Senior Software Developer in London

We're looking for a Senior Software Developer to be part of our success story. Listed in the 2022 Sunday Times 100: Britain's fastest-growing private companies. Great career development opportunities – grow with us.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Software Developer with expertise in AI/ML and Python to join our development team. This role combines hands-on development of AI-powered solutions, requiring strong machine learning engineering skills. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in building production-ready ML systems and a proven track record of deploying AI solutions at scale.

Responsibilities

• AI/ML Development

• Design, develop, and deploy machine learning models and pipelines using Python
• Build and maintain end-to-end ML systems from data ingestion to model serving
• Implement deep learning solutions using PyTorch and TensorFlow
• Develop and optimise NLP solutions and computer vision applications
• Create scalable feature engineering and data preprocessing pipelines
• Build model training, evaluation, and monitoring frameworks
• Implement MLOps practices for continuous model improvement
• Design and maintain vector databases for similarity search and RAG applications
• Integrate LLMs and foundation models into production applications
• Optimise model inference for latency and throughput requirements

• Write clean, efficient, and maintainable Python code following best practices
• Build RESTful APIs and microservices for ML model serving
• Develop data processing pipelines using Apache Spark and Airflow
• Implement real-time streaming solutions for ML features
• Design and optimise database solutions for ML workloads
• Build monitoring and observability solutions for ML systems
• Contribute to system architecture and infrastructure decisions
• Implement comprehensive testing strategies for ML applications

Skills and Experience

We're looking for candidates who have experience with some of these technologies and are eager to learn others.

• Core Technologies

• Python: Expert level – 5+ years of production experience
• Machine Learning Frameworks: PyTorch and/or TensorFlow – 3+ years
• ML Libraries: scikit-learn, XGBoost, LightGBM – Strong proficiency
• Data Processing: pandas, NumPy, Spark – Expert level
• Deep Learning: CNNs, RNNs, Transformers – Practical experience
• Version Control: Git proficiency with focus on ML workflows

• Experience with LLMs (GPT, Claude, Llama) and prompt engineering
• Vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, Chroma, or similar)
• RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) implementation
• Computer Vision libraries (OpenCV, PIL, torchvision)
• NLP libraries (spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers)
• Model optimisation techniques (quantisation, pruning, distillation)
• A/B testing for ML models
• Feature stores and data versioning

• Container technologies: Docker and Kubernetes for ML workloads
• ML platforms: MLflow, Kubeflow, or similar
• Cloud ML services: AWS SageMaker, Azure ML, or GCP Vertex AI
• Model serving frameworks: TorchServe, TensorFlow Serving, FastAPI
• Distributed training experience (Horovod, DDP)
• GPU optimisation and CUDA programming basics
• Monitoring tools: Weights & Biases, Neptune, or similar
• Data pipeline orchestration: Airflow, Dagster, or Prefect

• Database systems: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
• Message queues: Kafka, RabbitMQ for ML pipelines
• RESTful API and gRPC development
• Microservices architecture for ML systems
• Data engineering fundamentals
• Security best practices for AI systems
• Performance optimisation for inference

Required Soft Skills

• Communication: Ability to explain complex ML concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Collaboration: Experience working with cross-functional teams including data scientists
• Problem-solving: Strong analytical skills for debugging ML systems
• Research: Ability to read and implement academic papers
• Innovation: Track record of applying cutting-edge AI techniques

Experience & Education

• Experience: 5-8+ years of software development with 3+ years focused on ML/AI
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field; Master's/PhD preferred
• Industry: Experience deploying ML models in production environments

Working Methodology

• Agile/Scrum experience with ML projects
• Familiar with experiment tracking and reproducibility
• Experience with iterative model development
• Focus on continuous learning and improvement

Nice to Have

• Published research papers or patents in ML/AI
• Contributions to open-source ML projects
• Experience with edge deployment and model optimisation
• Knowledge of reinforcement learning
• Experience with multi-modal models
• Familiarity with ethical AI and bias mitigation
• Cloud certifications in ML/AI services

Benefits

• 33 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• Personal health cash plan – claim back the cost of things like dentist and optical check-ups
• Enhanced maternity / paternity / adoption / shared parental pay
• Life assurance: three times basic salary
• Free breakfasts and fruit
• Birthday surprise for everybody!

What you can expect from us

At Activate Group, looking after team members is a major priority. Whether you're at our smart Halifax or Peterborough offices, one of our AAR sites or working from home, we'll make sure you have all the support you need to succeed. From benefits that put your health and wellbeing first, to impressive rewards for our employee of the month, and little perks like free fruit and cereal, we'll go out of our way to show how much we appreciate you.

A bit about us

Named by the Sunday Times as one of the UK's 100 fastest-growing private companies, we employ more than 700 team members nationwide. We work with some of the UK's largest fleets and insurance companies, supporting drivers that have been involved in a road incident at our contact centres in Halifax and Peterborough. We look after every step of the repair process, repairing vehicles at our own Activate Accident Repair body shops, and through a UK-wide network of independent repair partners.

Purpose

Make someone's bad day better

Values

• Make it happen – Be accountable. Take the initiative, work fast, and do a great job.
• Strive for better – Be bold. Challenge the norm – make small improvements often.
• Win together – Be a team-player. Win together, learn together, respect each other.