AI Engineering Lead

📍 Location: UK (Remote) 💰 Compensation: £85,000 – £90,000 + up to 11% bonus 📅 Contract: Permanent, Full-Time 🛂 Visa Sponsorship: Not available. Must have right to work in the UK without sponsorship. 🏢 Reports to: Head of AI ⚖️ Split: Today, approximately 20% hands-on / 80% partner-led delivery accountability. Expected to shift toward 50/50 as the AI journey matures. Who They Are A major UK bank that is done talking about AI and is now building it. This isn't a side project or a pilot programme. AI is central to how this organisation operates, with board-level sponsorship and a CEO who is an ex-Chief Digital Officer. They've already identified hundreds of automation and AI opportunities across the business. The first agentic build is going to production imminently. Claude is rolled out org-wide. Copilot agents are launching. Governance frameworks are being built from scratch. The Centre of Excellence is intentionally small - and this is your chance to join at the ground floor and shape what it becomes. They're not looking for someone to maintain the status quo. They're looking for a technical leader who has lived and breathed AI delivery in production, can hold their own in front of a board, and is resilient enough to push through resistance in a regulated environment. If you want to build something from the ground up, with real backing and genuine influence, this is it. Why This Role Is Special Greenfield opportunity: Early in the AI journey, with governance frameworks, lifecycles and controls still being built. You'll put your stamp on how this is set up. Board-level backing: AI has strong top-down support. You'll help explain solutions and tooling to senior leaders. Truly hybrid role: Not pure engineering, not pure strategy. A genuine player-coach blend of technical leadership and hands-on delivery. Incredible benefits: 10% matched pension, up to 11% bonus, private medical (family cover), 30 days holiday plus bank holidays, and life assurance. Grown-up working culture: Outcomes matter more than presenteeism. This role is fully remote. What You'll Own Technical Leadership & Delivery

• Lead design and delivery of AI solutions from concept through to production, working with a primary delivery partner and other partners, contractors and academic institutions.
• Be accountable for delivery outcomes, ensuring solutions are secure, scalable, compliant and aligned to Responsible AI principles.
• Shape technical direction, standards and best practice for AI engineering across the Group.
• Work with architecture, data, technology and business teams to identify and prioritise AI opportunities.
• Define the right build, buy and partner approach for AI solutions and services.
• Provide technical leadership across cloud-based AI platforms (Azure strategic, migrating from AWS), services and integrations.
• Support the growth of AI capability and adoption across the organisation. Hands-On Engineering
• Get hands-on with code when needed, helping to build and deploy AI, Machine Learning and Generative AI solutions in production environments.
• Work with modern AI frameworks, LLMs, RAG, prompt engineering and vector databases.
• Ensure robust MLOps practices, APIs, data pipelines and modern software engineering disciplines are in place. Strategic & Stakeholder Engagement
• Act as a thought leader, willing to challenge the business and drive new ways of working.
• Communicate clearly and confidently to senior leaders and board level, translating complex technical concepts into business language.
• Be a resilient change agent, pushing against colleagues who have done things the same way for years.
• Help establish engineering standards, frameworks and practices that enable AI solutions to be deployed securely, responsibly and at scale. Must-Have Proven Production Experience: You have "lived it, breathed it." Real commercial, production experience building and deploying AI/ML/GenAI solutions. Not just POC work or an academic pathway. Hybrid Technical & Strategic Skills: Deeply technical but able to present confidently to a board. The key test: "Could I put you in front of our board?" Strong Engineering Foundation: Excellent Python and SQL skills. Terraform and CI/CD are must-haves. Regulated Environment Experience: You've worked in a corporate or regulated environment (financial services, public sector, insurance, etc.) and understand corporate governance. You can "feel the pain" of red tape without being frustrated by it. Consultancy Background (Preferred): Experience in consultancy is a strong fit - client engagement, stakeholder presentation, and balancing technical work with strategic advice. Thought Leadership & Resilience: Willing to challenge the status quo and drive new ways of working, even when faced with resistance. UK Right to Work: No sponsorship available. Nice-to-Have
• Experience with Microsoft Azure, including Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Services, Azure Machine Learning and Azure Data Platform technologies.
• Knowledge of LLMs, RAG, prompt engineering, vector databases and modern AI frameworks.
• Experience with APIs, data pipelines, MLOps practices and modern software engineering disciplines.
• Experience managing partner-led delivery and a mix of onshore/offshore teams.
• Microsoft certifications (e.g., Azure AI Engineer, Azure Data Scientist). The Process 30-min Initial Screen: A light chat. A chance for you to ask questions and for us to get a feel for your background and communication style. 1-hour Technical Interview: General technical questioning. No live coding or hackathon-style tasks. We'll explore your experience with AI/ML/GenAI, cloud platforms and modern engineering practices. 1-hour Functional/Competency/Values Interview: Focused on values, your ability to lead and influence, and your experience in regulated environments. Final Screen: A final conversation with a senior people leader for shortlisted candidates. If you're a technically credible AI leader excited by the chance to build something from the ground up in a supportive, well-backed and genuinely flexible environment – apply now or reach out for a confidential chat.