Lead AI Architect

Salary: £85,000 - 102,000 per year

Requirements:

• Extensive hands-on experience architecting and deploying enterprise-grade AI and ML solutions end-to-end.
• Expert Python skills with proficiency in PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, LangGraph, or similar GenAI frameworks.
• Deep knowledge of LLMs, prompt engineering, RAG pipelines, vector databases, and generative AI architectures.
• Hands-on experience with AI evaluation frameworks, security best practices, and ethical guardrails for production systems.
• Broad cloud experience across AWS, Azure, and GCP with Generative AI services; cloud-agnostic experience preferred.
• Strong grasp of MLOps and LLMOps principles, including CI/CD for ML, model monitoring, and governance frameworks.
• Proven ability to lead technical teams and manage stakeholder relationships at a senior level.
• Ability to assess client challenges pragmatically and determine when AI is the right solution versus a simpler approach.
• PhD or equivalent in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or Artificial Intelligence is desirable.
• Background in traditional ML and AI alongside Generative AI experience is desirable.
• Experience working in complex regulated sectors such as healthcare, government, or justice is desirable.
• Proficiency with large-scale data processing technologies such as SQL, Spark, or Hadoop is desirable.
• Open source contributions or personal projects demonstrating excellence in AI engineering are desirable.
• Minimum of SC Clearance is required; DV Clearance is also stated for the role.

Responsibilities:

• Design scalable, secure, production-ready AI architectures integrating LLMs and ML models into enterprise workflows.
• Oversee the full technical lifecycle from model architecture selection through to robust CI/CD and MLOps pipelines.
• Deploy and optimise models using AWS Bedrock, Azure AI Foundry, or self-hosted GPU/CPU infrastructure with tools like vLLM and Ollama.
• Design and implement evaluation, monitoring, and observability frameworks to track AI system performance in real time.
• Translate high-level client requirements into detailed technical roadmaps and actionable engineering tasks.
• Proactively identify and manage technical risk, including security vulnerabilities and deployment bottlenecks.
• Lead and mentor cross-functional teams of data scientists and engineers across project delivery.
• Communicate complex AI concepts clearly to non-technical senior stakeholders, building confidence in AI-driven solutions.

Technologies:

• AI
• AWS
• Azure
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• GCP
• Hadoop
• Machine Learning
• MLOps
• PyTorch
• Python
• RAG
• SQL
• Security
• Spark
• TensorFlow
• vLLM
• Architect

More:

We are a recognised digital and technical consultancy working at the cutting edge of technology transformation across government and the public sector. Our Engineering, AI & Data practice is delivering ambitious and impactful AI programmes in the UK, with our Security & Justice team focused on production systems in complex and sensitive environments. This is a permanent hybrid role based in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester, or Newcastle, with 3 days on site per week, 37.5 hours per week, and a salary of £85,000 to £102,850. We offer benefits including 26 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, pension contributions matched up to 8%, private medical insurance, an overseas working policy, yearly on-target bonus, season ticket loans, paid professional subscription, life assurance, and flexible or part-time working options. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcome applications from all backgrounds.

last updated 38 week of 2026