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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of cutting-edge AI systems and mentor a dynamic engineering team.
- Company: Exciting AI startup with a remote-first culture and strong growth potential.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, Apple devices, meaningful share options, and career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Join a pioneering team and make a real impact in the AI landscape.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in production engineering, strong Python skills, and experience with AI architecture.
- Other info: Remote work with occasional London HQ visits for team collaboration.
The predicted salary is between 108000 - 180000 £ per year.
TalentCo are delighted to be working with an AI startup looking to hire a high-calibre Lead AI Engineer into their growing engineering team in the UK, having recently closed a significant seed funding round. This is a senior individual contributor hire and can be based remote-first anywhere in the UK, for this London HQ'd startup. You will drive the technical evolution of the client's AI-first platform and serve as their resident AI expert.
You will be a core software engineer architecting the complex systems that make AI useful in production, splitting your time between crafting complex AI processing architectures and hands-on data/backend engineering, with the rest spent doing whatever is needed to ship.
As Lead AI Engineer you will:
- Architect & Engineer AI Systems: You won’t just call an API; you will build robust processing architectures that leverage off-the-shelf LLMs, RAG pipelines, and context engineering to solve hard problems. You will benchmark these systems rigorously to ensure they actually work, not just "feel" smart.
- Build the Backend Foundation: You will spend significant time in Python (FastAPI, SQLAlchemy) building the APIs, data structures, and services that power the product. You are an engineer who ensures the "AI" is delivered on reliable, production-grade rails.
- Close the Data Loop: As we launch, you will lead the transition from "zero-shot" implementations to data-driven optimisation. You will instrument data collection, design online evaluation metrics, and deploy simple, effective ML models (e.g., logistic regression, boosted trees) to optimise user outcomes based on real feedback.
- Mentor & Lead: You will work alongside full-stack engineers, upskilling the team on AI concepts and best practices. You are the "from-the-trenches" expert who helps the team distinguish between Twitter hype and engineering reality.
- Strategically Advise: You will help Product and Leadership navigate the map of what’s valuable and what’s possible, steering the roadmap toward features that achieve business impact through data-driven optimisation.
What we want to hear from you if you bring:
- Production Engineering (5+ years): You are a strong software engineer first. You have extensive experience building and maintaining backend services in Python (ideally FastAPI or similar async frameworks) deployed to modern cloud providers (GCP/AWS) or point solutions (Railway, Render, Vercel).
- Applied AI Architecture: You have built complex applications using Foundation Models / LLMs. You understand context window management, prompting strategies, and how to chain models together to achieve reliable results.
- Team-Oriented Mindset: Strong communication skills for explaining complex ideas to technical and non-technical audiences, and a passion for collaborating within cross-functional teams.
- Passion and Pride in Shipping: A do-whatever-it-takes attitude to deliver against important business goals that help the entire team win.
- Pragmatic Best Practices: An overarching desire to build efficient, scalable, and maintainable code, while managing the tradeoffs between technical debt and delivery speed. You’d rather ship a heuristic that solves the user's problem today than a perfect model two weeks late.
What do they offer?
- Base salary c£150k
- Remote-first with occasional trips to the London HQ to see the team
- Apple devices and the best AI tooling
- Meaningful early-stage share opportunities
- Career rocket fuel - real growth, real ownership, real impact
Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) - TalentCo in Leeds employer: Jobster
Contact Detail:
Jobster Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) - TalentCo in Leeds
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the AI space on LinkedIn or at meetups. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio showcasing your AI projects, especially those involving Python and backend systems. This will give potential employers a taste of what you can do and set you apart from the crowd.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by brushing up on your technical knowledge and soft skills. Practice explaining complex AI concepts in simple terms, as you'll need to communicate effectively with both techies and non-techies.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! We’re all about connecting talent with opportunities, and applying directly can sometimes give you an edge. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in joining the team!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead AI Engineer (UK Remote) - TalentCo in Leeds
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV speaks directly to the job description. Highlight your experience with Python, AI architecture, and any relevant projects that showcase your skills. We want to see how you fit into our vision!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to tell us why you're passionate about AI and how your background makes you the perfect fit for the Lead AI Engineer role. Keep it engaging and personal.
Showcase Your Projects: If you've worked on any cool AI projects or have a GitHub portfolio, make sure to include links in your application. We love seeing practical examples of your work and how you tackle complex problems.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother process. It helps us keep track of applications and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates from us!
How to prepare for a job interview at Jobster
✨Know Your AI Stuff
Make sure you brush up on the latest trends and technologies in AI, especially around LLMs and RAG pipelines. Be ready to discuss your past projects and how you've architected AI systems, as this will show your depth of knowledge and experience.
✨Showcase Your Coding Skills
Since this role involves a lot of backend engineering in Python, be prepared to demonstrate your coding skills. You might be asked to solve a problem on the spot, so practice coding challenges that focus on FastAPI and SQLAlchemy to ensure you're sharp.
✨Communicate Clearly
You’ll need to explain complex AI concepts to both technical and non-technical folks. Practice articulating your thoughts clearly and concisely, perhaps even using analogies to make your points more relatable. This will help you stand out as a team player.
✨Be Ready to Discuss Trade-offs
Understand the balance between technical debt and delivery speed. Be prepared to discuss how you've made decisions in the past regarding shipping features versus perfecting models. This shows your pragmatic approach and aligns with their values.
