AI/ML Software Developer: CoSTAR National Lab

AI/ML Software Developer: CoSTAR National Lab Grade 7-8 (£38,784.49 - £56,535.57) dependent on experience Full Time, Fixed-Term, until March 2029 (flexible and remote working options available) Abertay is a modern university with a global outlook, rooted in its local and national communities. We have made our mark with high quality, well-directed teaching and research, and a stimulating and enriching experience for our students. This is a fabulous opportunity to shape the story of how creative industries innovate in future technologies, from AI/ML and generative AI to immersive experiences to Realtime networked interaction. This role will champion technology innovation in the screen and performance sectors. You will be working with world-leading creative companies – from Pinewood to BT to disguise to thousands of cutting-edge UK SMEs – accelerating the adoption of new technologies and processes across the sector. As an AI/ML Software Developer you will be required to identify opportunities for technology and process innovation with a focus on developing and deploying multimodal AI/Gen-AI models, AI Agents, and AI-based software systems for content production across the screen and performance sectors, including film and virtual production. This will involve collaborative research and development with HEI, industry and sector partners that will deliver improved performance across production pipelines. You will be based at Pinewood as part of the Prototyping team and collaborate closely with the Faculty of Design, Informatic & Business at Abertay, working with developers, researchers, and the leadership team in a creative, inclusive, and dynamic environment to identify and deliver AI-led technology innovations. About the National R&D Lab: CoSTAR National Lab for R&D in Creative Technology is the largest ever investment in creative industries R&D in UK history: a £51.1m programme led by Royal Holloway, University of London to develop a National R&D Lab for creative technologies to ensure the UK’s screen and performance industries have the R&D innovation infrastructure to compete globally. See more here. The National R&D Lab will place Equality, Diversity and Sustainability at the heart of all we do: from our team culture to the research programmes we run, to how we collaborate with partners. What you will be doing (see job description for full details): 1. Working with Abertay and CoSTAR staff and partners to develop effective AI-powered software and tools to produce prototypes in areas related to emerging creative technologies with a primary focus on AI/ML and multimodal Generative AI (text, image, video, 2D/3D content, etc). 2. You will be developing and documenting applications in areas such as AI & Machine Learning; games & 3D development; immersive experiences such as augmented and virtual reality; advanced production technologies such as Virtual Production, Extended Reality; Immersive and Live entertainment. 3. As an AI/ML Software Developer in our team, you will be working as part of a multidisciplinary innovation team focused on ensuring high quality and performant code is delivered in line with project goals and delivery cycles. 4. You will get the chance to work with a range of content creators, creative technologists, designers, research producers, academic and industry experts as well as to collaborate with external companies. 5. You will be part of a busy and dynamic environment and may be asked to contribute to other research & development activities across the partner institutions of the CoSTAR National Lab. You should apply if you: • Enjoy working in a fast-moving, agile environment, both independently and in teams. • Have proven experience delivering research/production-quality AI/ML software, with a strong passion for emerging creative technologies and a disciplined, professional approach to collaborative R&D. • Have a strong command of AI and software engineering fundamentals (architecture; training, fine-tuning, and adaptation; design patterns; testing; best practices), with particular depth in transformers and diffusion models, LLMs, VLMs, LAMs, and world models, and fluency in tools for AI/real-time/graphics pipelines (e.g., Python, PyTorch, C++, GPU/compute, networking). This is a single AI/ML Software Developer post (Grade 7-8 dependent on experience), full-time until March 2029 from January 2026. Base location: Pinewood Studios (National Lab), with regular collaboration at Abertay University (Dundee) and some UK travel expected. If you believe you have the skills and experience for this exciting and challenging role, please submit your application through our online recruitment system. Please note that we will only accept applications through our online recruitment system. Committed to Equal Opportunities Abertay University is a Scottish Registered Charity, No: SC016040

Location: Dundee, GB

Posted Date: 11/8/2025