Senior AI ML Engineer

Data Engineering function hiring in: Portugal | Malta | Bulgaria

Engagement Option(s): Full Time

Work Preference Option(s): Hybrid model

Ref №: 25081

The creative mind behind every project. Put your skills to the test to build solutions that continue to shape the world we live in.

About Us

We are Ascent! and we help our customers solve problems, elevate, and do existing things better. We are on a mission to help our customers connect data, software, and purpose to create extraordinary outcomes. You could say we are a digital transformation business.

We specialize in software product development, analytics, data science, IoT solutions, machine learning, DevOps optimization, and modernization of applications, data, and platforms.

We work with incredible clients in all types of industries such as smart home devices, space exploration, beer manufacturing, finance, ecology, and logistics. We work with some of the sharpest minds in the brightest businesses and we employ the sharpest minds too!

At Ascent, we also believe in fostering a vibrant office community where collaboration thrives and connections flourish. With our hybrid approach, we prioritize hiring individuals who reside in close proximity to our offices. Our aim is to cultivate a positive atmosphere and sense of belonging by facilitating easy access to the office. However, we welcome applicants from all other areas in the indicated countries, as we value diversity and recognize the unique perspectives each individual brings to our team. Join us in shaping a workplace where proximity enhances collaboration while inclusivity strengthens our community.

About The Role

In this role, you will apply your expertise across a set of interesting customers, diverse sectors and complex challenges, on both major transformations (typically 6-18 months) and smaller-scope engagements. This is an opportunity to develop your career in an ambitious, modern business that is committed to delivering measurable customer impact with leading-edge tech. 

About You

 

Key personality traits: 

• Attention to detail and a methodical approach to work. 
• Proactive and supportive team player. 
• Ability to act independently. 
• Quick to learn new techniques and eager to embrace new challenges. 
• Positive attitude towards change and a fast-paced environment. 
• Can-do approach towards development initiatives, methodologies, and working practices. 
• Embraces a challenger mindset, thriving on pushing boundaries, driving innovation, and focusing on delivering value. 
  
  

Required Skills And Experience 

Core ML/AI & GenAI Skills

• Applied Machine Learning & Deep Learning
• Feature engineering, model selection, evaluation, and optimization.
• Experience with supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning.
• Generative AI (GenAI) Use Cases
• Experience with LLMs (e.g., OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, HuggingFace models).
• Prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and inference optimization.
• Use cases: chatbots, text classification, entity extraction, summarization, etc.
• ML Frameworks & Libraries
• Python (must-have), with libraries like scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Transformers (Hugging Face).
  

Databricks & Azure Ecosystem Expertise

• Databricks
• Unity Catalog: data governance, access control, lineage.
• Delta Lake: versioned, scalable data lakes with ACID support.
• MLFlow: experiment tracking, model registry, model serving.
• Databricks Workflows: orchestration of notebooks/jobs.
• Monitoring & logging of production pipelines.
• Experience deploying and managing ML projects on Databricks.
• Azure Services
• Azure Data Lake, Azure DevOps, Azure Machine Learning (nice-to-have).
• Azure Key Vault, Azure Functions/Logic Apps (for automation and integration).
  

MLOps / Deployment Automation

• CI/CD for ML
• Azure DevOps Pipelines: YAML-based automation, task groups, templates.
• Infrastructure as Code with Terraform (for Azure resources and Databricks workspaces).
• Automation of blueprint deployment, testing, versioning.
• Model Deployment
• Packaging, containerization (Docker), scalable deployment (batch/real-time).
• Monitoring (logs, metrics, drift), rollback strategies.
  

Software Engineering Practices

• Python Development
• Modular, testable, and production-grade code.
• Use of linters, testing frameworks (pytest), and packaging tools.
• Version Control & Collaboration
• Git (Azure Repos, GitHub).
• Code reviews, branching strategies.
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Leadership

• Blueprint Creation
• Writing clear and reusable templates, notebooks, or SDKs for use-case enablement.
• Team Enablement
• Mentoring junior engineers or data scientists.
• Ability to guide teams across time zones and cultures.
  

Nice-to-Have Skills

Experience with:

• LLMOps tools (e.g., LangChain, Semantic Kernel).
• Docker/Kubernetes (for advanced orchestration).
• Monitoring stacks (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, or Azure-native equivalents).
• Cost-optimization and performance tuning in Databricks.
  
  

Working at Ascent 

At Ascent we promote a healthy work-life balance by offering flexibility where you work.  We also promote well-being and provide access to Well Being Coaches.

Your development and learning will be taken seriously, and we will support your professional development with training and certification, with regular feedback and review. It is a fun, supportive and modern workplace where we really live by our company values of Empathy, Energy and Audacity! Ascent also offers a variety of benefits in each of our countries.

Ascent is an equal opportunities employer. We take intentional steps to ensure inclusion and belonging are something real here, not just something we talk about. No person will be treated less favourably because of their gender, pregnancy, and maternity status, marital or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic origin, age, religion or belief, or disability status. If you require any reasonable accommodation, please let us know when you apply.

If you have any questions contact our Talent Acquisition team on [email protected].

For more details about life at Ascent, check out our Life Page.