Senior Machine Learning Scientist in Oxford

The role 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.

Responsibilities:

• Lead or substantially contribute to technical research workstreams within assigned CODAS tracks, setting experimental direction and ensuring delivery of high-quality outputs within programme timelines.
• Design, develop and validate machine learning models, algorithms and approaches for privacy-preserving generative AI, including areas such as differential privacy, federated learning, and secure inference.
• Serve as a technical research lead on assigned workstreams; design novel approaches or adapt existing methods to meet programme objectives beyond the current state of the art.
• Contribute to the translation of research outcomes into proof-of-concept systems, toolkits and deployable components that form part of the programme deliverables.
• Work with internal colleagues and external project partners to understand technical requirements, constraints and delivery priorities.
• Mentor and support junior colleagues (ML engineers and research associates), scoping and delegating tasks aligned to their development and the needs of the programme.
• Contribute to scientific publications, technical reports, conference presentations and other dissemination activities in support of the programmes commitment to advancing the field.
• Champion best practices in ML research, software design, experimental rigor, reproducibility and responsible AI across the team.
• Communicate complex technical findings and trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including partner organisations and programme leadership.

Knowledge, Experience & Qualifications:

Essential:

• A Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Mathematics, or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research or industry experience.
• 5+ year 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.
• Strong software engineering foundations in Python, including ML frameworks, version control, CI/CD, and reproducible experimental practices.
• Strong skills handling challenging data that requires understanding, preparation, organisations 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.
• Proven ability to mentor or support junior colleagues and scope technical work aligned to team and programme goals.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex 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.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and MLOps tooling.
• Contributions to open-source AI or ML projects, or a track record of published research in relevant areas.
• Experience working in a multi-partner programme involving industry, government or academia.
• Experience in consulting, client-facing AI delivery, or regulated industry contexts such as insurance, financial services, or public-sector programmes.
• Familiarity with agentic systems design, MCP/A2A protocols, or inference-time privacy controls.
• Familiarity innovating with agentic-driven workflows and toolsets for both research and prototyping tasks, such as Claude, Claude-Code, CoPilot, etc.

Why Join Us?

We’re committed to your growth, providing the support to excel in your current role whilst offering opportunities to step into new challenges and drive your career forward. 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.
• 28 Days annual leave with the option to buy/sell up to 5 days holiday.
• Private Medical & Permanent Health Insurance.
• 4 x Annual salary Life Assurance.
• Health and Wellbeing Benefits: Including money back on health-related expenses (optician, dental, physio, etc.), Flu Jab vouchers, Virtual GP service, Employee Assistance Programme, and enhanced family-friendly policies (baby bonus & pension advisory service).
• Financial and Lifestyle Support: Offers financial flexibility through Wagestream, annual season ticket loans, cycle scheme, and £250 towards driving lessons for you and dependents.

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.