Principal AI and Machine Learning Software Engineer

Waters are seeking a Principal AI and Machine Learning Software Engineer to play a key role in shaping and delivering advanced AI capabilities within Waters’ scientific software portfolio across cloud and on prem platforms. You will work with a collaborative, multidisciplinary team to apply machine learning, LLMs, and emerging AI approaches to support complex data analysis and scientific discovery.

This role offers the opportunity to contribute to meaningful, real world applications in a domain where accuracy and reliability matter. You will help guide technical direction, collaborate with scientists and engineers, and support the continued growth of AI capabilities across the organisation.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the technical direction for AI/ML capabilities within Waters’ scientific software portfolio, aligning with product goals, scientific needs, and long-term scalability.

• Design and develop AI solutions (including ML models, LLM-enabled workflows, and agent-based systems) to support data analysis, interpretation, and automation in scientific applications.

• Drive the design and implementation of robust, production-grade ML systems, ensuring performance, reproducibility, and compliance with regulated industry standards.

• Work closely with scientific partners, product teams, and engineers to identify opportunities where AI can add value and improve user outcomes.

• Support the development of best practices for model lifecycle management, validation, and responsible AI in regulated environments.

• Share knowledge and provide guidance to engineers and data scientists, contributing to a supportive and high-performing team environment.

• Evaluate and introduce emerging AI technologies, tools, and architectural patterns (e.g. LLM orchestration, context protocols, RAG) to maintain Waters’ innovation leadership.

Qualifications

• Degree or higher in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related discipline (Master’s or PhD preferred).

• Extensive experience designing, building, and deploying AI/ML systems in production, ideally within scientific, analytical, or regulated software environments.

• Deep expertise in machine learning and AI system design, including model development, evaluation, optimisation, and real-world data challenges.

• Strong hands-on experience with modern AI/ML frameworks (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow) and familiarity with LLM ecosystems, agent architectures, and related tooling.

• Proven ability to design scalable architectures and deliver complex systems in Python, C#, or TypeScript, applying object-oriented principles with a strong focus on maintainability and unit testing.

• Demonstrated technical leadership, including architecture ownership, mentoring engineers, and influencing cross-functional stakeholders.

• Experience with scientific data or analytical instrumentation is highly desirable.

Were actively building diverse teams and welcome applications from everyone. But simply having a diverse workforce is not enough. We aim to build an inclusive environment, where everyone can contribute their best work and develop to their full potential. We celebrate our differences and recognise the importance of teams reflecting the communities they serve.

We can make reasonable adjustments to our interview process according to your needs.