09/18/2026 updated
100 % available
Research Lead in Autonomous and Intelligent Systems
London, United Kingdom
Worldwide
PhD in Physics, University of CambridgeAbout me
Cambridge PhD. Research lead for agentic and embodied AI. I stand up new applied systems: multi-agent coordination, policy-aware behaviour, working prototypes. Lead seat or senior applied IC. Outside IR35, UK Ltd. https://juraj.cc
Applied ResearchAutonomous SystemLeadershipPython (Programming Language)Neo4jResearch and DevelopmentRobotics Design and ProductionDeep LearningScientific ProgrammingTechnical Consultancy
How I work with you
I take two kinds of contract.
- Research / applied-science lead: I own the problem, set the technical direction, and run delivery until the work stream is standing.
- Senior individual contributor: I join a team that already has a lead and do the core applied-science work.
Both are Outside IR35 through a UK Ltd.
Technical leadership and delivery
Set up and ran an applied-research group in autonomy and intelligent systems. Stood up a new product line from a blank sheet, including technical architecture and a delivery team. Led competed low-TRL studies and research bids. Used to being the person a programme brings in when the science has to become a part of working system.
Autonomous and agentic systems
Intelligent-systems research for autonomy: foundation models over structured and unstructured data, multilingual and low-resource NLP, policy-aware behaviour for digital and embodied agents. Agent orchestration and human-in-the loop approaches. Embodied AI (AI for robotics and other engineered systems).
Knowledge graphs and graph ML
Automated knowledge-graph construction: entity extraction and linking, ontology alignment, embeddings for link prediction, node classification and anomaly detection. Graph representation learning (GNNs, geometric embeddings). Combining knowledge graphs with LLMs for ontology-guided generation and retrieval over graph structure.
Scientific NLP and information extraction
Led ChemDataExtractor 2.0 for information and relationship extraction from scientific literature. Property knowledge graphs, ontology population from text, table standardisation for relationship extraction. Materials informatics and auto-generated scientific databases.
Core stack
Python, PyTorch, Neo4j, scientific computing. Linux research workflows.
Experience
Professional experience10+ years
Freelancer since2025
Languages
GermanNative speakerEnglishFluentCroatianNative speaker
Project history
Advancing human-machine collaboration with focus on embodied and digital agents for the next era of autonomy. Introduced Policy Cards as a way to create policy self-awareness for digital and physical agents. Work across healthcare, finance, and defence. Led formation of a multi-institution research consortium including Kings College London, Cranfield University, and London Institute for Healthcare Engineering.
Leading a self-funded team of 5, covering low-TRL research in autonomous systems, foundation models, knowledge graphs and graph machine learning. Won and delivered over 10 independent research projects with total revenue exceeding 1 million GBP. Led large cross-division AI/ML initiatives across BAE Systems Air, Land, Maritime and Digital Intelligence divisions. Product and solution architect for a project exceeding 1 million GBP to develop a new product line, leading a 13-person delivery team. Led a 600k GBP smart-factory programme using knowledge graphs and ML for predictive maintenance and fault diagnosis.
Speaker at multiple events including Semantic Materials Workshop 2025 Cambridge, Alan Turing Institute Knowledge Graph Symposium 2022, 2023 and 2025, Dstl AI Fest 2023, Chemistry Networks 2019 Cambridge (approximately 200 delegates), and International debating European-wide Youth Parliament Debate Grand Finale organized by the European Parliament.