Senior Machine Learning Engineer - SC (DV Clearable) - Perm

Sanderson Government and Defence; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Mind Foundry is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to lead on-site engagements and translate customer problems into production-ready AI/ML solutions. You will prototype, deploy, and own ML work from concept to live operation, collaborating with PMs, ML scientists, and software engineers.

The role requires DV-clearable status, strong Python and MLOps experience, and a track record of mentoring engineers. Hybrid work in London or Cheltenham is offered.

Qualifications

• A degree in Computer Science or related STEM field or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong Python programming with clean, tested code and long-term ownership.
• Hands-on production infra experience: Docker, Linux, CI/CD, MLOps, cloud platforms.
• Experience with state-of-the-art ML libraries and customer-facing delivery.
• Excellent problem solving in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead scoping and architectural decisions for production ML solutions.
• Design and build prototypes and production-ready ML systems.
• Collaborate with product managers, ML scientists, and software engineers.
• Maintain knowledge of state-of-the-art ML methods and tooling.
• Write maintainable code and promote best practices in a scientific codebase.
• Mentor junior ML engineers and provide customer training on Mind Foundry products.

Skills

Python programming

Problem solving

Mentoring juniors

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS / related STEM

Tools

Docker

Linux

CI/CD

MLOps

Cloud platforms

Model serving architectures

NLP/LLMs

Spark / Kafka

Job description

Senior Machine Learning Engineer - (DV Clearable) - Multiple HeadcountLocation(s) : Cheltenham or LondonType : 4 days on-site, 1 day at homeSalary : £75,000 - £95,000Clearance : SC (Must be eligible and willing to go through DV Clearance)Must be a sole British NationalWe're looking for Senior Machine Learning Engineers to join a supportive, multidisciplinary team developing AI/ML systems to solve critical challenges. As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, you'll lead onsite engagements with clients and stakeholders to translate their problems into robust, production-ready machine learning solutions. You'll rapidly explore, prototype, and deploy ML approaches both within and beyond our core capability offerings, taking ownership from initial concept through to live operation. Working at the forefront of applied AI alongside experts across multiple disciplines, you'll help users defend against Defence and National Security threats, directly contributing to safer, more resilient systems deployed where they matter most.This is an opportunity to innovate at the forefront of applied machine learning, tackle high-impact real-world problems, grow your technical skills, and shape the way AI/ML solutions are delivered to critical operational environments.

Key day-to-day activities:

• Lead technical scoping and make key architectural decisions to enable delivery of professional-level ML solutions.
• Design and build prototypes and robust, production-ready ML solutions.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the team (Product Managers, Machine Learning Scientists, Software Engineers) to solve critical National Security challenges.
• Maintain and develop a strong working knowledge of state-of-the-art ML methods, software tools and implementation methods.
• Write maintainable production code and promote best practices for code quality in a scientific codebase.
• Mentor and develop junior Machine Learning Engineers.
• Provide advice and explain core ML concepts to our customers and partners.
• Provide training to our customers and partners on Mind Foundry products and solutions.

Core kills & Experience:

• A degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, or a related STEM field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Strong engineer with demonstrated proficiency in programming languages such as Python, producing clean, reproducible, well-tested, and well-documented code suitable for long-term ownership and handover.
• Hands-on experience with production infrastructure, including Docker, Linux, CI/CD, MLOps, cloud platforms, and model serving architectures.
• Be able to work with state-of-the-art ML libraries to deliver powerful results quickly.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills and comfortable working in ambiguous, fast-moving environments, embedded with customers or delivery teams.

Nice to have:

• Prior experience working with government customers, defence contractors, or in military environments.
• Ability to write technical material (documentation, published papers, internal technical notes etc).
• Experience with Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs) or Image Processing.
• Experience in areas of model development, data processing and streaming (Spark, Kafka), microservices in python (Flask or FastAPI), and interactive visualisations and User Interfaces (Streamlit, Plotly, Gradio etc).

While we think the above experience is important, we're keen to hear from people that believe they have valuable skills, ideas, or perspectives that will make an impact in this role. If our team and mission resonate with you, but you do not necessarily meet all our requirements, we still encourage you to apply.

Reasonable Adjustments

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients. If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.