ML (Machine Learning) Engineer

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is home to 4,500 digital, cyber and intelligence experts. We work collaboratively across 10 countries to collect, connect and understand complex data, so that governments, nation states, armed forces and commercial businesses can unlock digital advantage in the most demanding environments.

Are you passionate about working with cutting-edge AI/ML technology? Are you self-motivated to find innovative solutions to complex challenges as part of a team who help keep the UK safe? Join BAE Systems as an experienced Machine Learning (ML) Engineer. As part of our AI team, you will be working with our National Security Customers to understand their business challenges and identify where AI/ML-based solutions can add value. You will lead on prototype development and be responsible for designing, implementing, and deploying AI solutions. This cross-functional role requires a strong foundation in software engineering, statistics, and AI/ML concepts.

Due to the fast-paced change in AI/ML, you are expected to be aware of the latest advancements in AI and ML technologies, ensuring that solutions are both innovative and effective. You will work closely with data scientists to understand data requirements, clean and organize data, and build efficient, scalable capabilities. Our unique customers have interesting, complex data. You will conduct practical AI experiments to test technical assumptions and assess technology maturity to meet user needs.

As an engineering expert in AI/ML you will be expected to develop, test and validate applications using machine learning models, demonstrating how they can mature from prototype to product. You will provide support to other early adopter engineering teams attempting to develop and integrate their own machine learning solutions. We are embarking upon a pivotal period that will significantly grow our AI capability, where you will be helping to develop innovative products & services that support our customers' mission.

You will have the opportunity to get to know our own business and work with people across a diverse range of professional backgrounds. This is an exciting time to join our team to help pioneer both our customer's and our own AI adoption journey. Not only will you be directly making a huge impact through the solutions you develop, you’ll be doing it for an organisation that makes a huge impact on the security of the UK.

About you

You will have experience in many of the following:

• Prototyping applications using machine learning (ML) models to test feasibility and impact.
• Engineering and implementing ML-based solutions, with proven ability to own the end-to-end process and lifecycle of ML systems.
• Deploying models and handling technical aspects of making models operational to meet user needs.
• Integrating models within applications, and incorporating them into wider systems.
• Monitoring model performance through regular evaluation of deployed models, identifying performance gaps and opportunities for optimisation.
• Researching techniques by continuously exploring the latest ML and AI advancements to identify methods that can enhance current systems.
• Adhering to policy and ethical AI standards, ensuring machine learning practices comply with compliance processes and guidelines.
• Providing technical guidance in the implementation and integration of machine learning to other cross-functional teams.
• Using MLOps tools and frameworks.
• Source controlling your code with Version Control Systems, for example Git, Mercurial, Perforce.

It would be great if you also had experience in some of these, but if not we’ll help you with them:

• Optimising models from data scientists by working closely with them to refine, optimise, and implement models based on prototypes.
• Defining and improving MLOps processes by creating and refining the model development and deployment strategy for better efficiency and results.
• Ensuring the quality and accessibility of data used for machine learning projects is appropriate, collaborating with data engineers as necessary.
• Performing data analysis to enable machine learning engineering tasks, such as ethics/bias assessments or exploratory data analysis to inform model development/deployment pattern choice.
• Maintaining comprehensive documentation of model development, including methodologies, performance evaluations, and deployment details.
• Developing and running solutions in Cloud-based environments & Cloud ML Services e.g. AWS, MS Azure.
• Integrating with relational, document, search and graph database systems.
• Utilising CI/CD tools, such as Bamboo, Jenkins, TeamCity, Bitbucket, in order to streamline delivery of new features and fixes.

Security Clearance is required for this vacancy. If you are not currently Security Cleared, you will need to be eligible for this and willing to go through the process.

How we will support you

Work-life balance is important; you can work around core hours with flexible and part-time working, and many of our roles include hybrid working enabling a mix of working from home and in the office. You’ll get 25 days holiday a year and the option to buy/sell and carry over from the year before. Our flexible benefits package includes private medical and dental insurance, a competitive pension scheme, cycle to work scheme, taste cards and more. You’ll have a dedicated Career Manager to help you develop your career and guide you on your journey through BAE. You’ll be part of our company bonus scheme. You are welcome to join any/all of our Diversity and Support groups. These groups cover everything from gender diversity to mental health and wellbeing.

About our team

Our people are what differentiates us, they are resourceful, innovative and dedicated. We have a mix of generalists and specialists and recognise that this diversity contributes to our success. We recognise the benefits of forming teams from a mix of disciplines, which allows us to come up with cutting edge, high quality solutions. Our breadth of work across the Public Sector provides diverse opportunities for our people to develop their careers in new areas of expertise and with new clients. You’ll be part of a big company, but we try to create a culture that feels like a small one. The work will stretch you and be challenging, but we encourage a healthy work-life balance. Most of all, we know teams who work well together also perform well. We’ll do everything we can to ensure you have fun at work, and in social activities outside of it whether that’s virtually or in person, as conditions allow.

You will be joining our National Security business which is the largest area within our UK business. Our mission is to be the most trusted partner for our National Security clients in delivery of their core mission. At the end of 2020 we had over 700 employees working across our security and law enforcement customers. This year, we are looking to build on our success and grow even further by recruiting over 100 new members to our team. We have a rich history of working within National Security. In fact, we have over 40 years’ experience of delivering advice and solutions to our customers in this sector, supporting them in carrying out their vital missions.

More about BAE Systems

You will work for a division of BAE Systems who helps nations, governments and businesses around the world defend themselves against cyber crime, reduce their risk in the connected world, comply with regulation, and transform their operations. We’re a consultancy and products business and employ smart, motivated individuals who work together across a range of projects and products. You’ll get to work on a variety of different systems for different customers throughout your career with us. We’re passionate about Diversity and Inclusion in our workforce and the people you’ll work with will reflect this. We employ over 4,000 people across 18 countries in the Americas, APAC, UK and EMEA.

We are embracing Hybrid Working. This means you and your colleagues may be working in different locations, such as from home, another BAE Systems office or client site, some or all of the time, and work might be going on at different times of the day. By embracing technology, we can interact, collaborate and create together, even when we’re working remotely from one another. Hybrid Working allows for increased flexibility in when and where we work, helping us to balance our work and personal life more effectively, and enhance well-being. Diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of BAE Systems Digital Intelligence. We are proud to have an organisational culture where employees with varying perspectives, skills, life experiences and backgrounds – the best and brightest minds – can work together to achieve excellence and realise individual and organisational potential.