Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Computer Vision

NearTech Search; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

NearTech Search is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer focused on hardware and computer vision for industrial inspection. You will prototype hardware, integrate cameras and sensors, and push edge AI solutions toward robust production-ready systems.

You will collaborate with ML, software and hardware teams to translate concepts into practical, scalable prototypes and customer-ready demonstrations, supporting deployment in real-world environments.

Qualifications

• Experience with industrial vision systems and sensing technologies in real-world deployments.
• Hands-on hardware prototyping and testing across cameras, optics and Lighting.
• Ability to design experiments and benchmark performance of hardware and software.
• Familiarity with edge AI deployment tools and model conversion workflows.
• Knowledge of camera calibration, lighting and image quality considerations.

Responsibilities

• Design, prototype and validate industrial inspection systems across 2D/3D sensing and edge computing.
• Evaluate cameras, sensors, optics, lighting and embedded systems.
• Build and test proof-of-concept hardware and demonstration systems.
• Benchmark edge computing platforms for latency, memory, and thermal behavior.
• Support CV model deployment with ONNX Runtime, TensorRT and OpenVINO.
• Document testing results and technical recommendations for product teams.
• Identify technologies to progress to development and commercial application.

Skills

Industrial vision

Python

Edge computing

Hardware prototyping

Camera calibration

Image quality

Cross-team communication

Tools

OpenCV

ONNX Runtime

TensorRT

OpenVINO

C/C++

Job description

Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Hardware & Computer Vision

Location: Hybrid, United Kingdom

About the Company

An innovative AI company developing advanced computer vision solutions for industrial inspection and quality control. The business is expanding its technology across industrial sensing, robotics and edge computing, helping manufacturers improve inspection accuracy and automation through AI-driven systems.

The Role

We're looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer with a strong hands-on background in industrial vision, hardware and sensing technologies to help develop the next generation of inspection systems.

This is a practical, hardware-focused role involving the exploration, prototyping and testing of new technologies across cameras, sensors, optics, lighting and edge computing. You'll take ideas from initial concept through to working prototypes, evaluating new technologies and developing solutions that can be deployed in real-world industrial environments.

Working closely with machine learning, software and engineering teams, you'll help identify new opportunities, build proof-of-concept systems and turn successful experiments into scalable, reliable products.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, prototype and validate industrial inspection systems across 2D, 3D, advanced sensing and edge computing.
• Evaluate emerging cameras, sensors, optics, lighting and embedded systems to identify opportunities for new inspection capabilities.
• Build and test proof-of-concept hardware, developing practical solutions to complex inspection challenges.
• Benchmark edge computing platforms, assessing performance, latency, memory usage, thermal behaviour and deployment requirements.
• Support computer vision model deployment using technologies such as ONNX Runtime, TensorRT and OpenVINO.
• Develop and maintain hardware prototypes, sensor rigs and portable demonstration systems for testing and customer applications.
• Troubleshoot image quality issues, including lighting variation, glare, blur, calibration drift and inconsistent image capture.
• Work with cross-functional teams on industrial integration, including PLCs, robotics, camera triggering and industrial networking.
• Document testing, performance results and technical recommendations to support product development and deployment.
• Identify promising technologies and recommend which hardware and sensing solutions should progress to further development and commercial application.

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong commercial experience with industrial vision systems, inspection hardware, sensing technologies, robotics or factory automation.
• Hands-on experience with industrial cameras, lenses, lighting, optics, exposure, calibration and image acquisition.
• Experience evaluating or deploying edge computing platforms for computer vision applications.
• Strong Python programming skills for prototyping, testing, automation and hardware integration.
• Experience troubleshooting computer vision systems, from image acquisition through to model deployment and runtime performance.
• Familiarity with OpenCV and image processing techniques.
• Experience designing experiments, benchmarking hardware and evaluating technical performance.
• Ability to develop practical prototypes and turn complex technical challenges into workable solutions.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to work across engineering, product and commercial teams.
• Experience with advanced sensing technologies, including 3D cameras, laser scanners, stereo vision, thermal, hyperspectral or X-ray imaging.
• Knowledge of ONNX Runtime, TensorRT, OpenVINO, model quantisation or edge inference optimisation.
• C or C++ experience, particularly in hardware integration or performance-critical applications.
• Experience integrating vision systems with PLCs, robotics, industrial networks or automated inspection cells.
• Familiarity with industrial camera technologies from manufacturers such as Basler, Cognex, Keyence, SICK or Teledyne.
• Experience in manufacturing, automotive, battery production, metrology, non-destructive testing or industrial quality inspection.
• Experience developing proof-of-concept hardware, test fixtures, demonstration systems or customer-facing prototypes.
• Experience evaluating new technologies, selecting hardware vendors or leading rapid prototyping projects.

The Ideal Candidate

We're looking for a practical, technically minded engineer who enjoys building and testing new technologies, rather than focusing solely on theoretical research or model development.

You’ll be comfortable taking an initial idea, identifying the right hardware, building a prototype and rigorously testing its performance. You’ll also understand how camera selection, lighting, sensing and edge computing directly affect the performance of computer vision systems in real-world environments.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of hardware innovation, work across a range of emerging technologies and play a key role in developing the next generation of industrial inspection solutions.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds.