At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and delivery of innovative AI solutions that drive impactful decisions.
- Company: Join the Department for Transport, a diverse and inclusive workplace.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, generous pension contributions, and flexible working options.
- Other info: Excellent career growth opportunities and access to professional qualifications.
- Why this job: Make a real difference with cutting-edge AI technology in a supportive environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in AI development and strong programming skills, especially in Python.
The predicted salary is between 59816 - 84911 £ per year.
- Principal AI Engineer
- Department for Transport
- Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 15th November 2026
- Location: Birmingham, Hastings, Leeds, London (This role is suitable for hybrid working)
- London Base Salary: £64,515
- National Base Salary: £59,816
The salary of £84,911 includes a basic salary of £59,816 and a Digital and Data allowance of up to £25,095.
The value of allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your technical skills and experience against the Principal Date Scientist Government Digital and Data Profession Pay Framework as demonstrated through the selection process.
- A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
- Available Positions: 7
We’re looking for Principal AI Engineers to lead the technical delivery of innovative, well-designed solutions that inform high-stakes decisions, transform complex processes and operations, and support critical policy objectives.
You will use your technical expertise to design, build, deploy, and maintain AI solutions – providing technical ownership through all phases of the product lifecycle.
This involves effectively collaborating with colleagues within Df T, across government and with external partners.
You will join the AI and Data Science Team, which owns the technical development of AI products and solutions in Df T’s AI Programme.
- Top Responsibilities
- Lead the design, development, and deployment of impactful AI solutions - including classical ML and agentic/LLM-based systems - providing technical leadership and ensuring solutions meet user and organisational needs.
- Own projects end to end with minimal supervision, working with partners, internal teams, and external stakeholders to address challenges and ensure your technical work achieves its intended impact.
- Write and review high-quality, maintainable code using established software development practices and tools, including version control and testing.
Proficiency in Python or a willingness to learn is expected.
- Deploy and manage products across development, test, and production environments on cloud platforms (Df T uses GCP), using CI/CD pipelines with automated testing and Terraform (Ia C).
- Build responsibly by applying statistical rigour to design and implement evaluation frameworks, datasets, and metrics that reliably measure the performance, capabilities, and limitations of AI models and agents.
Benefits
- Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
- 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
- Access to the staff discount portal.
- Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
- Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
- 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
- Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
About You
- Leading the end-to-end technical delivery of impactful AI or data science products, including design, development, deployment, monitoring, assurance, incident response and continuous improvement in production environments (lead criterion).
- Programming and software engineering to design and develop high-quality, scalable and maintainable solutions, applying strong engineering practices including version control, testing and code review.
- Deploying and managing products across development, test, and production environments on cloud platforms (e. g., GCP/AWS), using CI/CD pipelines with automated testing and Terraform or similar infrastructure-as-code (Ia C) tools to ship changes safely, reproducibly, and with rollback.
- Using your credibility and expertise in AI architecture to advise and challenge colleagues on architecture design choices, ensuring proposals align with the organisation's technology landscape and strategy, establishing reusable patterns and working closely with the Df T Architecture team to support proposals through technical governance processes.
- Maintaining multiple AI products in production using MLOps practices, including monitoring, versioning, automated evaluation and CI/CD.
- Building and deploying agentic services using enterprise platforms such as Copilot and Gemini Enterprise, integrating backend services, APIs and organisational data to deliver secure, scalable solutions at pace.
- Additional Information
- The role is part of the Government Digital and Data (or Government Security Profession Career Framework) profession and utilises an enhanced Capability–Based Pay Framework which provides access to a Digital and Data allowance.
- The base pay is £59,816. In addition to this the role includes a Digital and Data allowance of up to £25,095.
- The value of allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your technical skills and experience as demonstrated through the selection process.
- This vacancy closes at 23:55 on Sunday 15th November 2026
- #J-18808-Ljbffr
Principal AI Engineer in Birmingham employer: Department for Transport Group
Join the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) in Southampton, where you will be part of a dedicated team committed to enhancing maritime safety. With a strong emphasis on employee growth, flexible working arrangements, and an impressive pension contribution, MAIB fosters a supportive and inclusive work culture that values your contributions and encourages professional development through various qualifications. Experience the unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on maritime safety while enjoying a balanced work-life environment.
Contact Details:
Department for Transport Group Recruitment Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal AI Engineer in Birmingham
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Department for Transport Group or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
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We think you need these skills to ace Principal AI Engineer in Birmingham
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Department for Transport Group.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Department for Transport Group and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Department for Transport Group
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Department for Transport Group uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
