Last week, the EU parliament gave the nod to the “AI Act”, a parcel of lawmaking that was proposed as far back as 2021, but which, in the past 18 months since the phenomenal success of generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, has become even more timely.
The EU’s approach to regulation has several prongs, and depending on the risk level, will be enforced over a rolling schedule. This will see outright bans on those forms of AI considered to be highest risk later this year. More rules will apply 12 months after the law enters into force, with further provisions to be implemented in 2026.
And even though the UK is no longer a member of the bloc, the act will likely have knock-on effects. The EU’s act is groundbreaking and other jurisdictions are likely to look at its impact and see how they can follow suit.
Brussels has already proven that it is an influential tech regulator, with GDPR being one example. Furthermore, AI companies which want to operate within the EU will have to comply with the new regulations which may ultimately have knock-on effects.
How the roll-out goes is still to determine, but with World Economic Forum predicting in its most recent Future of Jobs Report that employment for data analysts and scientists, big data specialists, AI machine learning specialists and cybersecurity professionals is expected to grow on average by 30 per cent by 2027, things are looking positive for the sector.
3 great UK tech jobs this week
No matter what area of the tech sector you work in, or whether you’re looking to break into machine learning or AI, the Growth Business job board is a good place to start a search. It contains thousands of roles all over the UK, like the three below.
#1 – Lead Software Development Engineer in Test (PH), Global Relay, London
Global Relay securely captures and preserves the communications data of the world’s most highly regulated firms, giving them greater visibility and control over their information and ensuring compliance with stringent regulations.
As a lead software development engineer in test (SDET) you oversee testing resources on a small, highly focused team responsible for moving two public facing content managed websites on-premise and bringing the engineering standards to professional levels. You’ll also be responsible for ensuring appropriate and efficient testing strategies are applied in your areas of responsibility, with a focus on shift-left testing principles. You will drive continual improvement in your team’s automation frameworks and coverage while mentoring other SDETs in the team on industry leading technologies and test practices. See all the benefits now.
#2 – Senior Systems Engineer, BAE Systems, Prestwick
As a senior systems integration engineer at BAE Systems, you will use your engineering knowledge and experience to propose and develop solutions to problems throughout the product development cycle.
This is a key role, bringing components and systems together to form a system of systems. You will lead the integration of engineering across all aspects of air platforms and products, covering all stages in the engineering lifecycle – from concept to delivery, managing the maturity of engineering solutions as they develop, taking any corrective action required, and ensuring high standards and good engineering governance. You’ll need to be degree educated in a STEM discipline or have a HND/HNC, along with sound experience of the engineering lifecycle. Evidence based experience in an engineering integration environment (aerospace, automotive, rail and nuclear industries) is also required. Apply for this role.
Senior BI Developer, Gama Aviation, Farnborough
Gama Aviation is looking to add a talented BI developer to the business operations team based at its HQ in Farnborough, supporting the extension and professionalisation of business intelligence reporting across the business using Microsoft Power BI.
As the Business Intelligence Developer, you must develop a strong understanding of Gama Aviation’s operational structure and systems in order to facilitate meaningful analysis of its operational data, through summary KPI reports and drill through to operational detail. You will need sound experience within business intelligence development, along with experience using Power BI dataflows to manage data from multiple sources. An understanding of database management systems and ETL frameworks, and knowledge of SQL, M Query and DAX, ideally with some capability in R scripting, is also required. See more details here.
Browse the Growth Business job board to find your next role.
Kirstie McDermott works for our job board partner, Jobbio. Based in Dublin, she has been a writer and editor across print and digital platforms for over 15 years.
More UK tech jobs
5 senior UK tech jobs available this week – Looking to make a step up in your tech career? Jobbio’s Kirstie McDermott picks out five senior and leadership opportunities available this week
