Research Scientist / Engineer – Machine Learning (Contractor)

Job description

About Huawei Research and Development UK Limited Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have 207,000 employees and operate in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world. Our vision and mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks; bring cloud and artificial intelligence to all four corners of the earth to provide superior computing power where you need it, when you need it; build digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, making it more personalized for people in all aspects of their life, whether they’re at home, in the office, or on the go. This spirit of innovation has led Huawei to work in close partnership with leading academic institutions in the UK to develop and refine the latest technologies. With a shared commitment to innovation and progress, both parties have worked together to achieve common goals and establish a strong partnership. The partnership between UK and Huawei help to develop the technologies of the future that will transform the way we all communicate, work and live. For the past 30 years we have maintained an unwavering focus, rejecting shortcuts and easy opportunities that don't align with our core business. With a practical approach to everything we do, we concentrate our efforts and invest patiently to drive technological breakthroughs. This strategic focus is a reflection of our core values: Staying customer-centric, Inspiring dedication, Persevering, Growing by reflection. Huawei Research and Development UK Limited Overview Huawei’s vision is a fully connected, intelligent world. To achieve this, we work to inspire passion for basic research around the world. Our combined passion drives development across the global innovation value chain. Huawei has the largest Research and Development organization in the world with 96,000+ employees in research centers around the globe. In the UK, we already have design centers in Cambridge, London, Edinburgh and Ipswich. We continue to explore and define new research directions and new services. We have expanded our collaborations with academic researchers; researched new network architectures, integration of communications and key enabling technologies; and developed the fundamental theories of these technologies. We invite you to join us on this exciting journey and drive your career forward. Job Summary The Reinforcement Learning Team at the London Office of UKRD is seeking a highly skilled Machine Learning Scientist / Engineer to join our team. Our group combines world-class research with impactful applications, earning top honors such as NeurIPS 2020 Black Box Optimisation Challenge – Winners, multiple Best Paper Awards, and industry recognition. This role focuses on advancing the state-of-the-art in reinforcement learning (RL), Bayesian optimisation (BO), AI agents, large language models (LLMs), and vision-language models (VLMs). Whether your strength lies in fundamental algorithmic research or scalable system design and execution, you will work at the intersection of core research and applied innovation to solve complex, real-world AI challenges. Key Responsibilities: Research & Development: Design, implement, and evaluate novel algorithms and architectures in RL, BO, AI agents, LLM tuning, or VLMs for reasoning, planning, and decision-making under uncertainty. System Implementation: Translate cutting-edge research concepts into working prototypes, scalable systems, and applications (e.g., AI for science, chemistry, physics, open math problems, robotics). Publications & Open Source: Conduct original research and engage with the scientific community through publications in top-tier conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, JMLR) or open-source contributions. Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with multidisciplinary teams to integrate research models into production environments and broader strategic initiatives. Adaptability & Innovation: Drive technical problem-solving across diverse or emerging domains outside your primary area of expertise when business needs evolve. This job description is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. The jobholder will carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by his/her line manager. The job description and personal specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of Huawei Research and Development UK Limited. Person Specification: Required Qualifications Education: Master’s or PhD (completed or in progress) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related quantitative field. Core Technical Expertise: Demonstrated expertise in AI/ML topics, specifically Reinforcement Learning or LLM tuning/alignment (evidenced by peer-reviewed publications, open-source code, or technical portfolio projects; standard coursework alone is not sufficient). Engineering & Math Foundation: Strong mathematical understanding of core AI approaches, high proficiency in Python, and hands-on experience with PyTorch (or JAX/TensorFlow). Domain Adaptability: Proven track record of technical versatility—ability to quickly adapt, learn, and deliver impact in new domains or projects outside your core specialization. Environment: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, research-driven environment with ambiguous, evolving objectives. Preferred Qualifications First-author publications in top-tier venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, JMLR, etc.). Hands-on experience with RL fine-tuning frameworks (e.g., TRL, verl) and distributed multi-GPU training. Active GitHub portfolio demonstrating applied ML/AI implementations or system engineering.