Lead AI Developer and Automation Engineer in London

About Keplin Group: Keplin Group is a fast-growing retail and e-commerce business selling across multiple major platforms including Amazon (Seller Central and Vendor Central), Shopify, eBay, Temu, TikTok Shop, OnBuy, B&Q, Debenhams, and Wilko. We sell under several brands including Keplin, LUGG, EcoBags, QOVO, and Kayman. We operate from three locations; our UK headquarters in Uxbridge, a back office in Navi Mumbai, and a UK-based warehouse, with around 150 team members across all sites. Our departments include Buying, E-Commerce, Marketing, Graphic Design, Warehouse, Accounts, and Vendor Management. Our tagline is "Brands Built for Belief" - and we are now investing heavily in AI and automation to transform every aspect of how we operate. This is a brand new initiative and you will be leading it from the front.

This is the most important technology hire we are making. As our Lead AI Developer, you will own the vision, architecture, and delivery of Keplin's entire AI and automation infrastructure - and you will lead a team of 1–2 AI developers based in our Navi Mumbai back office. You will work directly with the Managing Director to identify the highest-impact opportunities for AI and automation across the business, translate them into a delivery roadmap, and build them - both hands-on yourself and through the India team you manage. Right now, a lot of our work is done manually - people copy data between systems, write emails by hand, create reports by pulling numbers from different places, and manage orders across multiple platforms one by one. Your job is to change that - permanently.

This role is for someone who can think strategically, architect robust systems, and still get their hands dirty in the code. You are equally comfortable presenting a roadmap to the MD and reviewing a pull request from your India team.

Your Responsibilities

• Own the AI and automation roadmap for Keplin Group - prioritising initiatives by business impact and technical feasibility.
• Lead, mentor, and manage 1–2 AI developers in the Navi Mumbai back office - setting clear briefs, reviewing their work, and supporting their growth.
• Act as the primary technical point of contact for the Managing Director and senior leadership team.
• Define engineering standards, code review processes, and deployment practices for the AI team.
• Identify new AI tools, frameworks, and platforms that could accelerate Keplin's capabilities.

Hands-on development

• Architect and build AI agents and automation systems across our e-commerce, operations, and vendor management functions.
• Design and own the integration layer connecting our platforms - Amazon, Shopify, eBay, ClickUp, Microsoft 365, Mintsoft, and Unleashed.
• Build robust, production-ready systems that our business teams can rely on daily.
• Oversee and review code produced by the India team - ensuring quality, consistency, and alignment with the overall architecture.

What you will actually build

• Order Automation: Build AI agents that sync orders across Amazon (SC & VC), Shopify, eBay, Temu, TikTok Shop, and our ERP systems (Unleashed / Mintsoft) to give us one unified real-time view.
• Inventory Management: Create automated stock alerts, reorder triggers, and supplier coordination workflows. When stock drops below a threshold, the system flags it and drafts a purchase order automatically.
• Customer Service AI: Build chatbots and automated response systems that handle routine customer queries across all sales channels, escalating complex issues to human staff.
• Reporting Dashboards: Replace manual monthly reports with automated dashboards that pull live data from all platforms - P&L, sales, inventory, and ad performance - into a single view.
• Cross-Team Workflows: Build automations in ClickUp and Microsoft 365 that route tasks, send notifications, and keep our UK HQ, Navi Mumbai, and warehouse teams in sync across time zones.
• Vendor Management: Automate purchase order tracking, price change notifications, BTR aging reports, and shortage claims across our UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and UAE vendor accounts.
• Marketing Automation: Support the marketing team with automated content briefs, ad performance analysis, and campaign reporting across Amazon Ads and other platforms.
• Data Management: Automate the flow of data between Mintsoft, Unleashed, ClickUp, and Microsoft 365 so that information is always accurate and up to date across the business.

Our Tech Stack

• AI & Automation: Claude API (Anthropic), Claude Agent SDK, Claude Code, LangChain / LangGraph.
• E-Commerce platforms: Amazon SP-API, Shopify API, eBay API, Temu, TikTok Shop.
• Internal systems and productivity: ClickUp, Microsoft 365, Mintsoft & Unleashed.
• Infrastructure: AWS / Azure, SQL and NoSQL databases, REST APIs, webhooks, and data pipelines.

Required Skills and Experience

• Strong proficiency in Python and/or JavaScript / TypeScript.
• Hands-on experience with AI / LLM APIs - Claude API, OpenAI, or similar - in a production environment.
• Prompt engineering skills - the ability to write clear, effective instructions for AI models to produce reliable, production-quality outputs.
• Experience with the Claude Agent SDK, LangChain, LangGraph, or similar agent-building frameworks.
• Experience with Claude Code or similar AI-assisted development tools.
• API integration experience - particularly with e-commerce platforms.
• Solid understanding of REST APIs, webhooks, and data pipelines.
• Experience with SQL and/or NoSQL databases.
• Familiarity with ClickUp API and/or Microsoft Graph API.
• Experience leading or mentoring developers.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving instinct.

Nice to have

• Experience in retail or e-commerce businesses.
• Knowledge of ERP systems such as Unleashed or Mintsoft.
• Experience with automation/integration platforms.
• Experience with cloud platforms - AWS or Azure preferred.
• Previous experience building customer-facing chatbots or virtual assistants.
• Familiarity with Microsoft 365 / SharePoint administration.
• Experience managing or coordinating with offshore or distributed development teams.

What we Offer

• Competitive salary.
• Hybrid working - 3 days at our Uxbridge HQ, 2 days remote.
• The chance to build and lead an entire AI function from scratch.
• Direct access to the CEO - your work will have immediate, visible impact on the business.
• Lead and grow your own team - with 1–2 developers already in place in Navi Mumbai.
• A fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with real autonomy and ownership.
• Clear path to grow into a Head of AI / CTO-track role as we scale.

Application, Portfolio and Github

A strong portfolio matters more than qualifications here. We want to see AI agents, automations, or integrations you have actually built and shipped. Please include links to a GitHub profile or project examples in your CV when applying. Send your CV, a brief cover letter explaining why you are the right person to lead AI transformation at Keplin Group, and links to your GitHub profile or any AI/automation projects you have built. Candidates without a demonstrable portfolio will be at a significant disadvantage.