Junior Applied Research Engineer

About Us

Every business needs to know who they’re really working with whether it’s suppliers, investors, partners, or third parties. At Xapien, we’re reinventing how organisations do that, combining speed, scale and accuracy with cutting-edge AI.

Since 2018, we’ve grown from a deep-tech startup to a global player in AI-driven due diligence and risk intelligence. 2024 was a landmark year as we closed a $10M Series A, earned recognition in the Chartis RiskTech100® and Everest Group’s Leading 50TM, and expanded our products, markets and customer base.

2025 was even bigger: With new regulations, rising compliance pressure and growing reputation risks, organisations everywhere are demanding smarter, faster ways to work and they’re turning to us. Customers worldwide from global law firms and private banks to universities and nonprofits rely on Xapien to turn days of manual research into trusted insights, delivered in minutes.

Our momentum so far

Customers in a diverse range of industries, with particular growth in wealth management, financial services and supply chain onboarding.

Demand accelerating beyond our UK headquarters, across multiple continents with new customers in the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.

Why this is an exciting time to join

This isn’t just another job role; it’s an opportunity to shape the future of the due diligence industry with a market-leading product trusted by global organisations. Whether you’re in marketing, communications, sales, or finance, you’ll play a critical role in driving growth, building credibility, and defining how we connect our product to a rapidly evolving market.

We’re scaling fast with more customers, more releases, and bigger regulatory and market challenges. Expectations are rising, due diligence now means real-time insight, delivered efficiently and with impact. You won’t just be executing campaigns, closing deals, or managing numbers, you’ll be influencing strategy, optimising processes, and helping position a brand that’s setting the new standard for trust and transparency.

For people who love learning, innovating, and making an impact that matters now is the moment to be a part of Xapien.

The Role

We are looking for a detail-focussed Applied Research Engineer to help us develop the next generation of the algorithms at the heart of our system. Our product is experiencing tremendous growth, and we need to ensure that we continue to deliver accurate insights in a rapidly changing landscape.

This role requires someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment where continuous innovation and refinement are key. You will be working closely with our product team to ensure our algorithms and models capture their domain knowledge and expertise appropriately.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone looking to kick-start a career in AI.

Core responsibilities:

• Designing, building, and testing AI-powered experiments working with leading-edge ML models.
• Building and deploying AI-powered microservices following standard design patterns.
• Implementing infrastructure as code using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation to automate deployment and scaling processes.
• Statistical evaluation of candidate systems against functional and non-functional requirements, optimising for performance and cost-efficiency.
• Collaborating with our wider engineering team
• Demonstrating a desire to continuously learn & improve

You need to have:

• Being a small company, candidates need to be able to work autonomously, be comfortable without micro-management, be flexible and have initiative to solve problems.
• A rigorous and scientific approach to problem solving
• A demonstrable track record for learning and mastering complex topics
• Keen attention to detail
• Strong verbal and written communication
• Demonstrable experience working with Python and good Python knowledge
• A good understanding of statistics
• A strong understanding of algorithm optimisation
• A strong foundation of working with command-line tooling and knowledge of unix

What you will gain out of it:

• We will provide you with support and training in everything you need. This will include background understanding of the risk and compliance sector, our product, development, AWS infrastructure, log analysis and all other related skills.

Here’s our promise to you:

• We are going to work with you - to build a rewarding and fulfilling career with the opportunities, challenges and resources you need to do you your best work.
• We succeed together- you will own a meaningful part of the business through our employee shares & equity programme.
• Private health insurance to keep you in tip-top condition.
• Life Insurance – let's hope nobody ever needs this!
• Unlimited holidays – yes, it really is uncapped – take the time you need, when you need it.
• Everyone is learning, developing and challenging themselves so we have a £1k professional development fund per year if you want to learn new skills, even new things outside of work.
• Most importantly of all, we will work with you, to help you realise your fullest potential, always.