Lead AI Research Engineer

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Overview

AVEVA is creating software trusted by over 90% of leading industrial companies. Job Title: Senior AI Research Engineer. Location: Cambridge, London, UK (Hybrid). Employment Type: Full-time, permanent.

The Job

We are seeking a Senior AI Research Engineer to join our AI Investigation and Incubation team. This is a hands-on engineering role, focused on building, prototyping, validating, and operationalising emerging AI technologies for real-world industrial intelligence use cases. This role is not a pure academic research position. We are looking for engineers who turn AI research into working systems, make architectural trade-offs, and prove feasibility through code, experiments, and deployable prototypes. The ideal candidate is an ML Research Engineer or Senior Data Scientist with strong practical instincts who thrives at the intersection of experimentation and production.

Key Responsibilities

• Research and evaluate emerging AI technologies with a clear focus on practical applicability and deployability
• Design, build, and iterate on working prototypes and proof-of-concepts
• Develop, fine-tune, evaluate, and benchmark AI/ML models using real-world datasets
• Assess AI approaches for scalability, reliability, cost, security, and operational feasibility
• Make and document engineering and architectural decisions related to model deployment and integration
• Collaborate with software engineers, architects, and platform teams to ensure AI solutions can transition into pilots and downstream products
• Clearly document findings and present actionable recommendations to technical and business stakeholders
• Support early-stage pilots and proof-of-value initiatives where AI solutions are exercised in realistic environments

Essential Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or related field
• 8+ years experience in applied AI/ML engineering, data science, or ML research with production exposure
• 3+ years of hands-on experience building, training, evaluating, and deploying ML models
• Strong proficiency in Python and modern ML frameworks (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow, HuggingFace)
• Solid understanding of AI/ML deployment patterns, including:
• Batch and real-time inference
• Model APIs and pipelines
• Integration into distributed systems
• Practical experience with modern AI paradigms, such as:
• Foundation models / LLMs
• Agent-based systems and orchestration
• Context retrieval and augmentation techniques
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical investigations and drive them to concrete outcomes
• Ability to connect AI capabilities to practical industrial or enterprise use cases

Desirable Experience

• Experience deploying ML models in cloud environments (Azure preferred, AWS acceptable)
• Familiarity with MLOps practices (model versioning, evaluation, monitoring, iteration)
• Experience working with non-ideal, real-world data rather than curated research datasets
• Exposure to industrial, IoT, manufacturing, energy, or asset-intensive domains

What Success Looks Like

• AI ideas progress beyond research into validated, working prototypes
• Technical investigations result in clear go / no-go recommendations
• Prototypes demonstrate feasibility for real-world deployment, not just benchmark performance
• Strong collaboration with engineering teams to enable transition into pilots or platforms
• Tangible influence on AI roadmap and technology direction through evidence-backed engineering work

R&D at AVEVA

Our global team of 2000+ developers work on a diverse portfolio of over 75 industrial automation and engineering products, covering data management to 3D design. AI and cloud are at the centre of our strategy, and we have over 150 patents. We value learning, collaboration, and inclusivity. If you want to build applications that solve big problems, join us.

Find out more: aveva.com/en/about/careers/r-and-d-careers/

UK Benefits

Flexible benefits fund, emergency leave days, adoption leave, 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), pension, life cover, private medical insurance, parental leave, education assistance program. Benefits may vary by country; primary location benefits apply where relevant. Find out more: aveva.com/en/about/careers/benefits/

Hybrid Working

By default, employees are expected to be in their local AVEVA office three days a week, but some positions are fully office-based. Roles supporting particular customers or markets may be remote.

Hiring Process

Interested? Submit your cover letter and CV through our application portal. AVEVA is committed to recruiting and retaining people with disabilities. Please let us know in advance if you need reasonable support during the application process. Find out more: aveva.com/en/about/careers/hiring-process

About AVEVA

AVEVA is a global leader in industrial software with more than 6,500 employees in over 40 countries. Our solutions are used by thousands of enterprises to deliver essential services safely, efficiently, and more sustainably. We are committed to sustainability and inclusion. Learn more about our 2030 targets: sustainability-report.aveva.com/

Find out more: aveva.com/en/about/careers/

AVEVA requires all successful applicants to undergo and pass a drug screening and comprehensive background check before starting employment, in accordance with local laws. Some positions may involve additional checks for sensitive data. AVEVA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, notify your recruiter. Determinations on accommodation requests are made on a case-by-case basis.

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