Machine Learning Scientist in Oxford

We’re Aioi R&D Lab – an AI tech hub in one of the fastest-growing insurance companies.

We research and develop AI systems that catapult insurance from a slow-moving, traditional past into a data-driven, technology-lead and society-defining future.

We’re looking for dynamic, driven professionals like you to help evolve our business in new directions.

You’ll need first-class credentials and a proactive attitude to help us drive the change the underpins our mission.

As a Machine Learning Scientist, you will will support the development of a privacy-preserving generative AI ecosystem designed to protect personal and sensitive corporate data by design, including data residency, anonymisation and secure deployment protocols and principles, as well as model-based data protection achieved during both training and inference time.

Working within a multidisciplinary and multi-partner environment, the postholder will research technical concepts core to the program and contribute towards developing them into dependable systems and components that can be used in live settings, while also supporting the broader technical development of the Lab and its collaboration with CODAS and other project partners.

Additionally, the postholder will create publishable material based on the work carried out in the program, and attend events such as conferences and workshops to disseminate the progress made.

If you’d like to be part of our brighter future, and share in our success, we’d love to hear from you.

BE THE NEXT BIG THING, NOW.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test and maintain machine learning and AI software in support of the CODAS project and related R&D Lab initiatives.
• Contribute to the delivery of technical components for a sovereign AI ecosystem, including ML services, data processing pipelines, evaluation tooling and deployment-ready applications.
• Support the translation of research outputs into robust, maintainable and operationally viable systems.
• Work with internal colleagues and external project partners to understand technical requirements, constraints and delivery priorities.
• Help adapt AI and ML approaches to privacy-sensitive, security-conscious and regulated deployment contexts.
• Contribute to the integration of technical solutions into project infrastructure, workflows and partner environments.
• Troubleshoot technical, data and integration issues arising during development and deployment.
• Support the development and improvement of internal tooling, engineering standards, reusable frameworks and deployment practices across the Lab.
• Communicate technical trade-offs, risks and progress clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Knowledge, Experience and Qualifications

Essential

• A Master’s degree or Ph D in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Mathematics, or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research or industry experience.
• Established work experience in relevant field.
• A strong and demonstrable track record in applied ML/AI research or development, with recognised expertise in one or more relevant areas such as privacy-preserving ML, generative AI, large language models, or federated learning.
• Deep understanding of modern ML methods, their assumptions and limitations, and the ability to reason about appropriate application in novel or constrained settings.
• Software engineering foundations in Python, including ML frameworks, version control, CI/CD, and reproducible experimental practices.
• Skills handling challenging data that requires understanding, preparation, oraganisation and augmentation before use for the purposes of ML/AI research or development
• Experience working across the full ML lifecycle — from problem framing, experimentation and prototyping through to evaluation, integration and deployment.
• Ability to contribute to scientific publications, technical reports, and the dissemination of research findings to a wide audience.
• Communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts and trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to work effectively in technically complex and ambiguous environments involving multiple stakeholders.

Desirable

• Experience with privacy-preserving ML techniques such as differential privacy, federated learning, secure computation, or membership inference resistance.
• Experience with generative AI systems, large language models, agentic AI approaches, or evaluation methodologies for frontier AI.
• Experience working in a multi-partner programme involving industry, government or academia.

Why Join Us?

We're all about helping you grow, with plenty of support to develop in your current role whilst also creating opportunities to explore new ones and advance your career.

We realise that we need to be a good fit for you above all else – so here’s what you can enjoy about AND-E:

Recognised as the Best Large Insurance Employer: We are proud to have been named the Best Large Insurance Employer for 2023 at the prestigious British Insurance Awards.

Unmatched Work-Life Balance.

Competitive Salaries and Benefits Package: We offer competitive salaries that recognise your skills and expertise.

We champion choice, flexibility, and balance in both work and home life.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ensures everyone feels valued and supported — including embracing neurodiversity and providing the tools needed to thrive.

We like to think our benefits package is one of the best, focusing on colleagues’ health, wealth, and lifestyle. We offer:

• Up to 28 Days annual leave with the option to buy/sell up to 5 days holiday*
• Healix Private Medical Insurance Options*
• 3 x Annual Salary Life Assurance*

A range of health, wellbeing, and financial support benefits, including money back on health expenses, Employee Assistance Programme, Flu Jab voucher, Virtual GP service, and driving lessons* for you and your family.

Additional perks such as a pension advisory service, family-friendly policies, season ticket loan*, cycle scheme*, and financial flexibility through Wagestream*.

• Subject to company performance and completion of probation

Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe is committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment.

Employees and job applicants will receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (Protected Characteristics)

At AND-E, equal opportunity is more than a policy—it’s a promise.

We welcome applications from all individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic.

Reasonable adjustments: If you require any adjustments to support you during our recruitment process, please let us know.

We’re committed to making the process accessible and are happy to help