The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Generative AI Engineer (L2)
2-3 yearsSkills to master
- Independently owning and delivering small GenAI features, deep understanding of one cloud AI platform, proficient in a core LLM framework (e.g., LangChain), and strong debugging skills.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently delivers high-quality code for GenAI features with minimal supervision.
- Can effectively debug complex issues in RAG pipelines or fine-tuning processes.
- Proactively identifies and proposes solutions for technical problems.
- Has started informally mentoring new joiners or contributing to team best practices.
- 2
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
1-2 years (transition time)Skills to master
- Strong MLOps experience, deep learning expertise (outside of generative models), ability to adapt existing ML skills to the nuances of generative AI, and a track record of deploying complex models.
You're ready to move on when
- Has successfully deployed several complex ML models into production.
- Demonstrates a strong understanding of deep learning architectures and training methodologies.
- Shows a keen interest and has self-learned foundational GenAI concepts (e.g., transformers, RAG).
- Can quickly pick up new frameworks and adapt to new problem domains.
- 3
Data Scientist (with strong ML focus)
2-3 years (transition time)Skills to master
- Transitioning from exploratory analysis to production-grade engineering, strengthening software engineering practices, deep diving into model deployment and MLOps, and hands-on experience with large-scale data pipelines.
You're ready to move on when
- Has a strong portfolio of ML models built and evaluated.
- Has contributed to the productionisation of ML models, even if not leading it.
- Demonstrates strong programming skills in Python and familiarity with engineering best practices.
- Shows a clear desire to move into a more engineering-focused role within AI.