Lead Machine Learning Engineer

Understanding Recruitment; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defence technology company in London seeks a Lead Machine Learning Engineer to define and execute AI strategies while mentoring a world-class team. Candidates should have extensive ML experience, a relevant master's degree, and proficiency in Python. The position offers a competitive salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Equity

Comprehensive benefits

Pension

Healthcare

Meals

Relocation & visa support

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on ML experience, with proven technical leadership.
• MSc (or equivalent) in AI, ML, Robotics, or Computer Science.
• Excellent communicator and problem-solver who thrives in fast-paced environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a growing team of ML engineers.
• Build and deploy state-of-the-art models for perception and decision-making.
• Drive research into data quality, optimisation, and performance at the edge.

Skills

Hands-on ML experience

Technical leadership

Proficiency in Python

Communication skills

Education

MSc in AI, ML, Robotics, or Computer Science

Tools

Python

Rust

C++

Java

Job description

🤖 Lead Machine Learning Engineer

📍 London, UK (Hybrid – primarily office-based) 💼 Full-time 💰 Competitive Salary + Equity + Benefits

Join a defence technology company at the forefront of the autonomous age— developing AI and software that enable seamless collaboration between humans, sensors, robots, and autonomous systems.

As Lead Machine Learning Engineer, you’ll define and execute the company’s AI strategy while guiding a world‑class team building next‑generation models for perception, control, and multi‑modal understanding. Your work will power real‑world systems — from drones to vehicles to mission platforms — across both cloud and edge environments.

What you’ll do

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a growing team of ML engineers
• Build and deploy state‑of‑the‑art models for perception, decision‑making, and control
• Drive research into data quality, optimisation, and performance at the edge
• Collaborate across engineering disciplines to bring AI into production systems

What you bring

• 5+ years of hands‑on ML experience, with proven technical leadership
• MSc (or equivalent) in AI, ML, Robotics, or Computer Science
• Proficiency in Python (plus exposure to Rust, C++, or Java)
• Excellent communicator and problem‑solver who thrives in fast‑paced environments

Bonus points for

• ⭐ PhD in Computer Vision, ML, or Robotics
• ⭐ Publications in leading AI/ML venues
• ⭐ Experience with MLOps, multi‑sensor fusion, or synthetic data
• ⭐ Optimising models for edge or resource‑constrained systems

Why join

• 🚀 Build technology with real national impact
• 🧠 Collaborate with exceptional scientists and engineers
• 💰 Competitive package, meaningful equity, and comprehensive benefits (pension, healthcare, meals, relocation & visa support)

Applicants must hold or be eligible for UK Security Check (SC) clearance.