AI/ML Researcher

Location(s): UK, Europe & Africa : UK : Great Baddow 

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.

Job Title: AI/ML Researcher

Location: Great Baddow (Hybrid 2/3 days onsite)

Who we are

Join BAE Systems and you’ll be part of something bigger. As a valued member of our global colleague network, you’ll bring your unique skills and perspectives to help pioneer progress and protect what matters most. You’ll be trusted to play your part in delivering the advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions of tomorrow – shaping a safer future, for all of us.

From the depths of the ocean, to the far reaches of space – there’s no limit to where a career at BAE Systems could take you.

Role Description

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence Defence Innovation and Technology has a diverse range of AI teams working in: reinforcement learning, NLP, knowledge graphs, applications of LLMs, Agentic AI, Robotics, Autonomy, computer vision, AI for RF and EW, sonar and acoustics.

We are looking for an AI/ML researcher to join the Knowledge and Semantics team within our Data and Decision Support Capability

You will have the opportunity to work with colleagues across the capability in multi-disciplinary teams and to work on a wide range  AI topics for customers across the defence, security and commercial sectors as well as on internal BAE Systems AI programmes. You will also have the opportunity to maintain strong links with academic partners and SME partners as well as to grow technical research areas of interest to you.

You will have strong experience of working in projects on topics such as NLP, LLM applications/approaches (e.g. Agentic AI), knowledge graphs and/or graph machine learning and with a vision on how to develop solutions for practical applications of ML in these domains. You should have existing skills in Machine Learning (ML), will need to be a proficient programmer in Python, with extensive experience in the use of libraries, tools (docker, git) and frameworks (e.g. LangChain/LangGraph or similar) to support efficient development.

Typical Responsibilities:

• Propose and lead novel research in given topic areas.
• Lead technical delivery of small project teams. Prepare and deliver technical reports, technical proposals and supporting material.
• Develop prototypes and proof of concept demonstrators.
• Take ownership of tasks in projects and deliver to challenging standards.
• Effectively present results to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Essential Requirements

• You will have a PhD  in a relevant topic.
• Experience in software development in Python
• Experience with at least one ML framework: TensorFlow, Pytorch.
• Experience working with LLMs, knowledge graphs, or graph machine learning
• Of particular interest are candidates with the following experience (evidenced by a track record of publications, industry experience, open-source available code or equivalent academic work):
• Natural Language Processing, including Information extraction, text-mining and entity linking. Experience with modern (e.g. transformer-based) NLP models is desirable but not essential.
• Application of LLMs to Defence problems.
• The taxonomy of Graph Machine Learning tasks and experience in using graph ML in applied or foundational settings.
• Graph-structured data, designing and utilising relational and graph databases, and knowledge of graph algorithms.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Familiarity with knowledge representation, ontology design and semantic or LLM based reasoning
• Experience with one or more graph machine learning packages (PyTorch-Geometric, PyKeen etc.) and knowledge graph toolkits (Neo4j)

Why BAE Systems

Here you’ll build a career with purpose and limitless possibilities. With lifelong learning and meaningful work – this is a place where you can grow your career with confidence and be empowered to be your best. You’ll be recognised for your contribution and enjoy rewards tailored to what’s most important to you and your family – support for your financial and personal wellbeing, as well as a balanced lifestyle. In an environment embracing sustainable ways of working and with a strong sense of shared purpose, our supportive culture is a place you can feel you belong and proud of the difference you make.

A place where everyone can thrive.

We’re committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. We know that a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences strengthens our teams and is vital to the work we do.

We welcome applications from all candidates and give full, fair and open consideration to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please
contact our recruitment team to discuss any further support you may need. Connect with us at baesystems.com/connect

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Life at BAE Systems Digital Intelligence 

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.