AI Specialist in Sunderland

Application Closing Date: 12/07/2026 at 23:59. Interviews will take place week commencing 20/07/2026.

Location can be any of the following: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle or Northstowe.

About the role:

This is a strategic and hands-on role at the heart of how the organisation identifies, shapes and delivers artificial intelligence opportunities. As a Lead AI Specialist, you will apply professional judgement to assess potential use cases, balancing value, feasibility, risk and constraints to define viable solutions. You will work closely with stakeholders across policy, digital, operational and analytical teams to ensure AI initiatives align with organisational priorities, standards and delivery timelines, while translating complex technical concepts and trade-offs into clear, actionable recommendations for both senior and non-technical audiences. You will play a central role in guiding the design and delivery of AI solutions, coordinating activity across projects to ensure priorities, dependencies and resources are effectively managed. Reporting to and working with the Head of Data Science & AI and the team, you will provide day-to-day direction to multidisciplinary teams, supporting capability development through coaching, quality assurance and knowledge sharing. You will review and challenge model design, experimentation approaches and outputs, ensuring that solutions are robust, proportionate and aligned with best practice, while also contributing to the evolution of delivery standards, design patterns and governance frameworks. Alongside delivery, you will design and oversee structured experimentation to evaluate performance, suitability and risk, while addressing complex technical and ethical issues as they arise. Ultimately, you will ensure that AI solutions deliver tangible operational or decision-support value, in line with organisational objectives, and are implemented in a responsible, well-governed and sustainable way.

A bit about you:

You are an experienced AI professional with a strong track record of delivering advanced AI and analytical solutions in real-world organisational settings. You bring deep, practical expertise in applied AI methods, including a clear understanding of model selection, evaluation techniques and the risks associated with deploying AI systems. You are confident working with modern approaches such as foundational models, understanding both their capabilities and their limitations, as well as the governance and ethical considerations required for their responsible use. With a solid academic background, or equivalent professional experience, in data science, AI, computer science or a related discipline, you combine technical depth with sound professional judgement. You are also a capable technical leader, with experience coordinating and supervising the work of others on complex AI initiatives. You are comfortable writing and reviewing production-quality code, particularly in Python, ensuring that solutions meet both technical and organisational requirements. You excel at working through ambiguity, applying structured thinking and professional judgement within policy, ethical and assurance frameworks. Alongside your technical delivery, you are skilled at producing high-quality analysis, clear recommendations and robust risk assessments for senior stakeholders, helping to inform decisions and build confidence in AI-driven approaches.

Who are we?

Homes England: The Housing and Regeneration Agency. We believe that affordable, quality homes in well-designed places are key to improving people's lives. As the government's housing and regeneration agency, we create thriving new places and transform urban areas, combining the full breadth of our powers, expertise, land, capital and influence to bring investment to communities and get more homes built. We form long-term partnerships that bridge the gap between the public and private sector to meet local needs and aspirations. We use our influence to champion the creation of sustainable homes, communities and places that are brilliantly designed for the people that live there now, and in the future. And we use our funding and support to build a more resilient, diverse and innovative housing sector, helping new entrants in the market, encouraging modern methods of construction and design, and promoting the utmost attention to building safety. Together with our partners, we're accelerating the pace of house building, remediation and regeneration across the country, as we seek to deliver ever more affordable homes in places people are proud to call home for generations to come.

What we offer:

As well as a competitive salary and 33 days annual leave, we are committed to 50/50 hybrid working. We'll support you, wherever possible, so that you don't miss out on what matters to you. Membership of the Homes and Communities Agency Pension Scheme, which is a contributory defined benefit scheme with the amount you receive on retirement based on your salary and years worked at the Agency. Internal applicants: please note that if you are successful, the salary you are offered will be in accordance with our pay policy. If you ever need a bit of extra help, we have a great employee assistance programme, a wide range of healthcare plans, financial wellbeing support and access to many great discounts with leading high street names. Our range of network groups are also there to support you to be yourself at work and play a key role in helping shape our future. If you are a member of a professional body, we'll pay for your membership and once you get your digital kit, you'll be good to go. Homes England are a geographically diverse community. We work to a 50/50 office/home based model. Moving back into our office environments has enabled us to utilise our space and time together in the most collaborative way. We would encourage all applicants to apply as soon as possible as we may close vacancies early should we receive a high number of applications. We also encourage you to apply using the full application option as opposed to quick apply, this is especially important if you would like to indicate to us that you would like to be considered under the disability confident scheme. We're a diverse team of more than 1,000 professionals spanning 17 professions, helping Homes England to be effective, efficient and deliver for communities. Our people remain at the heart of everything we do, and we're committed to building an Agency that not only reflects the diverse communities we serve, but also champions inclusion in how we shape homes and places across the country.

You will be required to have the Right to Work in the UK and Homes England do not offer visa sponsorship. If your application is shortlisted to interview we will require you to provide proof of your Right to Work in the UK at this stage. Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.