At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build cutting-edge AI systems for the pharmaceutical industry.
- Company: Exciting venture-backed AI startup with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Up to £150,000 salary, equity, and a collaborative work culture.
- Other info: Dynamic startup environment with significant ownership and growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Join early-stage tech development and make a real-world impact in healthcare.
- Qualifications: Strong Python skills and experience in AI product development.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
London (Hybrid 4 days on site) | Up to £150,000 + Equity
About the Opportunity
I'm partnering with a venture-backed AI startup that's building technology for some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Rather than focusing on drug discovery, the business is tackling the operational side of pharma - using AI to automate complex quality, manufacturing and regulatory workflows that are still heavily reliant on manual processes. Their platform helps customers extract insights from vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, streamline decision-making, and reduce the time it takes to bring medicines to patients. Having secured funding from leading investors and signed several enterprise customers, they're now looking to hire a Senior AI Engineer to play a key role in shaping the next phase of the product.
The Role
As one of the early engineering hires, you'll work directly with the founders to build the AI capabilities at the heart of the platform. This is a hands-on role where you'll own problems end-to-end—from designing production-grade LLM systems and agentic workflows to building evaluation frameworks and deploying scalable AI services. You'll have significant influence over both the technical architecture and the direction of the product as the company grows.
What You'll Be Working On
- Designing and building production-ready AI systems using the latest LLMs and agentic frameworks.
- Developing retrieval and reasoning pipelines across large pharmaceutical and scientific datasets.
- Building scalable backend services and APIs to support customer-facing AI features.
- Creating robust evaluation frameworks to measure model quality, reliability and performance.
- Working closely with customers to understand operational challenges and translate them into production AI solutions.
- Contributing to engineering best practices and helping shape the technical roadmap as the team scales.
What They're Looking For
The team is looking for someone who enjoys solving difficult engineering problems and has experience shipping AI products into production. You’ll likely have:
- Strong Python experience and a track record of building scalable backend systems.
- Commercial experience developing AI-powered products using LLMs, RAG and agentic workflows.
- A solid understanding of model evaluation, observability and production AI infrastructure.
- Experience working with structured and unstructured data at scale.
- A pragmatic approach to engineering and the ability to work autonomously in a fast-moving startup environment.
- A genuine interest in building products that solve meaningful, real-world problems.
In Return, The Business is Offering:
- Up to £150,000 base salary
- Meaningful equity
- The opportunity to help shape an AI-first product from an early stage
- A collaborative, high-performing engineering culture with significant ownership from day one
Founding AI Engineer / VC Start-Up / Up to £150k + Equity in London employer: Few&Far
Join a pioneering AI and robotics startup in London as a Founding Engineer, where you'll have the unique opportunity to shape cutting-edge technology from the ground up. With a strong emphasis on collaboration and innovation, this role offers genuine ownership and the chance to work alongside an exceptional founding team, backed by world-class investors. The vibrant work culture fosters personal growth and encourages tackling complex engineering challenges, making it an ideal environment for those looking to make a meaningful impact in the tech industry.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding AI Engineer / VC Start-Up / Up to £150k + Equity in London
✨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 Few&Far 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
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Few&Far.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Few&Far.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Few&Far that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Founding AI Engineer / VC Start-Up / Up to £150k + Equity in London
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 Few&Far.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Few&Far 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 Few&Far
✨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 Few&Far 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.
