Research Scientist Jobs in London, UK

Looking for a research scientist job in London? Choose from 32 open roles at 13 employers. Explore real salary data and skills breakdown across remote, hybrid and on-site roles.

32 Open roles
13 Companies hiring
โ€” Average salary

What do Research scientists in London work on?

The work spans several distinct domains. At Google's DeepMind group, roles focus on building generative world models, incorporating human data into robotic foundation models, and researching provenance and trustworthy model deployment โ€” see for example Research Scientist, World Models and Research Scientist, Human Data, Robotics. Separate reliability-analytics positions, such as the Data Scientist, Research, Reliability Analytics role, involve building statistical and ML pipelines to support cloud infrastructure. Life-sciences employers contribute roles in structure-aware machine learning and data-efficient learning for drug discovery. Other openings cover generative audio, AI foundations, and machine learning research more broadly. Across the set, day-to-day responsibilities typically involve designing and implementing models, running experiments, contributing to publications, and collaborating closely with engineering or product teams. An internship position targeting PhD candidates in their penultimate or final year is also present in the current listings.

Skills and experience employers ask for

These counts reflect mentions in job descriptions across the full set of postings on this page, not formal requirements. A PhD appears in the clear majority of postings, and Python and PyTorch are the most frequently cited technical tools. Agents, evaluation, publications, LLMs, and reinforcement learning each appear in roughly half the postings. Statistics, A/B testing, and TensorFlow are also common. Fine-tuning, GPUs, and NLP appear in a smaller subset. The sample size is modest, so absence of a skill does not mean it is unimportant.

PhD 75%
Python 59%
PyTorch 53%
Evaluation 47%
Reinforcement learning 47%
Publications 47%
LLMs 44%
Agents 44%
A/B testing 38%
Statistics 38%
TensorFlow 34%
Fine-tuning 22%
GPUs 22%
NLP 19%

London office, hybrid or remote?

Most postings on this page specify onsite work, with a meaningful minority listed as hybrid. Only two postings are marked remote. No postings have an unknown work mode, so the split is clear within this set. Onsite and hybrid roles are concentrated at London offices; the two remote postings do not specify a location requirement beyond what is stated in each listing. Candidates should check individual postings for any flexibility, as advertised modes can differ from day-to-day practice and are not verified here.

Make your application specific to the work

  1. Check the domain fit Research scientist postings on this page cover areas as different as robotics, drug discovery, generative audio, and cloud reliability. Read the summary carefully to confirm the research domain matches your background before applying.
  2. Prepare publication evidence Publications are mentioned in a large share of these postings, and several roles ask for demonstrated conference or journal output. Gather links to papers or preprints you can reference in your application.
  3. Tailor your technical profile Python and PyTorch appear across most postings, but specific frameworks and methods vary by role โ€” for instance, diffusion models matter for world-model positions while SQL and statistical modelling appear in reliability-analytics roles. Highlight the tools most relevant to each posting.
  4. Apply through each employer's portal These postings link to individual employer application systems; there is no single submission route. Allow time for multi-stage processes, which in research roles often include a technical assessment or research presentation.

Questions about Research Scientist jobs in London

A PhD is mentioned in the majority of postings on this page, and several explicitly list it as a requirement or state that relevant industry experience may substitute. A small number of postings do not mention degree level at all, so eligibility without a doctorate depends on the specific role.

None of the current postings on this page advertise a pay range. You would need to ask the employer directly or consult other sources for compensation information.

The employers listed in these postings include Google, DeepL, Jane Street, Tripadvisor, Lila Sciences, Fin, Isomorphic Labs, and Waymo, among others. The full list appears beside this text.

Two postings are marked remote; the remainder are either hybrid or fully onsite. The remote postings should be checked individually for any location constraints not captured in the mode label.

None of the postings in this fact pack state whether visa sponsorship is offered. You should contact each employer directly to ask about their sponsorship policy before applying.

Jobs checked 2 hours ago. ยท Guide reviewed 9 September 2026.