Dstl starts recruiting AI, data science specialists in Newcastle hub

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has this week begun recruiting for staff to work in its forthcoming office in Newcastle which will specialise in AI and data science.

In April Dstl revealed plans to open an office at the National Innovation Centre for Data (NICD). 

Dstl is seeking AI researchers, data scientists, data engineers and systems thinkers to help accelerate the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence across Defence projects.

AI is viewed as having the potential to be applied to a vast range of Defence problems including: optimising the maintenance of vehicles, planes and ships; rapidly identifying the people and platforms we need to send to a disaster zone as part of a UK response; to finding the crucial needle in a haystack of complex data reducing cognitive burden on operators.

“There is a strong North East talent pipeline with a large number of people who live within a short commute of the NICD and the close proximity to a number of world-class Universities with a high proportion of STEM and computing students," explained Andrew Fraser, Dstl’s programme lead for the Newcastle office. "This large pool of suitably qualified potential staff will allow us to meet our ambitions to strengthen the diversity of our workforce with the skills, knowledge and expertise required to address some of Defence’s most tricky data related challenges.”