Senior Machine Learning Engineer – ESO

About the role

This is the time for action – we need to move at pace and reform our energy system – to deliver energy security, to tackle climate change and to protect our people. 

The Senior Machine Learning Engineer role supports the AI Centre of Excellence Manager by being responsible for the integration of ESO strategic priorities and capabilities with the AI Centre of Excellence by working with stakeholders across the ESO, UK Energy industry and Academia.

The Enterprise AI program has a mission to make the ESO efficiently effective at the deployment of AI models for business improvement. We work to provide the our data science communities with the environment, tools and ways of working to achieve that effectiveness. As the lead ML Ops engineer, you’ll be responsible for helping our data science teams to productionise their peer reviewed models, and to make them available to business users. 

You’ll be passionate about AI and Energy. You’ll have the organisational skills and communication skills you need to be effective at all levels of all partners.

This role can be based from Wokingham or Warwick, and we continue to offer hybrid working from office and home. We are open to full time and part time applicants, as well as flexible working arrangements. 

About us

Our mission is to facilitate the decarbonisation of Great Britain’s energy network and ensure the delivery of reliable, affordable, and green electricity for consumers. We work with stakeholders across the whole energy industry to plan for future network needs, using insight to make sure we can balance the system today and find opportunities to transform the way it operates tomorrow.
 

Becoming the Future System Operator
In 2021, government and Ofgem jointly consulted on proposals for an expert, impartial Future System Operator (FSO) with responsibilities across both the electricity and gas systems, to drive progress towards net zero while maintaining energy security and minimising costs for consumers. In October 2023, the Energy Act 2023 was passed, legislating for this Future System Operator to be created. 
 
The ESO, including all of its existing roles, will be at the heart of the new Future System Operator. We will be taking on additional roles across vectors and sectors to create an organisation with a whole energy system mindset; enabling us to identify solutions to our energy system that are more sustainable, secure, and affordable for all.  
 
The FSO will be set up as a public corporation with operational independence from government – bringing parties together to support optimised decision making and action. As now, it will be licenced and regulated by Ofgem through price control agreements. It is anticipated that the new organisation will be up and running in 2024.
 
The time to act on climate change is now. As part of our team, you won’t just be touching the lives of almost everyone in Great Britain – you’ll be shaping the way we use and consume energy for generations to come.

Key accountabilities

• Architect & Engineer: Design and implement robust machine learning pipelines and infrastructure on Azure, integrating seamlessly with existing IT systems
• Drive MLOps: Drive the efficient development, deployment, and management of ML models in production, ensuring their continuous performance and reliability.
• Peer Review: Maintain and enhance an enterprise-wide peer review process, to drive transformational changes to the way we work as an ML community.
• Data Processing and pipelines: Ensure high-quality data flows for your models by building and maintaining ETL/ELT pipelines on azure platforms
• Model Monitoring & optimisation: Continuously monitor and optimise deployed models to ensure they maintain peak performance and deliver expected business outcomes.
• Collaboration & communication: Work closely with data scientists, researchers, and engineers to define requirements, translate insights into actionable solutions, and communicate complex technical concepts to diverse stakeholders.

About you

Essential

• Proven ability to design, build and deploy production-ready machine learning solutions.
• Strong proficiency in Python, along with familiarity with other languages like R.
• Deep understanding of Azure data platform, and specifically Azure Machine Learning and related services like Azure Databricks and Azure Data Factory, Azure DevOps.
• Experience in helping drive ML maturity and introducing and developing CI/CD orchestration with Git and similar tools. 
• Assisting in Peer Review as requested with model review, run the code refactoring and optimisation and containerisation deployment and versioning.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and communications skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team.
• Stakeholder engagement – liaising with internal teams and external partners to support projects

Desirable:

• Strong understanding of energy industry dynamics and challenges
• Experience deploying foundational models in production environments

What you’ll get

A competitive salary between £55,000 – 65,000 – dependent on experience and capability.

As well as your base salary, you will receive a bonus based on company performance, 26 days annual leave as standard and a competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%. 
 

As we work towards creating a cleaner, greener, and more affordable future for all, we also work towards creating a place for our teammates to belong, with professional and personal growth and positive well-being.

• Full support and career-development resources to expand your skills, enhance your expertise, and maximise your potential along your career journey.
• A diverse and inclusive community of belonging, where teammates are empowered to bring ideas to the table.
• Generous Total Rewards Plan – comprising of health, finance and wealth, work/life balance, and career benefits.

More Information

This role closes on 05/03/24 at 23:59, however we encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary. 

We work towards the highest standards in everything we do, including how we support, value and develop our people. Our aim is to encourage and support employees to thrive and be the best they can be. We celebrate the difference people can bring into our organisation, and welcome and encourage applicants with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and offer flexible and tailored support, at home and in the office. 

We’re committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve, and a working environment in which each individual feels valued, respected, fairly treated, and able to reach their full potential.

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