Principal AI/LLM Engineer

Job Title: Principal AI/LLM Engineer

Job Location: Rochester, Kent. Onsite

Salary: Circa £75,000 depending on experience and skills

Who we are:

Join BAE Systems and you’ll be part of something bigger. As a valued member of our global colleague network, you’ll bring your unique skills and perspectives to help pioneer progress and protect what matters most. You’ll be trusted to play your part in delivering the advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions of tomorrow – shaping a safer future, for all of us.

What you’ll be doing:

Architecture & Design Authority – Define / maintain the reference architecture for the BAE ES UK AI/LLM infrastructure across on-prem GPU clusters, virtualized environments. Experience in Engineering & Deployment – Deploy and maintain LLM inference, Implement RAG pipelines, Build CI/CD for AI models, Optimisation & Monitoring of the AI stack. Security, Compliance & Governance – Work closely with IT Security, Data Governance, and Architecture Boards to ensure compliance with GDPR, BAE Global Cyber Security Standards, SOC2, ISO27001, HIPAA (if applicable). Mentoring other staff members. Presenting to senior leadership Team.

Core Duties:

Proven experience deploying AI/ML platforms in enterprise/on-prem environments

Deep knowledge of Kubernetes, Docker, and infrastructure automation (Terraform, Helm, Ansible)

Good experience with LLM frameworks (Hugging Face, vLLM, DeepSpeed, LangChain, Ray)

Familiarity with message queues, API gateways, and service meshes for scalable inference environments

Proven programming skills in Python; comfortable with concepts such as Bash, YAML, and CI pipelines

The Electronic Systems IT team:

BAE Systems, Electronic Systems IT (UK) based in Rochester have a strategic objective to rapidly expanding our use of AI over the coming years. To assist with this objective, we require a Principal AI/LLM Engineer to join our IT department.

The Principal AI/LLM Engineer will serve as both a implementer and technical authority for our AI infrastructure. You will architect, deploy, tune, and monitor our Large Language Model (LLM) and AI stack across primarily on-premise environments with selective cloud integrations. This role spans MLOps and platform engineering, and implements AI governance, ensuring our AI capabilities are secure, performant, compliant, and aligned to long-term enterprise strategy.

Why BAE Systems?

Here you’ll build a career with purpose and limitless possibilities. With lifelong learning and meaningful work – this is a place where you can grow your career with confidence and be empowered to be your best. You’ll be recognised for your contribution and enjoy rewards tailored to what’s most important to you and your family – support for your financial and personal wellbeing, as well as a balanced lifestyle. In an environment embracing sustainable ways of working and with a strong sense of shared purpose, our supportive culture is a place you can feel you belong and proud of the difference you make.

A place where everyone can thrive:

We’re committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. We know that a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences strengthens our teams and is vital to the work we do.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date: 23rd March 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

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