AI Engineer (Spatial Intelligence) in Edinburgh

About Huawei Research and Development UK Limited Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have 207,000 employees and operate in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world. Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks; bring cloud and artificial intelligence to all four corners of the earth to provide superior computing power where you need it, when you need it; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, making it more personalized for people in all aspects of their life, whether they’re at home, in the office, or on the go.

This spirit of innovation has led Huawei to work in close partnership with leading academic institutions in the UK to develop and refine the latest technologies. With a shared commitment to innovation and progress, both parties have worked together to achieve common goals and establish a strong partnership. The partnership between UK and Huawei helps to develop the technologies of the future that will transform the way we all communicate, work and live. For the past 30 years we have maintained an unwavering focus, rejecting shortcuts and easy opportunities that don't align with our core business. With a practical approach to everything we do, we concentrate our efforts and invest patiently to drive technological breakthroughs. This strategic focus is a reflection of our core values: Staying customer-centric, Inspiring dedication, Persevering, Growing by reflection.

Huawei’s vision is a fully connected, intelligent world. To achieve this, we work to inspire passion for basic research around the world. Our combined passion drives development across the global innovation value chain. Huawei has the largest Research and Development organization in the world with 96,000+ employees in research centers around the globe. In the UK, we already have design centers in Cambridge, London, Edinburgh and Ipswich. We continue to explore and define new research directions and new services. We have expanded our collaborations with academic researchers; researched new network architectures, integration of communications and key enabling technologies; and developed the fundamental theories of these technologies. We invite you to join us on this exciting journey and drive your career forward.

Job Summary: We are seeking a talented and forward-thinking AI Engineer (Spatial Intelligence) to bridge the gap between physical environment sensing and on-device Personal Intelligence. In this role, you will develop the critical foundation models that allow consumer devices to understand their physical surroundings and retrieve relevant local data. You will be at the forefront of building the next generation of maps, entirely powered by edge-AI.

Key Responsibilities:

• Foundation Models Optimization: Deploy and fine-tune multimodal models for consumer‑grade edge hardware and highly specialized use cases.
• Spatial Systems: Build prototypes to translate geospatial data into structured formats optimized for LLM reasoning.
• Vector Search: Design high‑performance data retrieval solutions optimized for distributed spatial and geographic data.
• Thematic Mapping: Create data pipelines to enrich traditional mapping systems with real‑time semantic context.
• Demo Development: Produce fully functional solution to demonstrate viability of concepts or new model abilities.

This job description is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. The jobholder will carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by his/her line manager. The job description and personal specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of Huawei Research and Development UK Limited.

Person Specification Required Skills & Qualifications:

• AI & Machine Learning: Strong experience working with LLMs, foundation models, or multimodal AI architectures.
• Data Experience: Solid understanding of geospatial data, vector embeddings, or semantic search.
• Edge Computing: Familiarity with running models under local hardware constraints (e.g., ONNX, TensorRT, CoreML).
• Programming Proficiency: Advanced skills in orchestration frameworks such as: Pydantic AI, AutoGen, or LangGraph.
• Education: Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.