Research Assistant, Applied Research Group (ARG) in City of London

The Alan Turing Institute is a place for inspiring, exciting work and we need passionate, sharp, and innovative people who want to use their skills to contribute to our mission to make great leaps in data science and AI research to change the world for the better.

Background: The Defence & National Security (D&NS) theme at the Turing is looking to expand its Applied Research Group (ARG). As a team, ARG applies cutting edge research to real‑world problems. Impact takes multiple forms: the fast development of a proof‑of‑concept to show what’s possible; candid technical discussions to highlight what’s not; and longer‑term projects to deliver bespoke capabilities. Day‑to‑day, ARG collaborates closely with partners, technical and subject‑matter experts. The ARG is a cross‑disciplinary team therefore able to respond to a wide variety of problem sets and encourage applications from both generalists and specialists including those who self‑identify as statisticians, software engineers, machine learning practitioners, data scientists or data engineers.

Candidate Profile: Successful candidates will need to be eligible to undertake the DV clearance process once in‑post and be willing to go through this process. In terms of the ideal candidate, we encourage applications from both generalists and specialists including those who self‑identify as statisticians, software engineers, machine learning practitioners, data scientists or data engineers. You will have demonstrable experience in machine learning and be able to take initiative and carry out research independently. We are looking for candidates with experience in some of the following languages: Python, C, C++, Rust, Go. As well as the relevant technical experience, successful candidates will have excellent written and verbal communications skills and the ability to clearly communicate complex or specialist information clearly and concisely.

Duties and areas of responsibility:

• Develop, implement and adapt state‑of‑the‑art and novel data science and machine learning techniques to problems faced by ARG's partners.
• Contribute to high‑quality collaborative applied research as part of the ARG, helping translate complex user requirements into deployable solutions.
• Perform experiments and develop capabilities, which might include building and deploying machine learning models; applying data science, statistical and algorithmic techniques to data; building microservices, data processing/engineering systems and platforms or developing user interfaces and visualisations.
• Perform rigorous investigations into new algorithms and applications, providing consultancy to inform partners' decisions and developing high‑quality proof‑of‑concept outputs for real‑world deployment.

Terms and Conditions: This post is offered on a full‑time fixed term basis until 30 April 2027. The annual salary is £42,593 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies. The role is based in London and will require some travel to partner sites.

Application procedure: Please see our jobs portal for full details on how to apply and the interview process. We request specific information to be included when applying in the cover letter. Our portal goes through this in more detail so please take note of this when applying, or we may not be able to process your application. Closing date is Sunday 19 April at 23:59 (London, UK, BST).

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: We value diversity of background, experience, and perspective, and are proud to be an inclusive employer. We warmly encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from groups currently under‑represented in our sector. If you feel passionate about this role but don’t meet every single requirement, please apply; we recognise that great candidates may bring strengths beyond the criteria listed. We are committed to making sure our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive. This includes making reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability or long‑term condition. Please contact us to find out how we can assist you.