AI Technical Lead in London

Salary: £70,000 – £77,000 plus benefits.

Reports to: Head of Engineering.

Location: Stratford, London (high flexibility).

Contract: 2‑year fixed‑term.

About the role

As a Technical Lead, you’ll turn ambitious AI opportunities into high‑quality, scalable technology solutions. You’ll work across the full lifecycle, from ideas and proofs of concept to production‑ready systems embedded into the organisation. You’ll be accountable for technical quality and delivery, working in a matrixed environment with internal product teams and external partners. You’ll shape problem statements, align solution designs to the AI vision, and guide teams through complex technical decisions.

Responsibilities

• Act as Technical Lead for key AI initiatives at different stages – from emerging ideas and proofs of concept through to solutions ready to scale and operationalise.
• Assess technical complexity, feasibility, and effort, helping teams make informed delivery decisions.
• Identify where foundational changes to platforms or infrastructure are needed to unlock AI capabilities.
• Work with Product Managers and colleagues to assess when and how to partner with external suppliers.
• Collaborate closely with Product and Project Managers, Architects, UX and Service Designers, and Business Analysts to understand user needs and iteratively design effective solutions.
• Provide technical assurance and constructive challenge for external technology partners.
• Validate high‑level designs and support smooth transitions from design into delivery.
• Produce low‑level designs, technical work plans, and documentation in line with delivery standards.
• Proactively surface technical risks, issues, and dependencies to initiative leads.
• Contribute significantly to testing strategies and plans to ensure solutions are robust, secure, and reliable.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering Commercial Off‑the‑Shelf (COTS) and Software‑as‑a‑Service (SaaS) solutions, from procurement through to live operation.
• Recent, hands‑on experience writing clean, maintainable, and well‑tested code using proven design patterns.
• Curiosity and adaptability to learn new languages, frameworks, and tools.
• Deep technical expertise and confidence to tackle complex problems independently.
• Strong interest in AI and innovation, with the ability to role‑model modern engineering practices for greater impact.
• Experience across multiple domains, with the ability to context‑switch as priorities change.
• Proven experience running critical services in production, designing scalable, secure, and highly available systems.
• Experience acting as a technical lead: defining solutions from scratch, shaping technical direction, and reviewing the work of other engineers.
• Knowledge of modern software delivery approaches (e.g., Scrum, Kanban) and understanding of spec‑driven development.
• Excellent communication skills, enabling clear explanation of complex ideas and influencing both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Resilience to adapt to continual change in a complex environment with multiple priorities.
• Highly desirable: experience implementing bespoke data, machine‑learning or AI solutions from pilot to operationalisation.
• Desirable: professional certification (e.g., cloud architect) in at least one major cloud data platform (e.g., GCP, Azure, AWS, Snowflake, Databricks) and active participation in that cloud’s community.

Benefits

We provide a generous benefits package, high‑quality tools, and opportunities for career and personal development. Our policies support wellbeing and work‑life balance.

Equal Opportunity

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. All candidates are considered without regard to race, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation.