Job Description

Principal AI and Machine Learning Software Engineer, Wilmslow.

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.

We're 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.

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide.

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.