Senior Human-Centric AI Engineer

Overview

Cambridge Consultants’ Human-Machine Understanding (HMU) group is looking for an engineer to work at the intersection of AI, cognitive science, and human-machine interaction. This is an exciting opportunity to take an active role in the group’s mission to build the next generation of intuitive human interactive technologies.

HMU is building the technical framework of Intelligent Interfaces for modern digital and physical AI: a dedicated layer of intelligence that enables machines to perceive, reason about, and adapt to human behaviour and intent in real time. We apply this approach to diverse use cases, from robotics and automation in industrial and consumer settings, to agentic coaches and AI assistants in sports and healthcare. This is an opportunity to take ownership of technical ideas and shape the trajectory of an emerging capability.

What we offer

This is a high-autonomy role within the Human-Machine Understanding team in CC’s Intelligent Services business. As part of an emerging capability, you will have a mandate to explore and push the boundaries of the state-of-the-art in human-interactive AI. You will be involved in client projects as well as internal investment research projects to shape the future of our capability.

You will be responsible for the technical realization of our HMU framework, encompassing multi-modal human sensing and fusion, human-centric contextual modelling, and agentic workflows that can leverage this context to support human users proactively. Your work will involve navigating the art of the possible, deriving insights from diverse fields such as Psychology and Cognitive Science, Affective Computing, Human-Robot Interaction, and Cognitive Robotics, and turning them into robust, real-world interactive AI pipelines.

We are a nurturing team. You will be supported to develop your career in the direction you want, with mentoring and training provided. Opportunities for development and progression are varied and will be tailored to the interests, experience, and skills of the successful candidate, with scope to develop increased technical, commercial, and/or programme expertise and leadership.

What you will do

• Deliver on diverse client projects, from designing and running human subjects’ studies for science-backed HMI/HRI design, to technical development of novel interfaces and interaction paradigms.
• Conduct technical research focused on understanding the art of the possible in human-machine understanding and translating it into robust industrial solutions through technical prototypes.
• Proactively identify opportunities to apply HMU across CC’s diverse markets, building the demos and prototypes that showcase our leadership in this space.
• Work with colleagues across Cambridge Consultants to translate deep technical insights into compelling narratives and functional systems for our clients, and academic audiences.

Requirements

We are looking for a candidate who thrives on technical ambiguity and possesses the drive to build independently across disciplines:

• An excellent degree or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Cognitive Science, Psychology or a related field with emphasis on computational modelling or AI.
• High proficiency in Python and experience with AI/ML frameworks (e.g. PyTorch). You should be comfortable building and debugging complex, real-time systems.
• Prior experience of human subject research; from experiment protocol and methodology development, to conducting experiments, analysis of data and synthesis of insights. Experience with ethics committees is highly valued. 
• The ability to work independently, driving your own curiosity to explore new topics and proactively building prototypes that demonstrate your ideas.

In addition, any of the following is highly desired:

• Proven experience technical realization of HRI/HCI systems, such as cognitive architectures, multi-modal perception pipelines, or affective computing.
• Experience with agentic AI workflows, knowledge graphs, and complex state-machine architectures.
• Track record of publications in relevant conferences (e.g. ICRA, IROS, HRI, NeurIPS, ICML), and/or academic journals (e.g. IEEE Transactions).
• Development of software for distributed real-time physical systems or robotics (e.g., ROS2).

We are recruiting multiple people under this vacancy. Some projects at Cambridge Consultants are subject to security restrictions. One of these roles requires you to obtain a Security Check level security clearance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/united-kingdom-security-vetting-applicant). You must be able to work in the UK without restrictions in accordance with UK National Law and be prepared to successfully undertake an appropriate level of UK National Security Vetting according to UK Government National Security Vetting criteria.

Examples of projects undertaken by the team:

• Building contextual understanding into Physical AI systems for adaptive human-robot interaction
• Developing human-centric AI to assist with curating personalised music playlists for people living with dementia through behavioural monitoring
• Mapping the current space and future potential of human-machine understanding with Capgemini

By submitting an application to Cambridge Consultants, you confirm that the information provided in this application, together with any supporting documentation, is true, complete, and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief. You understand that any false statement, misleading information, or material omission may render you liable to disqualification from the recruitment process, withdrawal of any offer of employment, or dismissal without notice if discovered following appointment. You acknowledge that the organisation reserves the right to verify the information supplied.