2027 AI Engineer Apprentice - AI and Data Science Graduate Level Apprenticeship

InternHunt; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 20,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Cycle to work

Employee discounts

Volunteer day

Stocks and shares

Annual bonus

Tuition fees paid

Job summary

Thales in Glasgow, United Kingdom seeks an AI Engineer Apprentice for a 4-year Level 6 AI and Data Science Graduate Apprenticeship. You will study towards a BSc (Hons) AI and Data Science while working on live projects, with a blended learning approach and tuition fully paid.

The programme blends live virtual lectures, online resources, and self-directed study, delivering hands-on experience in ML, data, software, and security. Hybrid working options apply.

Qualifications

• 96 UCAS points required.
• Four Highers (BBCC) including Maths or Computing.
• Foundation apprenticeship equals one Higher; SCQF Level 6 equals two Highers.
• Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum; hybrid/flexible working options.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, explore and validate data for machine learning use cases.
• Develop and evaluate machine learning models and AI-enabled software components.
• Write clean, tested and documented code; use engineering tools and practices.
• Support model integration, deployment, monitoring and performance improvement.
• Collaborate on live projects with engineers and researchers.

Education

Four Highers (BBCC) including Maths or Computing

Tools

Programming basics

Data preparation

ML concepts

Job description

2027 AI Engineer Apprentice - AI and Data Science Graduate Level Apprenticeship

Glasgow, United Kingdom

2026-10-05

Role Description

Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

2027 AI Engineer Apprentice - AI and Data Science Graduate Level Apprenticeship

Start Date:06 September 2027

Salary:£24,000 per annum

Employee type:Permanent

Location:Glasgow

Working Schedule:Monday – Friday, 37 hours a week (8 hours Monday – Thursday, 5 hours Friday)

Turn your curiosity into a career. If you're passionate about artificial intelligence, eager to learn, and looking for a degree apprenticeship that combines academic study with exciting on-the-job experience, we'd love to hear from you. Benefits of the programme:

• Earn a salary while studying for your qualification
• Gain hands-on experience in a real AI and engineering environment
• Receive job-specific training and development
• Achieve a recognised Level 6 qualification
• Secure a permanent role from the start of your apprenticeship
• Have your university tuition fees fully paid

About The RoleAs an AI Engineer Apprentice, you will develop the technical knowledge, practical skills and professional behaviours needed to design, build, test and deploy dependable AI-enabled solutions.

Working as part of our AI and engineering community, you will contribute to live projects across the machine learning lifecycle, collaborating with software, data, systems and domain specialists to turn needs into secure, maintainable solutions.

Your responsibilities may include:

• Preparing, exploring and validating data for machine learning use cases
• Developing and evaluating machine learning models and AI-enabled software components
• Writing clean, tested and documented code using appropriate engineering tools and practices
• Supporting model integration, deployment, monitoring and performance improvement
• Contributing to technical reviews, experiments and structured problem solving
• Working with experienced engineers and researchers on live projects

What You Will LearnThroughout the apprenticeship, you will gain experience and knowledge in:

• Professional engineering behaviours, teamwork and industry best practice
• Programming, software engineering, version control and automated testing
• Data preparation, feature engineering and data quality techniques
• Machine learning methods, model selection, training and evaluation
• Deployment patterns, MLOps, monitoring and lifecycle management
• Cloud, compute and development tools used to deliver AI solutions
• Responsible AI, security, privacy, safety and regulatory considerations
• Structured approaches to troubleshooting, experimentation and continuous improvement

Degree Apprenticeship ProgrammeYou will study towards an

AI and Data Science Graduate Level Apprenticeshipqualification with

Glasgow Caledonian University, developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to build and apply artificial intelligence responsibly in an engineering environment.

The programme is delivered through a blended learning approach, combining:

• Live virtual lectures
• Online learning resources
• Self-directed study

Programme structure:The BSc (Hons) AI and Data Science (Graduate Apprenticeship) will equip you with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in your role within Thales. Providing a strong foundation across data and AI, this programme will help you to learn how to manage, explore, analyse, understand and visualise data, alongside technical skills such as software development and machine learning. Delivered over 4 years, you will achieve:

Year 1: Certificate of Higher Education in Computing

Year 2: Diploma of Higher Education in Computing

Year 4: BSc (Hons) AI and Data Science (Graduate Apprenticeship)

Entry RequirementsTo apply, you will need:

• 96 UCAS points
• Four Highers (BBCC) including Maths or Computing
• A foundation apprenticeship will be equal to one Higher at B
• A modern apprenticeship SCQF Level 6 in a relevant discipline will be equal to two Highers at B
• Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum
• Performance-related pay uplifts
• Holiday entitlement of 201 hours a year (plus a company day and bank holidays)
• Contributory Company Pension
• Health Care Cash Plan
• Hybrid/flexible working options
• Employee assistance programme
• Learning and development support
• Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives
• Life Cover
• 80 Hours Volunteering per year (first two years)

For further information about our Future Talent recruitment process, including hints and tips, or to connect with a member of the Future Talent Team, a Graduate, or an Apprentice, please visit Thales Future Talent - Connectr.

Please note, assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February - May 2027. Induction week for all Graduate and Apprentices will take place from Monday 6 September - Friday 10 September 2027.

Closing date:Our applications will close at11.59pmon

Wednesday 17 February 2027, this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of

February 2027with details of next steps.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ROLES MAY CLOSE EARLIER THAN THE ADVERTISED DEADLINE IF WE RECEIVE A HIGH NUMER OF APPLICATIONS. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO APPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID MISSING OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY.

Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements.

To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment.

To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years. As part of the vetting process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, right to work in the UK, any time spent overseas during the last five years, and your employment and/or education history.

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities.

Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!