AI Engineering Lead in London

LGC is a leading, global life science tools company, providing mission-critical components and solutions into high-growth application areas across the human healthcare and applied market segments. Its high-quality product portfolio is comprised of mission-critical tools for genomics and for quality assurance applications. LGC's tools play a key role in customer workflows from discovery applications through to commercial manufacture and enable its customers to: bring new diagnostics and therapies to market; progress research and development; optimise food production; and continuously monitor and enhance the quality of food, the environment and consumer products.

This role can ideally be based out of any of our UK sites working on a hybrid basis. The AI Engineering Lead is a senior technical leadership position collaborating with the Head of Data & AI. This role combines deep technical expertise in artificial intelligence with strong delivery and people management capabilities. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading the hands-on development and deployment of AI solutions while establishing a team of AI engineers and coordinating with third-party delivery partners.

The role requires a strong technical practitioner who can architect, develop and deliver both Machine Learning and Generative AI solutions. They will be expected to lead by example, maintaining hands-on involvement in solution development while guiding and mentoring their team. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of successfully delivering AI projects from feasibility through to production deployment.

Working closely with the Head of Data & AI, business team members and IT colleagues, the AI Engineering Lead will ensure that AI initiatives are delivered on time, to specification, and in alignment with LGC's strategic objectives, AI governance framework and Technical standards.

• Technical Ownership

• Lead the end-to-end development and deployment of AI solutions, including Machine Learning models, Generative AI applications and Agentic solutions.
• Architect robust, scalable AI systems that integrate effectively with existing enterprise infrastructure.
• Maintain hands-on involvement in coding, model development, and technical problem-solving.
• Establish and enforce technical standards, procedures, and coding guidelines for AI development.
• Conduct code reviews and ensure high-quality work across all AI projects.
• Know the latest with emerging AI technologies and evaluate their potential application within LGC.

• Develop AI delivery capabilities through a mix of internal resources and 3rd party providers.
• Drive the successful delivery of AI projects on time, within budget, and to specification.
• Develop and maintain project plans, tracking progress and managing risks and dependencies.
• Implement agile delivery methodologies appropriate for AI/ML development lifecycles.
• Manage the transition of AI solutions from development through to production and operational support.

• Ensure all AI solutions align with LGC's AI governance framework, data privacy regulations, and ethical guidelines.
• Implement appropriate testing, validation, and documentation practices for AI models.
• Be a key member and provide strategic input into the LGC AI Tech Council to shape ongoing AI strategies and technical landscape.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related field; Master's degree or equivalent experience preferred.
• Extensive hands-on experience developing and deploying AI/ML solutions in production environments.
• Demonstrated experience with Generative AI technologies, including Large Language Models (LLMs), prompt engineering, RAG architectures, and AI agents.
• Experience leading technical teams or managing third-party delivery partners.
• Ideally strong proficiency in Python and ML frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch.
• Experience with cloud-based AI platforms and services (AWS SageMaker, Azure ML, Snowflake intelligence or equivalent).
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical collaborators.

LGC strongly believes that every job applicant and employee should be valued for their individual talents regardless of age, disability, race, color, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion, or belief. Short listing, interviewing and selection will always be carried out without regard to gender, sexual orientation, marital status, color, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, age, or trade union membership.