About the Role
Becrypt is creating a new, standalone Principal Architect – AI role to lead the organisation's approach to artificial intelligence across the business. This is a senior technical position for someone who can look across engineering, product, IT and operations to identify where AI can genuinely improve how Becrypt builds, secures and runs its platforms — and who can then design, build and govern the systems that make that possible. This is not a team-management role. It is a hands‑on, principal‑level individual contributor position for someone who leads through technical depth, credibility and influence — working closely with engineering teams, technical architects and internal IT, and setting the policies, risk frameworks and compliance guardrails needed to adopt AI responsibly.
What You'll Do
- Assess processes and systems across the business — engineering, product, customer‑facing operations, internal IT — to identify where AI can add genuine value, streamline work, or reduce risk.
- Act as the go‑to technical authority on AI across Becrypt, working directly with engineering teams, technical architects and internal IT rather than through a reporting chain.
- Develop and own AI‑related policy, governance, risk assessment and compliance frameworks, balancing confidentiality, integrity, availability, usability, customer requirements, engineering effort and operational risk.
- Advise leadership on AI strategy, opportunity areas and risk posture in plain, actionable terms.
- Design and build platforms for long‑running agentic workflow systems, including AI gateways and supporting infrastructure services.
- Design Docker‑based services using Linux container environments, Python, FastAPI, TypeScript, MCP/FastMCP, OpenAI and AWS Bedrock.
- Apply secure boundaries around credentials, service access, tool invocation and human‑in‑the‑loop operation for AI/agentic systems.
- Build reusable services and integrations, and assess the security, isolation, maintainability and operational implications of emerging AI technologies before they’re adopted.
- Actively probe AI systems, integrations and agentic workflows for vulnerabilities — thinking like an attacker to uncover weaknesses in credential handling, tool invocation and data exposure before they’re exploited, and feeding findings back into design and policy.
- Get hands‑on with difficult technical problems alongside engineers — investigating, diagnosing and making architectural calls that improve security, assurance, maintainability and long‑term product direction.
What You'll Bring
- Experience in designing, building, securing and operating complex software platforms, Linux‑based systems, distributed services, APIs and integrations.
- Strong, current hands‑on experience with Docker/containerised environments, Python, FastAPI, TypeScript, and AI‑specific tooling such as MCP/FastMCP, OpenAI APIs and AWS Bedrock.
- Practical experience building or integrating AI gateways, agentic workflow systems, or similar AI infrastructure — not just using AI tools, but architecting the systems around them.
- A track record of enterprise or platform architecture at principal/CTO‑advisory level, ideally spanning regulated, security‑conscious, or infrastructure‑heavy environments (e.g. payments, cloud platforms, integration platforms).
- Demonstrated ability to design policy‑based authorisation, credential/access boundaries, and secure‑by‑design controls for systems handling sensitive operations.
- Experience operating as a senior individual contributor — influencing engineering, product, security, customer‑facing and leadership stakeholders without relying on formal team management.
- A working mental model that balances security (CIA), usability, customer needs, engineering effort, operational risk and product strategy when making architectural decisions.
- Comfortable writing and championing policy, risk and compliance documentation, not just technical designs.
Nice to Have
- Experience in a security‑focused or highly regulated product company (Becrypt's own domain).
- Prior experience introducing AI/agentic capability into an existing engineering organisation from scratch.
- Familiarity with data‑centre/on‑prem as well as cloud (AWS) deployment models.
Success in This Role Looks Like
- A clear, prioritised view of where AI can and should be applied across Becrypt, backed by policy and risk frameworks that leadership and engineering trust.
- A working AI gateway / agentic platform in production use, built to Becrypt's security and operational standards.
- Engineering teams and internal IT with a clear, well‑governed path to adopt AI capability safely and consistently.
Package & Discretionary Benefits
- 25 days annual leave plus an additional 2 days after 2 years’ service
- 5 days additional holiday purchase available
- Private medical insurance
- Heath cashback plan with Healthshield
- Pension scheme
- Life cover 4 x salary
- Season ticket loan
- Salary exchange benefits (ride2work, pension)
- Subsidised gym membership
- Employee referral scheme
Role will be subject to an employment screening process and will require security clearance.
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Principal Architect – AI in London employer: Leonardo
Leonardo in Southampton is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration among engineers. With a strong focus on employee growth, you will have the opportunity to develop your skills in cutting-edge technology while working on impactful defence and commercial projects. The Agile framework and emphasis on cross-platform development create a stimulating environment where your contributions are valued and recognised.
