deliver new data-driven insights for active ingredient development across R&D functions. You will be asked to analyse and interpret the outcome of scientific experiments with your analytical skills as well as machine learning approaches. Your work will bring forward our understanding of biological performance in crop protection and guide design, optimization and development of novel crop protection solutions.


Key responsibilities will include:

  • Using exploratory analytical approaches across a range of biological lab, glasshouse & field trial data to identify the key factors impacting on performance on active ingredients.
  • Interacting with domain experts to understand scientific questions, our scientific protocols and identify analytics opportunities to drive business value.
  • Contributing to strategic business initiatives across Crop Protection data to support decision making and collaborating to design laboratory, glasshouse and field trials.
  • Collaborating and influencing the design of Research Biology capabilities to support predictive modelling activities.
  • Working with R&D IT and software developers to improve predictive model deployment applications tailored on stakeholder needs.
  • Monitoring and exploring new modelling approaches, analytical tools and methodologies.
  • Engaging with high-priority digital transformation projects to understand opportunities to accelerate the impact of data science for predictive biology studies.
  • Working with colleagues and external collaborators understanding their complementary capabilities and integrating them into projects and initiatives.

What we are looking for

  • Strong foundations in data science at postgraduate level with some experience in natural sciences (e.g. biology, ecology, environmental sciences).
  • Extensive experience in the use of the main data-science, analytics, modelling and visualization Python libraries (i.e Pandas/Polars, SciPy, MatPlotLib).
  • Scientific domain knowledge in related fields such as biology or environmental sciences.
  • Prior experience in developing machine-learning models relevant to biological outcomes.
  • Knowledge of data analysis and extracting data insights and new understanding, while communicating scientific and data concepts to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Adaptability to different business challenges and data types / sources and to learn and utilize a range of different analytical tools and methodologies.
  • Ability to visualize and story-tell with data to communicate results to shareholders with different levels of technical proficiency.
  • Analytical problem-solving skills with innovative thinking, while effectively collaborating across diverse teams and managing multiple priorities in a multicultural scientific environment.

Additional Information

We will consider candidates based at additional locations within Europe. You may be required to travel to international R&D locations and to work with collaborators globally.


Due to exceptionally high interest in this position, we will only consider applications that include: (1) a CV; (2) a cover letter explaining your motivation and suitability for the role; (3) a one-page document in which you tell us how (with which tools and algorithms, following which strategy) you would start exploring a 100MB CSV dataset of efficacy field trial results for a novel crop protection product including assessments for multiple crop types, trial sites and weather conditions.


Please upload your CV, your cover letter and the one-page document in separate files named "CV_###", "Cover_Letter_###", and "Answer_###", replacing '###' with your family name.


What we offer

  • Extensive benefits package including a generous pension scheme, bonus scheme, private medical & life insurance (depends on the contracting country).
  • Flexible working.
  • A position which contributes to valuable and impactful work in a stimulating and international environment.
  • Learning culture and a wide range of training options.

Syngenta has been ranked as a top 5 employer and number 1 in agriculture by Science Magazine for the 8th consecutive year.


Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. Learn more about our D&I initiatives here: https://www.syngenta.com/careers/working-syngenta/diversity-and-inclusion


#J-18808-Ljbffr

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Machine Learning Scientist

Machine Learning Scientist

Machine Learning Scientist

Machine Learning Scientist

Machine Learning Scientist — Digital Biology for Crop Protection

Staff Machine Learning Scientist - AI Agent Systems

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 Write a Machine Learning Job Ad That Attracts the Right People

Machine learning now sits at the heart of many UK organisations, powering everything from recommendation engines and fraud detection to forecasting, automation and decision support. As adoption grows, so does demand for skilled machine learning professionals. Yet many employers struggle to attract the right candidates. Machine learning job adverts often generate high volumes of applications, but few applicants have the blend of modelling skill, engineering awareness and real-world experience the role actually requires. Meanwhile, strong machine learning engineers and scientists quietly avoid adverts that feel vague, inflated or confused. In most cases, the issue is not the talent market — it is the job advert itself. Machine learning professionals are analytical, technically rigorous and highly selective. A poorly written job ad signals unclear expectations and low ML maturity. A well-written one signals credibility, focus and a serious approach to applied machine learning. This guide explains how to write a machine learning job ad that attracts the right people, improves applicant quality and strengthens your employer brand.

Maths for Machine Learning Jobs: The Only Topics You Actually Need (& How to Learn Them)

Machine learning job adverts in the UK love vague phrases like “strong maths” or “solid fundamentals”. That can make the whole field feel gatekept especially if you are a career changer or a student who has not touched maths since A level. Here is the practical truth. For most roles on MachineLearningJobs.co.uk such as Machine Learning Engineer, Applied Scientist, Data Scientist, NLP Engineer, Computer Vision Engineer or MLOps Engineer with modelling responsibilities the maths you actually use is concentrated in four areas: Linear algebra essentials (vectors, matrices, projections, PCA intuition) Probability & statistics (uncertainty, metrics, sampling, base rates) Calculus essentials (derivatives, chain rule, gradients, backprop intuition) Basic optimisation (loss functions, gradient descent, regularisation, tuning) If you can do those four things well you can build models, debug training, evaluate properly, explain trade-offs & sound credible in interviews. This guide gives you a clear scope plus a six-week learning plan, portfolio projects & resources so you can learn with momentum rather than drowning in theory.

Neurodiversity in Machine Learning Careers: Turning Different Thinking into a Superpower

Machine learning is about more than just models & metrics. It’s about spotting patterns others miss, asking better questions, challenging assumptions & building systems that work reliably in the real world. That makes it a natural home for many neurodivergent people. If you live with ADHD, autism or dyslexia, you may have been told your brain is “too distracted”, “too literal” or “too disorganised” for a technical career. In reality, many of the traits that can make school or traditional offices hard are exactly the traits that make for excellent ML engineers, applied scientists & MLOps specialists. This guide is written for neurodivergent ML job seekers in the UK. We’ll explore: What neurodiversity means in a machine learning context How ADHD, autism & dyslexia strengths map to ML roles Practical workplace adjustments you can ask for under UK law How to talk about neurodivergence in applications & interviews By the end, you’ll have a clearer sense of where you might thrive in ML – & how to turn “different thinking” into a genuine career advantage.