Senior ML Engineer - Machine Learning

Sainsbury's; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in the retail sector seeks a Senior Machine Learning Engineer to design and implement scalable ML systems. The role involves collaboration with cross-functional teams, providing technical leadership, and mentoring engineers, while ensuring best practices in ML operations. The position offers a supportive environment with opportunities for professional growth and a range of benefits.

Benefits

Colleague discounts

Pensions scheme

Performance-related bonus

Annual holiday allowance

Season ticket loans

Health plans

Generous maternity leave

Qualifications

• Experienced ML engineer with a strong record of deploying ML systems.
• Deep understanding of the ML lifecycle and engineering challenges.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical delivery of ML solutions from design to deployment.
• Ensure solutions align with architectural principles and sustainability goals.

Skills

Python

MLOps

Collaboration

Communication

Tools

MLflow

Airflow

Docker

Terraform

Azure

Job description

Senior Machine Learning Engineer

At Sainsbury’s, Machine Learning is central to delivering better experiences and smarter decision-making across the business. As a Senior ML Engineer, you'll play a key role in a cross-functional squad, helping to design, build, and run scalable ML systems that create real value for customers and colleagues.

You will:

• Work closely with engineering, data science, product, and architecture teams to deliver robust, production-ready machine learning solutions.
• Provide technical leadership within the team, contribute to best practices, and ensure the successful delivery and sustainability of ML capabilities.

What you’ll do:

• Lead the technical delivery of ML solutions from design to deployment, including feature engineering, training, testing, serving, and monitoring.
• Partner with Data Scientists to co-design scalable model pipelines and infrastructure for experimentation, rapid iteration, and reliable production deployments.
• Act as the technical lead for engineering within a cross-functional squad, collaborating with Engineering Managers, Data Science Managers, and Product Managers.
• Ensure solutions align with architectural principles, standards, and sustainability goals.
• Contribute to MLOps and software engineering best practices.
• Mentor engineers, participate in code reviews, and help raise the technical bar.
• Drive innovation through tools and patterns that improve scalability, observability, and developer experience.
• Take ownership of non-functional aspects such as cost efficiency, scalability, reliability, and maintainability.

Who you are:

• Experienced ML engineer with a strong record of deploying and operating ML systems in production.
• Deep understanding of the ML lifecycle and engineering challenges.
• Proficient in Python and tools like MLflow, Airflow, Docker, and cloud services (preferably Azure).
• Skilled in building scalable, maintainable ML pipelines using modern practices.
• Experienced with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like Terraform.
• Able to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams, balancing technical quality, delivery speed, and business value.
• Strong communicator and mentor.
• Advocate for automation, engineering excellence, and cost-effective solutions.
• Familiar with containerisation, IaC, and cloud platform operations.

#LI-SE1

Qualifications

We are committed to being an inclusive retailer. You’ll be welcomed regardless of background or location. We support your development and celebrate colleagues' efforts. We offer flexible working and a range of benefits, including:

• Colleague discounts at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU, and Habitat.
• Pensions scheme and life cover.
• Performance-related bonus potential.
• Annual holiday allowance with options to buy additional days.
• Additional benefits like season ticket loans, interest-free car loans, cycle schemes, health plans, pay advances, and retailer discounts.
• Generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leave policies.

Visit www.sainsburys.jobs for more details. Length of service and eligibility may apply.

Responsibilities

We offer meaningful work and a healthy work-life balance. Our environment handles large-scale data, transactions, and variety, requiring modern software engineering practices. We invest in a Tech Academy and promote standards and principles, adopting Agile, Scrum, and XP methodologies. Opportunities abound in AI and reusable tech.