Machine Learning Engineer
Build, train and deploy machine-learning models that power products from search engines to medical diagnostics.
A day in the life
Prepare datasets, design model architectures, run experiments, optimise performance, and deploy models to production.
Typical route
Helpful A-levels
Physics + Maths + Computer Science
Typical qualification and training
- Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics degree
- ML-focused graduate scheme or research internship
These are common routes, not compulsory subject combinations. Entry requirements vary between universities, training schemes and employers, so always check the current provider requirements.
Indicative UK salary
- Starter
- £30,000-£40,000
- Experienced
- £55,000-£85,000
- Senior
- £100,000+
AI labs and finance-tech roles often exceed these ranges.
Salary range checked against Prospects.ac.uk: Machine Learning Engineer.
UK employers
- Google DeepMind
- Speechmatics
- Faculty
- BenevolentAI
Worldwide employers
- OpenAI
- Google Research
- Meta AI
- Anthropic
Useful route links
These links are good starting points for courses, apprenticeships, graduate routes and professional training. They open the official or specialist sites rather than another summary page.
Key skills
Explore related careers
Sources and further reading
External links open in a new tab.