[Hiring] AI Engineering Lead @Edge Tech

Role Description

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: Approximately 20% hands-on / 80% partner-led delivery accountability, expected to shift toward 50/50 as the AI journey matures.

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.

Qualifications

• Proven Production Experience: 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.
• Strong Engineering Foundation: Excellent Python and SQL skills. Terraform and CI/CD are must-haves.
• Regulated Environment Experience: Experience in a corporate or regulated environment (financial services, public sector, insurance, etc.) and understanding of corporate governance.
• 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.

Requirements

• Lead design and delivery of AI solutions from concept through to production.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Help establish engineering standards, frameworks, and practices that enable AI solutions to be deployed securely, responsibly, and at scale.

Benefits

• 10% matched pension
• Up to 11% bonus
• Private medical (family cover)
• 30 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Life assurance
• Grown-up working culture: Outcomes matter more than presenteeism. This role is fully remote.

Company Description

A major UK bank that is done talking about AI and is now building it.