Data ScienceTechnologyEngineering
2027 AI Engineer Apprentice
Thales Group · Glasgow Caledonian University
Location
GLASGOW, Scotland
Postcode
G51 4BZ
Salary
£24,000 per year
Hours per week
37h
Positions available
1
Level
Level 5 – Higher
Application deadline
1 December 2026
Posted
8 October 2026
Minimum grades
96 UCAS points, Four Highers (BBCC) including Maths or Computing
About the role
Turn your curiosity into a career. If you're passionate about artificial intelligence, eager to learn, and looking for a degree apprenticeship that combines academic study with exciting on-the-job experience, we'd love to hear from you.
Benefits of the programme:
Earn a salary while studying for your qualification
Gain hands-on experience in a real AI and engineering environment
Receive job-specific training and development
Achieve a recognised qualification
Secure a permanent role from the start of your apprenticeship
Have your university tuition fees fully paid
About the Role:
As an AI Engineer Apprentice, you will develop the technical knowledge, practical skills and professional behaviours needed to design, build, test and deploy dependable AI-enabled solutions.
Working as part of our AI and engineering community, you will contribute to live projects across the machine learning lifecycle, collaborating with software, data, systems and domain specialists to turn needs into secure, maintainable solutions.
Your responsibilities may include:
Preparing, exploring and validating data for machine learning use cases
Developing and evaluating machine learning models and AI-enabled software components
Writing clean, tested and documented code using appropriate engineering tools and practices
Supporting model integration, deployment, monitoring and performance improvement
Contributing to technical reviews, experiments and structured problem solving
Working with experienced engineers and researchers on live projects
Throughout the apprenticeship, you will gain experience and knowledge in:
Professional engineering behaviours, teamwork and industry best practice
Programming, software engineering, version control and automated testing
Data preparation, feature engineering and data quality techniques
Machine learning methods, model selection, training and evaluation
Deployment patterns, MLOps, monitoring and lifecycle management
Cloud, compute and development tools used to deliver AI solutions
Responsible AI, security, privacy, safety and regulatory considerations
Structured approaches to troubleshooting, experimentation and continuous improvement
Degree Apprenticeship Programme:
You will study towards an AI and Data Science Graduate Level Apprenticeship qualification with Glasgow Caledonian University, developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to build and apply artificial intelligence responsibly in an engineering environment.
The programme is delivered through a blended learning approach, combining:
On campus study
Live virtual lectures
Online learning resources
Self-directed study
To apply, you will need:
Highers:
96 UCAS points
Four Highers (BBCC) including Maths or Computing
A foundation apprenticeship will be equal to one Higher at B
A modern apprenticeship SCQF Level 6 in a relevant discipline will be equal to two Highers at B
To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment.
To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years. As part of the vetting process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, right to work in the UK, any time spent overseas during the last five years, and your employment and/or education history.
For further details of the evidence required to apply for security clearance please follow this link -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels.
Requirements
96 UCAS points. Four Highers (BBCC) including Maths or Computing. A foundation apprenticeship will be equal to one Higher at B. A modern apprenticeship SCQF Level 6 in a relevant discipline will be equal to two Highers at B. Permanent right to work in the UK. Ability to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC). Typically must have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years to be eligible for SC clearance.
Skills
Machine learning model development and evaluationData preparation and feature engineeringProgramming and software engineeringVersion controlAutomated testingCode documentationModel integration and deploymentMLOps and monitoringCloud and compute toolsData quality assessmentTroubleshooting and problem-solvingTechnical reviewingTeamwork and collaborationResponsible AI practicesSecurity and privacy considerations
Required qualifications
Essential
Higher · Maths or Computing · Grade B
Essential
Higher · Any · Grade B
Essential
Higher · Any · Grade C
Essential
Higher · Any · Grade C
About Thales Group
Contact name
Future Talent Team
Contact phone
01293580000
Contact email
futuretalent@uk.thalesgroup.com
If this one works out
This role is in Glasgow. If you'd be moving for it, a room in a shared house there typically runs £500–£700 a month.