Job summary
Thames Valley Integrated Care Board is looking for a Deep Learning Engineer to apply deep learning and machine learning to direct care applications across our Connected Care ecosystem.

Connected Care is Thames Valley's expert-led, integrated healthcare-data ecosystem. Since 2016 it has grown from a simple shared care record into a powerful intelligence tool enabling provider collaboration and proactive, direct patient care across the Thames Valley system. This is a direct care function, not a commissioning role.

Your focus will be on future disease progression, predictive case finding and population needs -- building models that help clinicians and care teams identify risk earlier and target interventions more effectively. You'll create, validate and deploy these models working closely with clinical colleagues, and integrate them with our population health system and data integration platform so that model outputs feed directly back into the information clinicians see.

You'll be applying deep learning directly to patient outcomes -- helping clinicians spot disease progression and case-find earlier -- as part of one of the largest Connected Care programmes in the country, supporting 2.5 million people across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Location: One of Thames Valley ICB's offices
Function: Connected Care Infrastructure
Directorate: Strategy & Commissioning

Main duties of the job

• Designing, developing and deploying deep learning models for future disease progression, predictive case finding and population needs, using frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow and Azure Machine Learning.
• Working closely with clinical colleagues to validate models, ensuring they are safe, trusted and clinically relevant before deployment.
• Integrating models with our population health system and data integration platform so that predictive insights reach clinical records and care workflows.
• Implementing model monitoring, validation, explainability and drift detection approaches.
• Building natural language processing (NLP) models to derive insights from clinical and operational text data where relevant.
• Providing technical leadership on model architecture, MLOps and AI deployment approaches.
• Ensuring compliance with NHS standards, information governance, clinical safety (DCB0129/DCB0160) and responsible AI principles.

About us
We value and promote diversity and are committed to equality of opportunity for all. We believe that the best employers are those that reflect the communities they serve. We want to increase the diversity of our NHS leadership and particularly encourage applications from women, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, LGBT communities, younger candidates and from people with lived experience of disability, who we know are all under-represented in these important roles. We are committed to delivering a trustworthy, flexible and responsible staff culture.

At our Organisation, our selection process ensures we recruit candidates with the right skills and values. We monitor AI use in applications and remain alert to misuse that misrepresents abilities. You must declare any AI use when submitting your application.

Job responsibilities
The Deep Learning Engineer Connected Care will play a lead technical role in the design, development, deployment and operational management of advanced deep learning and machine learning capabilities across Thames Valley ICBs Connected Care ecosystem. The post holder will develop predictive, generative and intelligent analytical solutions to support population health management, operational improvement, commissioning, service transformation and clinical decision support.Working under the direction of the Head of Connected Care Data Platform, Integration & AI, the post holder will provide technical leadership in the safe, ethical and governed application of deep learning technologies, ensuring compliance with NHS standards, information governance, clinical safety and responsible AI principles.The role will support the delivery of NHS priorities by enabling staff productivity, reducing unwarranted variation, improving access and supporting proactive, person-centred care through intelligent systems that augment decision-making rather than replace professional judgement.

You'll be an experienced deep learning / machine learning engineer, comfortable working closely with clinicians to build models that are trusted enough to influence direct patient care. You'll have:

• A degree or master's in computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, software engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent senior experience.
• Extensive experience designing, training and deploying deep learning or machine learning models in production environments.
• Experience using frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow or Keras.
• Experience with predictive modelling, NLP, time-series analysis and model evaluation.
• Knowledge of information governance, clinical safety and responsible AI approaches.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Educated to degree or master's level in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Software Engineering or related discipline, or equivalent senior experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development in AI, cloud engineering, software engineering or digital transformation.

Knowledge, Experience
Essential

• Extensive knowledge of specialist area/s, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training, plus further specialist knowledge or experience to master's level equivalent.
• Extensive experience designing, training and deploying deep learning or machine learning models in production environments.
• Experience using frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow or Keras.
• Experience with predictive modelling, NLP, time-series analysis and model evaluation.
• Understanding of NHS policy, Integrated Care Systems, population health and healthcare transformation.
• Experience working with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Knowledge of information governance, cyber security and responsible AI approaches.
• Evidence of post-qualification and continuing professional development in data engineering, cloud technologies, information governance, interoperability or related digital disciplines.
• An understanding of the background and aims of current healthcare policy, appreciating the implications on engagement.
• A good understanding of the relationship between the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, Integrated Care Systems (including Integrated Care Boards), and individual provider organisations.
• Experience of interpreting national policy and experience of researching best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/ practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve system reform (e.g. advising on policy implementation).
• Experience of managing and motivating a team, including managing performance of individuals and team.
• Experience of working with, and building and developing successful professional relationships with, a range of stakeholders (internal and external).
• Previous experience of budget responsibility, involvement in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel etc.) with intermediate keyboard skills.
• Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and tools such as Prince 2 and Managing Successful Projects.
• Membership of relevant professional bodies or possession of relevant technical certifications (e.g., Azure Data Engineer, BCS, DAMA) is desirable.

Skills, Capabilities, Attributes
Essential

• Ability to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues (e.g. performance and change).
• Strong analytical, mathematical and problem-solving capability.
• Able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to sponsor/manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and compliance to policies.
• Able to make decisions autonomously when required, on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action, working to tight and often changing timescales.
• Able to present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Ability to make autonomous decisions on complex technical or operational issues, often within tight and changing timescales. Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Demonstrable ability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
• Able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

We value and promote diversity and are committed to equality of opportunity for all. We believe that the best employers are those that reflect the communities they serve. We want to increase the diversity of our NHS leadership and particularly encourage applications from women, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, LGBT communities, younger candidates and from people with lived experience of disability, who we know are all under-represented in these important roles. We are committed to delivering a trustworthy, flexible and responsible staff culture.