Senior AI/ML Technology Advisor

Join to apply for the Senior AI/ML Technology Advisor role at Ofcom. This role will close at 00:01 on Sunday 21 December. Please get your application in by midnight on Saturday 20 December.

About Ofcom

As the UK’s communications regulator, we’re delivering vital work that helps keep the UK connected and shapes the future of how we’ll stay connected with each other. Our work covers phones, broadband, TV, radio, the postal service, and wireless devices. We’re also taking on the challenge of making the online world safer. We welcome people with all backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences.

About the team you’ll be part of

The Online Safety Technology team conducts research to build knowledge in areas fundamental to online safety, including AI/ML, digital identity, privacy enhancing technologies, decentralisation, user experience, gaming, network infrastructure, and digital forensics. The team provides technical expertise to policy, supervision, and enforcement colleagues in the wider Online Safety Group and others at Ofcom during policy development and industry engagement activities.

The purpose and scope of the role

We are looking for a technically strong and strategically minded AI/ML Senior Technology Advisor to provide expert guidance on the technical aspects of artificial intelligence and machine learning as they relate to online safety. The successful candidate will play a leading role within the Online Safety Technology team to design and deliver a programme of work that develops and shares fundamental understanding of the AI and ML technologies that underpin online services to help meet Ofcom's Online Safety objectives.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance on AI/ML technologies to policy, supervision, and enforcement teams.
• Advise on the technical feasibility and risks of proposed regulatory interventions.
• Translate complex AI concepts into actionable recommendations for senior leaders, policy experts, and external stakeholders.
• Independently lead AI/ML research projects – from literature reviews to experimental studies – on new capabilities, system performance, safety, and effectiveness, often in collaboration with multidisciplinary internal teams.
• Explore novel and emerging AI/ML techniques that may impact online safety, such as Generative AI, Agentic AI, or multimodal models.
• Design demos that illustrate advances in AI models and convey the pace of progress to help non‑technical audiences understand how AI models function.
• Develop an evidence base to inform policy decisions and support regulatory innovation.
• Assess AI systems used in online services for accuracy, fairness, transparency, robustness, scalability, and societal impact.
• Evaluate models and tools to determine the technical feasibility and appropriateness for online trust and safety environments.
• Contribute to algorithmic audits and the development of standards for Responsible AI.
• Prepare and present technical briefings, white papers, and demos to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Host internal knowledge‑sharing sessions and represent Ofcom in external technical working groups and conferences.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to influence regulatory thinking and promote responsible AI practices.
• Monitor the AI research and technology landscape to identify emerging trends and anticipate regulatory challenges.
• Contribute thought leadership to ongoing debates around AI ethics, transparency, and accountability in online services.
• Maintain strong relationships with academia, industry, and public bodies to strengthen external research partnerships.

The skills, knowledge and experience you’ll need for success

• Practical and theoretical expertise in AI/ML areas such as NLP, computer vision, reinforcement learning, agentic AI, multimodal models, generative AI, responsible AI, and algorithmic auditing.
• Knowledge of assessment techniques to evaluate AI systems for effectiveness, scalability, fairness, safety, robustness, and societal impact.
• Familiarity with programming languages commonly used in AI/ML (e.g., Python) and relevant frameworks and tools.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to translate complex technical concepts to non‑technical audiences and produce relevant documentation.
• Experience in a technical advisory role with a focus on AI/ML or online safety (desirable).
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for stakeholders.
• Ability to work across organisational boundaries in multidisciplinary teams, mapping requirements to technical specifications and delivering business outcomes.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to influence a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Strategic view to identify emerging trends, risks, and opportunities, aligning decisions with long‑term goals to inform policy and delivery outcomes.

Qualifications

Educated to at least degree level (or equivalent) in a relevant engineering or science subject. Candidates with evidence of equivalent demonstrable skills and experience in required specialist knowledge areas will also be considered.

Inclusivity Statement

At Ofcom we prioritise inclusive and diverse recruitment to reflect the society we represent.

Where positions are listed as full time, we remain open to reduced hours, part‑time arrangements, job shares and other flexible working options from day one. We warmly welcome applications from candidates returning to work after a break.

As a disability‑confident employer, we offer interviews to any disabled applicant who meets essential criteria for advertised roles. Learn more about the scheme here.

If you need information in an alternative format or have specific preferences, please contact our recruitment team at resourcing@ofcom.org.uk or call 0330 912 1378.

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Seniority level

Associate

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Information Technology