Founding Machine Learning Engineer

JR United Kingdom; Sheffield; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A stealth AI startup in Sheffield is seeking a founding Machine Learning Engineer to develop cutting-edge voice models. You will play a critical role in shaping the company's core products, leveraging your expertise to engineer robust machine learning pipelines and infrastructure.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of applied research or industry experience.
• Creative problem-solver with a passion for building world-class products.
• Strong hands-on experience with ML frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement high-performance infrastructure for audio datasets.
• Contribute to research on generative voice models.
• Build scalable ML training pipelines in PyTorch.

Skills

Deep Learning

Generative Models

Voice Conversion

Statistical Modeling

Problem Solving

Education

PhD in relevant field

Equivalent industry experience

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Keras

Python

C/C++

PySpark

Kubernetes

Databricks

Apache Arrow

Job description

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Founding Machine Learning Engineer, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Client: Opus Recruitment Solutions

Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Job Category: Other

EU work permit required: Yes

Job Views:

1

Posted:

04.06.2025

Expiry Date:

19.07.2025

Job Description:

Machine Learning Engineer – Founding Team | Stealth AI Startup (Audio + Generative Models)

Location: London (Hybrid) | Full-time | Competitive Salary + Equity

A well-funded, early-stage startup backed by top-tier investors is seeking an ambitious Machine Learning Engineer to join as their first full-time ML hire.

As a core member of the founding team, you’ll develop generative voice and speech-to-speech models, directly shaping the company’s core products and impacting users.

The ideal candidate is a builder at heart—someone who’s either been a founder or has shipped impressive side projects—and is excited to work in a fast-paced, high-performance environment.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement cost-efficient, high-performance infrastructure for storing and transforming massive audio datasets.
• Apply ML audio and DSP techniques to clean, segment, and filter speech data.
• Manage large-scale cloud data storage with a deep understanding of cost-performance tradeoffs.
• Build scalable ML training pipelines in PyTorch using large datasets.
• Contribute to research and development of generative voice and speech-to-speech models.
• Prototype and implement novel ML/statistical approaches to enhance product capabilities.
• Develop robust testing pipelines to evaluate model performance on audio data.

What We’re Looking For

• PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Deep Generative Models, TTS, ASR, NLU), or equivalent industry experience.
• Deep expertise in voice conversion, generative models, deep learning, or statistical modeling.
• Strong hands-on experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras).
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++.
• Experience with scalable data tools (e.g., PySpark, Kubernetes, Databricks, Apache Arrow).
• Proven ability to manage GPU-intensive data processing jobs.
• 4+ years of applied research or industry experience.
• Creative problem-solver with a bias for action and a passion for building world-class products.

Bonus Points

• Extensive experience in applied research, especially in voice conversion, speech synthesis, or NLP.
• PhD specialization in voice or speech-related ML fields.
• A track record of thought leadership through publications, open-source contributions, or patents.