Principal Software Engineer (AI/ML)

Salary: £76,000 - 94,000 per year

Requirements:

• We are looking for a degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• We are looking for practical experience delivering high-integrity software products within a regulated environment.
• We are looking for industry experience working on Agile projects across the full software life cycle.
• We are looking for proficiency in machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow, as well as tools for model integration.
• We are looking for a strong foundation in AI/ML, including transformer architectures, tokenisation, embeddings, and fine-tuning large language models.
• We are looking for experience building scalable pipelines, including APIs, vector databases, retrieval-augmented generation, and orchestration frameworks.
• We are looking for experience curating datasets, managing embeddings, and ensuring security, privacy, and responsible AI practices.
• We are looking for experience in prompt engineering, including designing, testing, and systematically improving prompts while measuring the accuracy, bias, and robustness of large language model outputs.
• We are looking for awareness of agentic workflows involving AI agents that can plan, reason, and take autonomous actions.
• We are looking for awareness of governance, security, and compliance considerations relating to data management and AI deployment.
• We are looking for awareness of mathematical libraries used for signal, image, and data processing.
• We are looking for awareness of high-performance computing and the challenges associated with parallel processing.
• We are keen to hear from candidates even if they do not meet every requirement.
• The most important attribute is a willingness to learn and develop.

Responsibilities:

• We will have you support our systems engineers on research projects.
• We will have you develop deployable software solutions that leverage AI/ML capabilities.
• We will have you contribute to the delivery of leading-edge solutions for challenging civilian and military projects.
• We will have you join our well-established software community within our Electronics UK business.

Technologies:

• AI
• AI Agents
• Fine-tuning
• Support
• Machine Learning
• PyTorch
• Security
• TensorFlow
• LLM
• RAG

More:

We are Leonardo, a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security headquartered in Italy, with over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 UK sites. We are seeking Senior or Principal Software Engineers with an interest in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to join our Electronics UK software community and help deliver cutting-edge defence and aerospace projects in the UK, including civilian and military work. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package supporting wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance, including generous leave with up to 12 additional flexi-days each year, an award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution, free mental health and financial advice, employee-led inclusion networks, bonus eligibility for management level and below, access to 4,000+ online courses, a referral programme, flexible benefits worth up to 500 annually, and flexible hours with hybrid working options. Our roles are based across Luton, Basildon, Edinburgh, Lincoln, Newcastle, and Southampton, and we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace.

last updated 36 week of 2026