At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of AI-driven features to combat financial crime.
- Company: Join Napier, a pioneering tech company making finance safer with AI.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, healthcare, flexible work, and generous leave.
- Other info: Be part of a dynamic team in a growing tech hub in Belfast.
- Why this job: Make a real difference by using AI to protect people's money.
- Qualifications: 5-7 years in engineering, strong coding skills, and leadership experience.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
Imagine catching criminals before they strike—that’s exactly what Napier’s AI-powered platform does! By analysing transactions and customers in real time, Napier AI’s technology empowers financial institutions to spot suspicious activity, like money laundering, and stops it in its tracks. Napier AI’s technology works like a digital detective, combining AI with smart analytics to outthink criminals and protect people’s money from becoming criminal proceeds. It’s not just about stopping crime—it’s about making the financial world safer and more trustworthy for everyone.
Collaboration, innovation and wonderful people are just some of the reasons to bring your career to Napier. Our culture is shaped by our core values that promote equality, creativity, and opportunity in everything we do. After successfully securing PI investment to fuel our ongoing growth and to further invest in our AI products, we are currently building out our Tech Hub in Belfast - this is a super exciting time to join Napier in Belfast as we expand.
Overview of the role:
The Lead Engineer will play a key role in building and shaping a new AI-focused engineering capability within Napier, based in Belfast. This is a hands-on leadership role within a smaller, high-impact team, focused on extending Napier’s AI functionality and applying AI and machine learning models to detect and prevent financial crime. You will be responsible for both contributing directly to the development of AI-driven systems and leading technical direction within the team. This role offers an opportunity to build something from the ground up in a relatively greenfield environment, helping define the technical approach, tooling, and engineering practices as the team grows. Depending on experience, the role can flex between a strong Technical Lead or a Team Lead, combining hands-on engineering with leadership responsibility.
Your day to day:
- Designing and implementing AI-driven features and services within Napier’s platform
- Contributing hands-on to development, including coding, debugging, and testing
- Leading or mentoring a small team of engineers, supporting their growth and output
- Working closely with Product, Architecture, and Data teams to translate AI use cases into production systems
- Helping define and evolve engineering standards, tooling, and development practices within the AI team
- Supporting integration of AI/ML models into scalable, production-grade systems
- Diagnosing and resolving functional and performance/scalability issues
- Participating in technology selection and architectural decisions
- Supporting recruitment and onboarding of new team members as required
- Providing input on resourcing decisions and team growth
Do you have what it takes?
Knowledge/experience:
- At least 5–7 years of commercial experience in a senior or lead engineering role
- Strong experience building and delivering production-grade systems in a product or SaaS environment
- Experience working in smaller companies or teams, with a pragmatic and adaptable approach
- Experience leading engineers or acting in a technical leadership capacity
- Experience working in Agile delivery environments with a continuous improvement mindset
- Exposure to AI/ML systems, data-driven platforms, or analytics products
- Understanding of how to integrate models or data-driven features into production systems
- Knowledge of DevOps and modern software engineering practices
Skills:
- Strong hands-on programming experience in Go or Python (experience in both is beneficial)
- Experience building distributed, microservice-based systems
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
- Understanding of containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
- Experience with data pipelines, streaming technologies, or event-driven systems (e.g. Kafka beneficial)
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to adapt quickly to changing requirements
- Ability to balance hands-on development with technical leadership responsibilities
- Collaborative team player with strong communication and stakeholder management skills
- Comfortable working in evolving environments and helping shape direction and structure
We’d be thrilled if you also have experience with, and are keen to grow your skills in, some of these other areas:
- Machine learning frameworks or AI model development
- Financial crime, fraud, or risk-related domains
- Data processing and analytics platforms
- Performance engineering and scalability optimisation
- Observability tools such as Grafana and Prometheus
- Exposure to modern front-end technologies (React, Angular)
- Experience working with distributed or remote teams
Why Napier?
- Comprehensive private healthcare through AXA covering optical, audio & dental.
- 25 days of annual leave + bank holidays, your birthday and a wellness day
- Dedicated pension plan through Aviva
- Life Insurance 4x your annual salary
- Enhanced Maternity & Paternity leave
- Income protections policy
- Work from anywhere for up to 1 month
- Access to our employee wellbeing programme.
- Gym membership discounts.
- Flexibility in work schedules and locations, ensuring a work-life balance. This role can be fulfilled either with a hybrid approach or fully in-office – depending on your preference.
- An open and flexible culture that allows you to work in the best way for you.
Please note applicants must have the right to work in the United Kingdom. We are unable to offer sponsorship or take over sponsorship of employment visas at this time.
Lead Engineer (AI Platform) in Belfast employer: Napier AI
Napier AI is an excellent employer that values flexibility and work-life balance, offering a part-time role as an Accounts Assistant with the option to work remotely or in-office. Our supportive work culture fosters collaboration and professional growth, ensuring that employees have the opportunity to develop their skills while contributing to meaningful financial processes. Located in Belfast, we provide a dynamic environment where innovation thrives, making it an ideal place for those seeking rewarding employment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Engineer (AI Platform) in Belfast
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Napier AI or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Napier AI.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Napier AI.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Napier AI that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Engineer (AI Platform) in Belfast
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Napier AI.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Napier AI and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Napier AI
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Napier AI uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
