Principal Machine Learning Engineer

We’re building the next UK-headquartered engineering powerhouse.

There is a gulf between the needs of mission-focused organisations and the development and delivery of the critical technology they rely on. The consequences of this are felt acutely by underserved frontline operators, demanding a new breed of engineering enterprise to bridge this divide.

Rowden exists to meet this need. We design and build systems, infrastructure, and applications to deliver mission advantage to those working to protect the security of the UK and its allies. Rowden is setting a new standard in government technology provision: hyper-efficient engineering, better customer relationships, and rapid assimilation of commercial technology.

As our Machine Learning capability area continues to grow, we’re looking for a Principal ML Engineer to join our team in a leadership capacity. In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to work on a broad range of challenging and interesting problems, from the rapid, highly agile research and proof of concepts through to the deployment of cutting-edge technology into operational systems for a diverse range of end users with important missions and a powerful need for the very best capability on offer. This may involve areas such as Radio Frequency Machine Learning Systems (RFMLS), Large Language Models (LLMs), deep neural networks, natural language processing, intelligent control systems, and deploying solutions to the far-edge in denied, disrupted, intermittent or lossy communication environments.

With deep expertise across ML, software engineering, and DevOps, you'll lead the development of cutting-edge systems while ensuring trust, safety, and seamless integration. If you're a strategic thinker with a proven track record in technical leadership and a desire to work in an agile, mission-driven environment with an incredible group of highly motivated engineers this is your next challenge

Key areas of responsibility

As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer at Rowden, you will be responsible for:

• Strategic Technical Leadership: Your role will be pivotal in defining and advancing our strategic roadmap for Machine Learning, ensuring we achieve our goals with innovation and precision.
• Architectural Vision and Best Practices: You'll be the visionary shaping our system architectures and setting the standard for engineering excellence within the Machine Learning discipline.
• Representing Rowden: You’ll provide critical, engaging, subject matter expert support to key stakeholder engagement activities including customer meetings, conferences and events where appropriate.
• Hands-On Technical Expertise: Actively engage in and contribute to building innovative machine learning solutions across a wide range of applications and technologies, from earlier stage research and rapid prototyping through to production deployment into operational environments. Tackling challenges at every stage of our process and every layer of our technology stack – from data capture, management, development, integration, test, evaluation, verification, validation through to deployment.
• Design Authority: Leading and providing assurance of design and development activity for trust, privacy, safety, security, compliance, high availability, performance, and resilience.
• Engineering Alignment: Represent our team in high-level engineering decisions, ensuring our projects are in sync with broader organisational objectives.
• Collaborative Project and Product Delivery: Work closely with, and be part of, our customer-facing teams to deliver seamless and standout project and product experiences.
• Elevating Engineering Standards: Organise and lead engineering initiatives that uplift our standards, motivate our team, and drive ongoing improvements.
• Technology Awareness and Adaptation: Stay on top of academic and industry trends, especially in Machine Learning and far-edge technologies, ensuring our solutions remain cutting-edge.
• Mentorship and Team Growth: Passionately mentor and guide team members, fostering their professional growth and career development. Line manage Rowden’s other Machine Learning Engineers and take the lead on hiring in this area.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

• Extensive Technical Experience: You have thorough experience in designing, developing and deploying complex Machine Learning based solutions, and can demonstrate significant contribution to large-scale projects as an architect or key individual contributor.
• Deep Technical Expertise across Machine Learning and Software Engineering: You have deep technical knowledge of fundamental machine learning approaches with a strong foundation in software engineering and DevOps best practices. You should have familiarity with deep learning and classical ML frameworks (such PyTorch, TensorFlow, containerisation (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes) and programming languages (e.g. Python, Go).
• Holistic Delivery Track Record: You excel at implementing and delivering comprehensive solutions, integrating various technologies and ensuring seamless operation: from initial ideation to deployment and beyond.
• Assurance Experience: You possess a strong background or awareness of the assurance of Machine Learning components or systems for applications where trust, safety and security are paramount to the successful exploitation of this disruptive technology to delivering real value to our end users.
• Decision-Making Leadership: You've led Machine Learning and software evaluation and decision-making processes, ensuring the best appropriate technical choices are made for your organisation.
• Strategic Roadmap Development: You've successfully crafted or contributed to engineering roadmaps that align with product strategies and business goals.
• Leadership and Management Experience: You’ve line managed or closely supported high-potential engineers providing them with clear direction, mentoring and coaching to enhance their professional development. You’ll have led or supporting hiring campaigns, bringing in the

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you

About Rowden

Our Mission:

To create the best possible technology for frontline operators.

We’re upending the conventions of government technology provision and bringing a leaner, more transparent, and lower-friction approach that reduces waste and places outcome over process. We believe every possible measure should be taken to provide frontline operators in today’s dynamic and rapidly changing world with the technology they need to help keep themselves and others safe.

Our Vision:

We offer fast and flexible solutions to the technical challenges of public sector organisations.

We are specialists in software-centric systems, with deep expertise in developing capabilities for constrained networking environments or with challenging cyber security requirements. But the Rowden difference is as much cultural as it is technical: ‘what we do’ and ‘how we do it’ are equally important. We are specifically organised to create and sustain pace, reduce waste and inefficiency, and drive better outcomes. You’ll see and feel that energy and intent all over our business.

What matters to us?

• Our focus is on the end user. We exist to deliver the best possible outcomes for the users of our systems.
• Pace matters. The problems we solve are urgent.
• Our diverse skills and backgrounds make us better. Our team prides itself on being inclusive and multidisciplinary.
• We are radically honest. Saying what we mean, even when it isn’t easy.
• We are pragmatists. We provide realistic, focused solutions that get to the point.
• We improve continuously. We are relentless in our drive to make things better.