At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development and optimisation of cutting-edge foundation models in AI.
- Company: Join a venture-backed AI startup shaping the future of software delivery.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, and flexible remote work with office visits.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with high ownership and no live coding interviews.
- Why this job: Work directly with founders on groundbreaking technology and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in large-scale ML systems and strong Python/CUDA skills.
The predicted salary is between 100000 - 150000 £ per year.
About the Hiring Process
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About the Company
Our Client is a venture-backed AI startup building a next-generation foundation model to enable fully autonomous software delivery for embedded control systems. This is an opportunity to join at an early stage, work directly with the founders, and help shape a technology designed to redefine how software is built, optimized, and deployed.
Location: London, United Kingdom (Remote with monthly office visits, ideally onsite)
Employment Type: Full-time
Level: Mid-Senior Level
Compensation: £100,000-£150,000 + Equity (Share Options)
Work Authorization: Existing UK work authorization required
About the Role
We're looking for a Senior Machine Learning Engineer (Foundation Models) to lead the development, optimisation, and production deployment of our next-generation foundation model. This is a deeply technical, hands-on role where you'll architect large-scale ML systems, optimise distributed training and inference, build GPU-accelerated infrastructure, and work directly with founders to solve complex engineering challenges. If you're excited by cutting-edge AI research, production-scale machine learning, and building systems that push the limits of modern deep learning, we'd love to hear from you.
What You'll Do
- Foundation Model Development: Lead the research, development, and deployment of large-scale foundation models; Define long-term technical strategy for high-performance ML systems; Build scalable training and inference infrastructure; Own model quality, performance, and reliability.
- ML Infrastructure & Optimisation: Optimise distributed training and inference pipelines; Design GPU-accelerated systems, including custom CUDA kernels when needed; Profile and optimise data pipelines, training loops, inference, and deployment; Build internal tooling, benchmarking systems, and evaluation frameworks.
- Architecture & Collaboration: Design scalable ML infrastructure and solution architectures; Evaluate and implement state-of-the-art ML technologies; Work closely with founders to translate product goals into technical roadmaps; Drive engineering excellence across the ML platform.
What We’re Looking For
- Must Have: Extensive experience designing and building large-scale foundation models; Strong Python and CUDA C/C++ expertise; Deep knowledge of PyTorch (preferred) or another major deep learning framework; Experience optimising and debugging deep learning models; Experience with distributed training and large-scale inference; Experience building ML systems on AWS, Azure, or GCP; Strong GPU optimisation experience; Experience building production ML infrastructure; Excellent system design skills; Delivery-focused mindset with strong ownership; Comfortable solving ambiguous, high-impact problems; Able to work onsite in London or visit the office at least once per month.
- Nice to Have: Experience with Mixture of Experts (MoE) or State Space Models; Custom CUDA kernel development; ML systems operating under strict production SLOs; Experience building internal ML tooling and benchmarking frameworks; Startup or research lab experience shipping foundation models; Experience scaling distributed GPU clusters.
What We Offer
£100,000-£150,000 salary; Meaningful equity (Share Options); Opportunity to build a first-of-its-kind foundation model; Direct collaboration with founders; No take-home assignments or live coding interviews; Transparent, low-ego engineering culture; High ownership and technical autonomy; Office-first environment with flexibility for exceptional candidates.
If you want to help build the next generation of foundation models and solve some of the hardest ML problems in production, we'd love to hear from you.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior ML Engineer in Manchester
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at C&D Talent Advisory or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to C&D Talent Advisory.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like C&D Talent Advisory.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like C&D Talent Advisory that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior ML Engineer in Manchester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at C&D Talent Advisory.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at C&D Talent Advisory and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at C&D Talent Advisory
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If C&D Talent Advisory uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
