Hybrid Technical Specialist – AI, Computer Science

at Department for Education

• Job title: Technical Specialist – AI, Computer Science
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Mid level, Senior
• Salary: £70,000 - £105,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Postgraduate Degree
• Tech skills: Cyber Security
• Location requirements: Hybrid, London, United Kingdom

About the role

• Technical Specialist for ARIA transforming R&D through AI-enabled formal methods and mathematical modelling. Collaborates with scientists to drive innovative breakthroughs in technology and R&D.

Responsibilities

• Act as the technical lead, with the Programme Director and their Programme Specialist, to shape and deliver a bold programme of research aimed at demonstrating the transformative potential of AI-enabled formal methods and catalysing a new era of machine-assisted mathematical modelling and verification.
• Review project proposals, grant applications, assess technical milestones, and stay close to the ground on what’s being built and tested by Creator teams.
• Plan, lead, and contribute to technical discussions in project meetings, workshops, and formal reviews, bringing depth, challenge, and direction to every interaction.
• Provide evidence-based technical insight to the Programme Director and the ARIA team to support high-quality decisions and sharpen the programme’s strategic direction.
• Confidently communicate complex scientific ideas surrounding the programme to stakeholders, from government and funders to key players across the ecosystem.
• Identify emerging trends and surface the most promising research, technologies, people, and ideas across the programme and its surrounding opportunity space.
• Co-author white papers, open calls, and technical reviews that articulate the ambition of the programme and set a clear, compelling vision for external communities.
• Work closely with the Programme Specialist and Creator teams to drive project delivery, tracking against ambitious technical milestones, benchmarking progress against the state of the art, and spotting opportunities for research cross-pollination to sustain momentum.
• Be the technical bridge between the PD and functional teams, ensuring execution aligns with the needs of the ecosystem's understanding of the programme.

Requirements

• You have first-hand research or engineering expertise in formal methods or programming language theory, including for example type theory, proof assistants, or formal models of security.
• You actively use AI tools in your technical work (including for mathematics, programming, or research) and have developed informed views on their capabilities and failure modes.
• You excel in grasping and navigating diverse technical projects.
• You can uncover non-obvious (technical) opportunities and risks, connecting people, ideas, and research threads in novel ways that drive insights, adoption and translation.
• You are willing to ask questions and can rapidly learn and adapt to new scientific areas, comprehending key components of new technical disciplines.
• You comprehend and articulate complex concepts clearly and with conviction to diverse stakeholders, think and communicate with structure, and interrogate ideas effectively.
• Highly adaptable, you are okay with uncertainty and a fast-paced environment.
• You have experience in information- or cybersecurity, or familiarity with security-relevant formal properties.
• You have familiarity with category theory, including its applications to compositional systems modelling, or to the semantics of type theory and proof assistants.
• You have experience building, coordinating, or driving the adoption of software toolkits.
• You are skilled in identifying technical bottlenecks, risk analysis and resolution, tracking technical milestones, and reporting on complex technical projects.
• You have a strong working knowledge of the UK R&D ecosystem.
• You have a Scientific qualification, with a preference for PhD or other deep technical experience in computer science.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave provision, with the option to buy/sell additional days
• Hybrid working arrangements; 60% in office / 40% at home
• Supportive environment for learning and development opportunities
• Enhanced family leave arrangements
• A free and confidential 24/7 employee assistance programme
• 2 days of paid volunteer days
• 5% defined contribution pension scheme with Smart Pension
• Cycle to Work scheme
• An excellent office location in Kings X, London