Senior Software Developer – Python ML

I.T. & Communications
Midlothian
May 2, 2026
Permanent
Urgent

Job Description

Senior Software Developer (Python AI/ML)

Salary: £60,291 – £70,987 (including 20% Digital, Data and Technology annual pay supplement)

Pension: 28.97% of salary (RoS contribution)

Annual leave: 38 days (42 days with length of service)

Working Pattern: 35 hours per week, flexible with compressed hours, part time, term time.

Location: Hybrid – rotational between Meadowbank House, Edinburgh (EH8 7AU) or St Vincent Plaza, Glasgow (G2 5LD).

Directorate: Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT)

Role Reports to: Technical Lead

Grade: SEO – Senior Executive Officer

Vacancies: 2 – Closing 10 May 23:59

About the Role

The position sits within the Senior Software Engineer family and requires specialist expertise in Python and AI/ML engineering. You will design, build, maintain, and support robust software solutions underpinning digital products and internal services, develop scalable data pipelines, APIs, and cloud native infrastructure, and apply AI/ML techniques such as OCR, large language models, and computer vision to automate processes and improve efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

  • Design, build, and operate scalable ETL and data pipelines for structured and unstructured data.
  • Develop and maintain robust API services (FastAPI, RESTful APIs, WebSockets, model serving endpoints).
  • Implement authentication/authorisation (JWT, OAuth 2.0, API keys) and API versioning with documentation.
  • Deploy and operate cloud native infrastructure using AWS (Lambda, S3, RDS/Aurora, SQS, IAM, CloudWatch) with IaC (CDK, Terraform, CloudFormation).
  • Containerise applications with Docker, orchestrate via Kubernetes (EKS/ECS) and manage CI/CD pipelines.
  • Implement monitoring and observability (CloudWatch, Grafana, telemetry, MLflow, Weights & Biases).
  • Research, prototype, and implement AI/ML solutions (Transformers, PyTorch, OpenCV, YOLO, LoRA/QLoRA, RLHF).
  • Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to optimise platform performance and reliability.
  • Ensure compliance with security, accessibility, performance, and operational standards.
  • Participate in agile ceremonies and support continuous improvement.

Essential Technical Experience

  • Python 3.9+ (OOP, async/await, decorators, context managers, structured logging, pytest, performance optimisation).
  • Data processing: Pandas, NumPy, SQL, SQLAlchemy/psycopg2, ETL orchestration (Airflow, Dagster, Temporal.io).
  • AI/ML frameworks: Transformers/Hugging Face, PyTorch, OpenCV, PIL/Pillow, YOLO; model fine tuning (LoRA/QLoRA), RLHF, experiment tracking (MLflow, Weights & Biases).
  • Web/API development: FastAPI, RESTful APIs, WebSockets, authentication/authorisation (JWT, OAuth 2.0, API keys), API versioning, documentation, model serving endpoints.
  • Cloud & DevOps: AWS Lambda, S3, RDS/Aurora, SQS, IAM, CloudWatch; IaC with CDK, Terraform, CloudFormation; Docker, Kubernetes (EKS/ECS); CI/CD pipelines.
  • Monitoring & Observability: CloudWatch, Grafana, telemetry frameworks.
  • System design: event driven and microservices architectures, high availability, resilient systems, multi modal AI/ML systems.
  • Professional software engineering practices: Git workflows, unit/integration testing, code review, agile delivery (Scrum/Kanban).

Essential Experience

  • Developed production grade AI/ML and data platforms for public sector services.
  • Built scalable ETL/data pipelines for structured and unstructured data.
  • Delivered secure, cloud native AI solutions with IaC lifecycle management.
  • Supported and integrated APIs and microservices, including AI/ML model serving endpoints.
  • Deployed and operated containerised applications in production with automated CI/CD.
  • Implemented monitoring, alerting, and incident response for production systems, including AI/ML services.
  • Applied software engineering practices in multidisciplinary teams to deliver services iteratively.

Behaviours

  • Managing a Quality Service: Responsible for design, delivery, and operation of secure, resilient AI/ML platforms with monitoring and continuous improvement to meet service levels.
  • Working Together: Collaborates within multidisciplinary teams, partners with engineers, architects, and stakeholders to translate business and technical requirements into practical AI/ML solutions.
  • Delivering at Pace: Plans and delivers complex AI/ML work across multiple priorities using automation, CI/CD, and agile practices while managing risk and maintaining service stability.

Benefits

  • Pay progression and pension contributions up to 28.97%.
  • Up to a year’s parental leave.
  • 38 days annual holiday (42 days with service).
  • Professional development support.

EEO Statement

RoS is an Equality, Diversity & Inclusion scheme employer supported by the Disability Confident Programme. We welcome applications from under represented groups and are committed to providing reasonable adjustments.

Location

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