AI Engineer Degree Apprenticeship - Level 6 Machine Learning

Thales; Manor Royal; Hybrid; GBP 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary (£24k)

Performance pay uplifts

Holidays 201h/yr

Company Pension

Health Care Cash Plan

Hybrid/flexible work

Employee Assistance

Learning & Development

Discounts & Wellbeing

Life Cover

Volunteering 80h/yr

Job summary

Thales in the United Kingdom is offering a Level 6 AI Engineer apprenticeship combining academic study with on-the-job experience. As an AI Engineer Apprentice, you will develop the knowledge and skills to design, build, test and deploy AI-enabled solutions while working with experienced engineers on live projects.

The programme includes the Microsoft certified Azure AI Engineer Associate qualification, alongside the Level 6 Machine Learning Engineer Apprenticeship, with live virtual lectures,

Qualifications

• Three A Levels grade B or above in Maths.
• At least one relevant subject (Physics, Computer Science, Software, ICT).
• Or a Level 4/5 apprenticeship in a similar subject.

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Maths

Physics

Computer Science

Education

A Levels with Maths + relevant subject

GCSEs English & Maths (5+ GCSEs)

Level 4/5 apprenticeship equivalent

Job description

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 tuition fees fully paid

About the Role

As 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 Learn

Throughout 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

Apprenticeship Programme

You will study towards a Level 6 AI Engineer apprenticeship with QA, developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to build and apply artificial intelligence responsibly in an engineering environment.

The programme is delivered through a virtual learning model, combining:

• Live virtual lectures (28 days)
• Online learning resources
• Self-directed study

This programme will take you through the AI lifecycle, from design and build, through to deployment and governance – providing a strong foundation for your role within Thales. The programme includes the Microsoft certified Azure AI Engineer Associate qualification, in addition to the Level 6 Machine Learning Engineer Apprenticeship qualification.

Entry Requirements

To apply, you will need:

A Levels

• Three A Levels Grade B or above in Maths
• At least one relevant subject (Physics, Computer Science, Software, ICT)
• Or a Level 4/5 apprenticeship in a similar subject

GCSEs

• Minimum of five GCSEs at Grade 9-4 (A-C) in English and Maths

Please note Computer Science graduates are not eligible due to funding restrictions.

Benefits

• 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)

Closing date: Our applications will close at 11.59pm on 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 2027 with 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.

About the Company

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity, and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.